On “The Berkeley Model” by Joe Nocera at the New York Times

Mr. Nocera writes that Fred Wiseman’s documentary is a “big wet kiss” to Berkely.  He expresses concern about the cost of education (which he should) and writes that “The real issue is: how do you make college more affordable today.” I am worried that many people like Joe Nocera and Jon Meacham (See Why Do […]

Just Interesting: Teachers Cheating, Students Cheating, Chic Smelling College Brands

Here are the articles I’m referring to: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/opinion/sunday/how-i-helped-teachers-cheat.html?ref=opinion http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304200804579163983479119364?KEYWORDS=perfume+college   A quote from this article:  “At LSU,… he says there is a benefit to having the school’s brand associated with a chic product.” There is an earlier post  (http://www.inside-higher-ed.com/another-wsj-article-illustrating-university-focus-and-insight-of-great-thinkers/ )linking to another WSJ article that quotes a consultant saying, “…Prospective freshmen and their families…increasingly view themselves […]

Wall Street Journal’s David Wessel Supports Plan for College Loan Solution.

But I think we need to ensure the product is worth it first.  It seems to me that it is a little like the mortgage crisis.  You have to start by making sure the house is in good shape, and appropriate for the buyer. The article is here http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304672404579181632945326834 I posted two comments on the […]

New York Times Writes That Average Cost of College Steady Over a Decade

The sticker price has gone up considerably but the discounts have gotten bigger, according to the report that the NYTimes cites.  (Here is the link to the Times’ article http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/25/education/despite-rising-sticker-prices-actual-college-costs-stable-over-decade-study-says.html?ref=us) There must be a reason why the colleges are increasing their sticker price while keeping their real charges the same.  I suspect its marketing. The […]

According to OECD, Most Workers Who Feel Overqualified Aren’t. So Why? Have They Been Conned?

Jordan Weissmann has a post in The Atlantic on this http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/10/1-in-5-us-workers-im-too-educated-for-my-job/280441/#disqus_thread My comment on his post explains my position: “Many of those who think that they are overeducated are actually “over-degreed” by schools that convince students that they are getting a “college education” (and many other types of education), when they aren’t.  The brilliant David […]

Good Short Article in The Atlantic with Informative Table.

Here is the link to the article http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/09/americas-wasteful-higher-education-spending-in-a-chart/280130/#comments Here is my comment: “Just read what Bill Gross, the billionare bond investor of Pimco wrote: “…Universities are run for the benefit of the adult establishment, both politically and financially, not students. To radically change the system and to question the sanctity of a college education would […]

Is The Atlantic Right to Report on a Report the Way it Did?

I previously commented on an article about a paper by the president of Northwestern, Northwestern President Publishes Study About Northwestern And the National Bureau of Economic Research Publishes It? The paper apparently is getting lots of publicity and The Atlantic published a second post on it, http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/09/are-tenured-professors-really-worse-teachers-a-lit-review/279940/#comments I don’t agree with some of the reporter’s […]

Obama Administration Proposes to Make Colleges More Affordable and Accountable

The Obama Administration will “…announce a set of ambitious proposals…” today, according to an article in today’s New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/education/obamas-plan-aims-to-lower-cost-of-college.html?pagewanted=1&ref=tamarlewin  Here is my view, which I put in a comment to the article. “No one could have addressed the need for government regulation than did David Riesman, our deepest thinker ever on higher education.  […]

Follow the Money

Good article about student loan defaults. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323420604578650420166447266.html?mod=WSJ_article_comments#articleTabs%3Dcomments About 22% of those not in school are either in default or forbearance.  Even in a bad economy, that is a big number.  Here is what I think it says (posted as a comment on the article). “As a former professor, my advice is, follow the money. Ask […]