The Other 85 Percent

This is a perfectly silly piece. To assert that a study by the Association of American Colleges and Universities demonstrates that assessment of learning outcomes is widespread but students don’t know about it is really more than silly.  What is the purpose of assessment if students don’t know it is happening, what the results are, [...]

Over the last few months, various public colleges and universities have announced that they are restricting enrollment due to financial reasons.  One example is the University of California institutions.  See this LA Times article for a story about how it is more difficult to get into the UC institutions this fall.  And, the more restrictive [...]

A recent Washington Post article reviews the “ambitious” Obama administration plans to change the entire landscape for student financial aid.  The article specifically cites the problem of students “amassing debt on a scale that approximates a home mortgage.”  I recently posted about increasing concerns over student debt.
The article details how the president wants to [...]

Recently, Steve Vodhanel has made comments on this blog about the problems of student loan debt and the impact that such debt can have on people who get caught in a situation where they are unable to get a job that allows them to repay their student loans.  A recent media interview on Inside Higher [...]

I have repeatedly posted on the failings of the 21st Century GI Bill and its negative impact on veterans.  The VA is insisting on pressing forward with implementation when the evidence keeps piling on that the bill is seriously flawed and unfair.  The article below from the April 29, 2009, Inside Higher Ed provides one [...]

EduVentures has released a timely survey of the attitudes of adults about the value of higher education. It reveals the same level of complexity and uncertainty that consumers in general are feeling as they try to make sense of how the recession is impacting their lives.
While it is often argued that demand for higher education [...]

The Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) recently released its report on a summit of what it describes as “200 higher education stakeholders” who addressed the topic “Difficult Dialogues, Rewarding Solutions: The Imperative to Expand Postsecondary Opportunities While Controlling Costs.” The report tells how the summit participants developed an overall understanding of the “problem,” [...]

There has been considerable discussion and concern about how well the United States is ranked internationally on the proportion of our population that has a college degree.  College degree attainment is seen as critical for our ability to compete globally and maintain a healthy economy.  The National Center for Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) has estimated [...]

There has recently been a lot of activity to create new institutes, alliances, and proposals about the assessment of learning outcomes and accreditation.  See
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/01/23/assess
and
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/01/28/accredit
Note that some of the same folks were involved in both the accreditation and the learning assessment efforts.  And these are individuals and organizations that have long provided higher education leadership.  [...]

I have made several posts referencing the work of Peter Ewell. Mr. Ewell wrote an article in the November-December 2008 publication of Change, titled “No Correlation: Musings on Some Myths About Quality.
Mr. Ewell leads off with “For an enterprise dedicated to truth, American higher education harbors a lot of myths.” He then [...]