Pokémon Go Is Booming on Campus, and That’s a Good Thing
On the surface, Pokémon Go players appear to be zombified millennials walking aimlessly, eyes fixed on their cellphones. But in reality they are engaging with a new community of young…
A Visiting Professor of Conservative Thought Takes on Boulder, Colorado
Several years ago, the University of Colorado Boulder did something pioneering in American higher education. It committed to bringing onto its faculty, on a rotating basis, a notable academic conservative…
Fears Surrounding the Privatization of Campus Services Are Unfounded
Last semester at my school, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, students protested the privatization of the campus bookstore through rallies and social media uproar. Such backlash seemed…
To Save the Humanities, Make Them More Hands On
The humanities may not be dead, but they are certainly moribund on many college campuses. Once the crown jewels of higher education, now they are valued about as much as…
Making Distance Learning Personal – and Successful
Information technology has disrupted so many industries and human activities that everyone expected it would disrupt education as well. A few years ago, the Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) seemed…
Will New Transparency Measures Help North Carolina Students?
Whether or not you agree that a college degree is primarily worth its increase in potential earning power, students overwhelmingly rate the economic benefits of a degree as the top…
Shocking: The Chronicle Supports the Case Against College for All
The May 6 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education contains two illuminating and rather unexpected articles: “Should Everyone Go to College?” by Scott Carlson and “When Everyone Goes to College: a Lesson from South Korea” by Karin Fischer. What makes these pieces so interesting is that they say clearly what so many in the higher education community have long been at pains to deny, namely that a country can go overboard on higher education.
In Congress, Higher Education Proposals Fall Flat
Although the bills currently under consideration are unlikely to pass in the immediate future, evaluating them reveals the current areas of federal interest in higher education. These categories can be broadly defined as student aid and access, controlling costs, and political interest.
College Isn’t a Good Learning Environment, Says a Veteran Professor
What is needed is for students and parents to realize that swallowing the education that’s given to them isn’t the best way. They’ll have to change things from the bottom by seeking out schools and online programs where student progress comes first.
Community Colleges in the Spotlight
Lawmakers returned to Raleigh at the end of April to attend this year’s “short session.” On the agenda are adjustments to the state budget and a few policies left unresolved when legislators adjourned last year. Many of those policies focus on community colleges.