When a field of study becomes important in the mind of the public, should a university respond? It probably will put resources behind that field; but many times that is only because it isn’t listening to Robert Maynard Hutchins comments on that. “…an institution…should have an educational policy and then try to finance it, instead […]
“We’re Frighteningly in the Dark About Student Debt” – But Even More in the Dark About What We Are Buying
March 22, 2015 by
We’re Frighteningly in the Dark About Student Debt – NYTimes.com. I commented as follow: (Please note the “fixes” to the poor writing I submitted.) We are loaning money to naïve – and by definition – uneducated “consumers” so that they can “buy” an education. Yet the “sellers” in blocking block all attempts for either the […]
Scientists “Forced” to Cheat Says Medical School Professor
March 21, 2015 by
That statement is immediately after the bullets in this article. Amid a Sea of False Findings, the NIH Tries Reform – Research – The Chronicle of Higher Education. Poor scientists! “Forced” to cheat to get all that money. (Top medical school professors make from $500,000 to a few million.) Here are some posts on the […]
Good News: Today’s Anxious Freshmen Declare Majors Far Faster Than Their Elders – WSJ
March 20, 2015 by
Today’s Anxious Freshmen Declare Majors Far Faster Than Their Elders – WSJ. But they need advice. I wrote. I am a former professor who taught at Washington University in St. Louis. With honest advice these earnest students will do well. Unfortunately, they cannot count on college officials to always give them that honest advice. In the words of David Riesman […]
Law Schools Keep at It – But That is Just the Tip of the Iceberg
March 18, 2015 by
Law Schools Face New Rules on Reporting Graduates’ Success – WSJ. I commented. The take away from this story – and from stories about college athletics – is not that Law Schools – or athletic departments – are corrupt. Colleges are corrupt. Very few people would buy a product from a corporation that has […]
Graph in The Economist is flawed
March 17, 2015 by
Technology and universities: The log-on degree | The Economist. This graph shows an increase from 1992-2015 of almost 100%, but that is the increase in advertised tuition. The true, or net, increase is 22%. There is a link to the data on my blog (inside-higher-ed ) in the post “How the Government Exaggerates the Cost […]
Measuring Benefits of Smaller Amounts in Same Container
March 16, 2015 by
Is your degree worth it?: It depends what you study, not where | The Economist. There is a fallacy in these statistics. I commented. Just as consumers can be fooled into believing that today’s can of “whatever” contains the same amount as yesterday’s, so can “consumers” of today’s degrees be fooled into thinking they contain […]
More On Holden Thorp
Interview: Jay Smith And Mary Willingham, Authors Of ‘Cheated’ : NPR. I commented. ” I’m surprised that no one has mentioned what happened to Holden Thorp, the Chancellor of UNC. First, though, here is a quote from Greg Easterbrook’s review of “Cheated” – a quote that, from my reading of the book, I agree with. […]