As the supply of doctorate holders grows and their academic job prospects dwindle, schools take steps to help graduates find work beyond the academy. Source: Job-Seeking Ph.D. Holders Look to Life Outside School My comment. Advice from a retired math professor: Don’t be fooled by a doctoral degree- or the offer of one. Here is […]
Frank Bruni Recognizes the “Customer” Mentality
May 11, 2016 by
“…It’s not only at Stanford and at Ivy League and Ivylike schools that students have gone from being competitors to clients. That’s a shift that’s occurred over recent decades and over the last decade in particular at scores if not hundreds of colleges. And I think customers is a better word for it than clients, […]
A Quote to Keep in Mind
May 2, 2016 by
“…Franklin Roosevelt did not suddenly decide on his own to enact Social Security or grant union rights. Those ideas came up from below, through decades of frustration and struggle and conflict. If Americans want something different from their politicians, there is no alternative to this kind of exhausting and uncertain hard work…” (Italics are mine […]
Let’s Stop Worrying About the Wrong Problem (Dropping Out) and Address the Real Problem (Not Getting An Education Even IF They Stay In)
May 1, 2016 by
Simple steps raise the graduation rate, especially among minority students. Source: What Can Stop Kids From Dropping Out – The New York Times#commentsContainer I wrote: Let’s stop worrying about them dropping out and start worrying about them actually getting an education. With a couple of years of REAL education they can drop out and get […]
Why Is Productivity So Weak? Three Theories That Miss The Mark. My Advice? Read Piketty.
April 29, 2016 by
The rate of economic output is not increasing much. Or is there work below the surface that will pay big dividends in the future? Source: Why Is Productivity So Weak? Three Theories – The New York Times The answer if obvious. Here is how to see it. First, do a search for “diffusion of knowledge” […]
The College Cares About Truth in Advertising? Oh?
April 20, 2016 by
Several companies are using high-pressure tactics, critics say, to persuade international students to enroll in U.S. colleges. Many will need remedial help to succeed. Source: Recruiting Students Overseas to Fill Seats, Not to Meet Standards I wrote, According to a Brookings study, Western Kentucky’s graduates have a median mid-career salary less than similar graduates attending […]
Demand for H1-B Skilled-Worker Visas Forces Agency Into Lottery – WSJ
April 8, 2016 by
U.S. demand for foreign skilled-worker visas surpassed the entire year’s mandated supply within five days, prompting the government to say it will award them through a lottery. Source: Demand for H1-B Skilled-Worker Visas Forces Agency Into Lottery – WSJ I wrote… To paraphrase, “It’s the flood of certification, and paucity of education, stupid.” In other […]
More Than 40% of Student Borrowers Aren’t Making Payments – WSJ
April 7, 2016 by
More than 40% of Americans who borrowed from the government’s main student-loan program aren’t making payments or are behind on more than $200 billion owed, raising worries that millions of them may never repay. Source: More Than 40% of Student Borrowers Aren’t Making Payments – WSJ I wrote… The $200 billion is a pittance compared […]
Education and Productivity Go Hand in Hand
Once the acute phases of the financial and euro crises were over, it was clear that it would take time for advanced economies to recover. The history of past financial crises gave a clear warning that recovery would typically be long and painful. Source: Slow growth is a fact of life in the post-crisis world […]