The Other 85 Percent

As reported on the Inside Higher Ed Web site,  the American Federation of Teachers released analysis of ten-year’s worth of data on the decline of faculty who have earned and been awarded tenure. I think this quote from Barbara Bowen, president of the Professional Staff Congress that is the AFT chapter at CUNY, captures [...]

In this Chronicle of Higher Education commentary, Margaret Brooks claims that online courses are better than free beer.  Actually, she is responding to a colleague who does not like online courses who stated that it was wrong to offer online courses just because students demand them because “students demand free beer, too; that does not [...]

As stated by Inside Higher Ed, reporting on a newly released meta-analysis of research by the U. S. Department of Education, “online learning has definite advantages over face-to-face instruction when it comes to teaching and learning.”  Wow—this is what those of us involved in online learning have been arguing for some time in the face [...]

The premise of this blog is that the prevailing view about who attends college, and how they engage, is way off the mark.  The general assumption is that students go directly to college after high school, live on a campus, and study full time. That view drives public policy decisions even though it addresses a [...]

This opinion piece from the New York Times seems to use overstatement in its headline.  But, the piece makes some very interesting points.
Basically, Mark C. Taylor argues that the “dirty little secret” is that graduate students are underpaid for the work they do in helping teach and run laboratories for undergraduate students.  Taylor’s argument [...]

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 [...]