What should we do about the high cost of higher education? As we pick the next president, that question should feature prominently in the public debate. The economic prosperity of our children and grandchildren hinges on finding the right answer. Today’s economy leaves little doubt about the value of college. According to the Bureau of … Continue reading
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Community Colleges Becoming Prime Destination for Faculty
After spending nearly 20 years working in corporate America for companies like General Electric and Digital Equipment Corporation (Hewlett Packard), Dr. Winston Maddox wanted to make a difference — so he turned his attention to teaching. “I was a late bloomer and many traditional educators thought I was not college worthy,” says Maddox, who is … Continue reading
The Supreme Court’s Rehash of Fisher and Affirmative Action
After the Supreme Court’s second go-round with the Fisher vs. UT-Austin case last week, the big headline to emerge isn’t about whether the high court sends it back to the lower court, or if this is the start of the beginning or the end of the use of race in admissions. No, instead we’re hearing … Continue reading
Hip-Hop Stars Support Mississippi Rapper in First Amendment Case
Musical tastes at the Supreme Court run toward opera. On Monday, a glittering array of hip-hop stars will try to expand the justices’ musical horizons.In a brief supporting a Mississippi high school student who was disciplined for posting a rap song online, artists including T. I., Big Boi and Killer Mike will explain to the … Continue reading
The U.S. Congress Passes Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
[Last] week’s U.S. House passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act, a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, makes it clear: If you want to see education policy in the next few years, look to state capitols, not Washington, D.C. The current version of the law, the No Child Left Behind Act, created … Continue reading
Moody’s Predicts College Closures to Triple by 2017
Closure rates of small colleges and universities will triple in the coming years, and mergers will double. Those are the predictions of a Moody’s Investor Service report released Friday that highlights a persistent inability among small colleges to increase revenue, which could lead as many as 15 institutions a year to shut their doors for … Continue reading
Obama Administration Calls for Limits on Testing in Schools
Faced with mounting and bipartisan opposition to increased and often highstakes testing in the nation’s public schools, the Obama administration declared Saturday that the push had gone too far, acknowledged its own role in the proliferation of tests, and urged schools to step back and make exams less onerous and more purposeful. Specifically, the administration … Continue reading
How Much Do We Really Know About College
The link today goes to a video produced by the Washington Post and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It shows data that some in higher education are aware of, but students and others may not be. How Much Do We Really Know?
University-Run Boot Camps Offer Students Marketable Skills — but Not Course Credit
Level, a venture that offers students courses in data analytics, has a motto of sorts. It’s written in large letters across the program’s website: “Real skills. Real experience. Two months.” The motto sounds a lot like the boot-camp style of education offered by companies like General Assembly. But Level, a product of Northeastern University, is neither … Continue reading
A Boon to Boot Camps? U.S. Extends Aid to Campus Deals With Nontraditional Programs
The U.S. Education Department is cracking open the door to federal financial aid for students enrolled in nontraditional education programs — and trying out alternatives to accreditation in the process. On Wednesday the department will announce a pilot program that will allow federal grants and loans to flow to educational-technology companies that team up with … Continue reading
