“Student Loans and Defaults: The Facts – NYTimes.com” My View: Anyway you Slice it, or Dice it, It’s Too Commonly a Shakedown

“…Graduate students borrow a lot more than undergraduates…” Source: Student Loans and Defaults: The Facts – NYTimes.com I commented. A more descriptive statement than “…borrowing is highest among the minority of college students who go on for graduate study..” is:Borrowing is highest among two groups of students: those who realize that they were scammed and […]

The Education Assassins (Scary, Really)

There’s considerable animus for the Department of Education these days. Let’s not get carried away. Source: The Education Assassins – NYTimes.com I wrote. To see how scary it is, just go to my blog inside-higher-ed . Yes, the blog is about higher education, but it explains how higher education dumbs down all of education, doing […]

“The University of Minnesota’s Medical Research Mess” is Another Unfortunate Symptom of the Fall of Universities.  It’s an Important Read

…in the felony case, university officials hid an internal investigation of the fraud from federal investigators for nearly four years.. Source: The University of Minnesota’s Medical Research Mess – NYTimes.com I commented. The author “…hope[s] the situation at..Minnesota..is exceptional…” It’s not. Nor is money an exceptional motivation. Ego and prestige work just as well. I […]

“What to Learn in College to Stay One Step Ahead of Computers” Ok, But is That the Problem?

Universities are struggling to figure out how to impart information to students that won’t be overridden in the near future by computers and robots. Source: What to Learn in College to Stay One Step Ahead of Computers – NYTimes.com I commented. (twice, unfortunately.  I thought they had deleted my first comment:() Unfortunately, as thoughtful as […]

“Platinum Pay in Ivory Towers” Op-Ed Shows Frank Bruni is on to Something – That’s Good

The excessive salaries of some college presidents send a message at odds with higher education. Source: Platinum Pay in Ivory Towers – NYTimes.com I commented as follows. “..ostensible mission of academia..” Great word, “ostensible”. Here is how they get away with fooling us. “..advantage can..be taken of [students] by unscrupulous instructors and institutions..the student estate […]

“The In-State Tuition Break, Slowly Disappearing” is a Symptom

Source: The In-State Tuition Break, Slowly Disappearing I wrote this Here is Clark Kerr’s warning. “…I am concerned..that…the greatest threats to the university will be those which arise from within the university…” Right now the threat is not to the university itself – at least not to its financial and research arms. The present threat […]

“Is Testing Students the Answer to America’s Education Woes?” Think No? Read This

I made a previous comment on this subject. “…From a purely financial perspective, high income parents should be willing to pay about $6,500/yr to get [a teacher in the 84th percentile vs. one at the 50th percentile]…Impacts on earnings are…similar in percentage terms for students from low and high income families…great teachers [as measured only […]

“Is Testing Students the Answer to America’s Education Woes?” The Real Answer is: Test the Colleges Through the Teachers!

Opinions on testing public schools students as a way to measure progress and as an accounting tool are varied, but are these exams working? Source: Is Testing Students the Answer to America’s Education Woes? – Room for Debate – NYTimes.com My Comment “Almost everyone involved in this debate is missing the 800-pound gorilla in the […]

Frank Bruni Thinks Learning LibArts Is Important? I Do Too, But Where Do You Go To Do That?

See From ‘Hamlet’ to Hillary – NYTimes.com  for Bruni’s article. My comment: “As a former professor – and observer of higher education – I think that in 2015 you would be hard put to find the type of courses that your examples took, not in 2015. I recently posted (on my blog inside-higher-ed) a syllabus from […]