Innovation

College isn’t the only path to human flourishing. Individuals’ postsecondary choices should be aligned with individual academic preparation, talents, and preferences, and education providers should be able to experiment with new methods and models. The following articles highlight new programs, identify barriers, and suggest policies that encourage innovation.

Are Community Colleges the Unsung Heroes of American Education?

Jun 1, 2015 ·

Few people know the challenges faced by community colleges as well as Scott Ralls. For the last seven years, he has been president of the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS), the nation’s third largest community college system. He will soon leave for a new challenge: he will become the president of North Virginia Community College—the nation’s 11th largest college. Jay Schalin of the Pope Center had a long talk with him about the role of community colleges, about how the NCCCS has dealt with a variety of issues, and where the NCCCS stands today.

Confessions of a Recovering Higher Education Bubble Hawk

May 27, 2015 ·

My previous beliefs regarding higher education’s impending doom—shared by many others—were reinforced by pundits who sounded alarms whenever a new report predicted catastrophe or an insolvent college made headlines. I fell into a trap identified by Thomas Jefferson in a 1787 letter to Charles Thomson, then secretary of the Continental Congress: “The moment a person forms a theory, his imagination sees in every object only the traits which favor that theory.”

Is it Time to Cast Off the Tradition of Three-Month Summer Vacations?

May 25, 2015 ·

College is no longer just for recent high school graduates; in North Carolina’s community college system, the third-largest system in the nation, the average student is 28. College students of the older, “non-traditional” variety need flexibility. They often have steady jobs, families, and other priorities, and they would prefer the option to finish as quickly as possible, without semester-long breaks. Does it really make sense that they are tied to the same academic calendar as their younger peers who prefer summers off?

I wish my job didn’t exist

Apr 29, 2015 ·

I love working for Norwich University, but I wish my job did not exist. When I tell folks this, I always get a confused look or a laugh. I follow up by explaining that I’m part of the administrative bloat that universities have taken on to ensure we’re dotting all the “I’s” and crossing all the “T’s” of state and federal regulations.

Two conflicting visions of higher education, Part II

Apr 22, 2015 ·

Higher education policy must begin with a vision and a sense of purpose, without which it becomes an incoherent jumble that contradicts itself and pulls in conflicting directions. One problem facing academia today is that it has long been largely subject to one vision, and now a very different, competing vision is emerging that seeks grand reforms.

Two conflicting visions of higher education, Part I

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Higher education policy must begin with a vision and a sense of purpose, without which it becomes an incoherent jumble that contradicts itself and pulls in conflicting directions. One problem facing academia today is that it has long been largely subject to one vision, and now a very different, competing vision is emerging that seeks grand reforms.

Tenure has its purpose, but shouldn’t last a lifetime

Apr 13, 2015 ·

Tenure entrenches academics in their jobs. While it’s a bulwark of academic freedom, tenure also shields those who are not currently earning their keep, as well as many who never did. The current system stymies innovation, most clearly in the area of hiring new faculty. I call for changing it.