North Carolina’s Apprenticeship Program Offers Big Potential at Small Cost
Recently, a bill was introduced in the North Carolina legislature that would shift control of the state’s apprenticeship program from the department of commerce to the community college system. The…
Let’s Not Throw the Dual Enrollment Baby Out with the Bathwater
Dual enrollment programs, which allow high school students to take college courses for college credit, have been getting some bad publicity lately. In 2013, the popular college watchdog site Minding…
If We Can’t Repeal the Higher Education Act, Let’s Improve It
The United States got along nicely for its first 176 years without any federal legislation on higher education. (A good reason why there was no such legislation is the absence…
Citing Genetics and Power of Rock Music, Physicist Says Diversity Crossbreeds Excellence
James Gates Jr. is a theoretical physicist renowned for his work with supersymmetry, supergravity, and string theory. The University of Maryland professor says he prefers to shun publicity, but his…
The Accelerating Pace of Change in Higher Education
Judging from recent books, articles, and editorials, higher education is poised for a cataclysmic collapse. There is a considerable body of opinion that systemic problems such as runaway tuition, student…
Competition Is Helping to Bring Affordability, Efficiency Back to Higher Ed
As higher education has become increasingly competitive in recent years, many colleges have had to find creative ways to maintain their enrollment figures and distinguish themselves in the market. For…
The MBA Needs to Be Reinvented
I have spent 35 of the past 40 years studying in and teaching in business schools and have concluded that they are in need of reform. Their main product, the…
Will We, at Last, Do Something About Accreditation?
Accreditation is supposed to act as a quality guarantee for colleges and universities, but it works very poorly. Students can and regularly do graduate from accredited schools without having learned…
Educating for the Workplace: A Dilemma
Recently I attended a meeting of a committee of the University of North Carolina system’s Board of Governors that has a mission of “setting goals for economic impact.” Higher education’s…
Poll: What Should Trump’s Education Department Do to Reform Higher Ed?
Now that the election has ended, Donald Trump faces new challenges. He must assemble a team, choose a direction, and begin to govern. During his long campaign, he gave a…