As someone who has researched American higher education for the past three decades, one thing I can tell you is that it involves a lot of numbers. A lot of graphs. A lot of percentages. What it doesn’t provide is a lot of clarity. Why? It’s not the fault of the numbers gatherers, who are...
After he left the presidency of Harvard University, Derek Bok offered this anatomy of the soul of American higher education today: “Universities are like riverboat gamblers and exiled royalty: their desires are never satisfied.” But Harvard Magazine has now upped the ante, going far beyond an insatiable desire for mere money. The May-June 2020 edition of the...
“Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity.” So wrote the 4th Century, B.C., political philosopher, Aristotle. And over 23 centuries later, education is facing adversity of its own. As COVID-19 upends daily life, we are experiencing entirely new concerns about supply and demand. These are most acute in health care, of course,...
“Illness strikes men when they are exposed to change.” So wrote the 5th century B.C. Greek historian, Herodotus, widely regarded as the “Father of History.” If change breeds illness, might it also be true that illness breeds change? This is the thesis of a recent report chronicling the challenges faced by American higher education due to...
Civics education in the United States is in a state of crisis, which, if not addressed, will doom our constitutional democracy. If the above assertion sounds unduly apocalyptic, consider these facts: Recent polling of Americans’ civic literacy, conducted by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, should shame all of us involved in education: While 90% of...
Many universities today, stung by growing public criticism of college tuition hyperinflation, have engaged in public relations efforts highlighting their attempts to curb tuition growth. This is understandable. There is only one problem: A new study argues that tuition increases nationwide continue nonetheless to outpace inflation. According to the study, performed by the tech finance outfit, Self, “in...
In my prior piece, “Resistance on the Right: Will Conservatives Ever Come Together on an Article V Convention of the States?” I explained that under Article V of the U.S. Constitution, if two-thirds of the states approve resolutions calling on Congress to hold an amendments convention, Congress has no choice but to obey. I then...
Did you know that the Constitution provides a means for the people, acting through their states, to propose constitutional amendments, without needing any support or participation from the U.S. Congress? Under Article V of the Constitution, if two-thirds of the states approve resolutions calling on Congress to hold an amendments convention, Congress has no choice...
(Author’s note: In response to my 10/29/19 Forbes piece, “Death to Merit —College Admissions Process Descends Into the Abyss,” a number of readers asked me to expand on a subject I mentioned in the course of that piece—grade inflation. What follows distills my research over the years on this subject.) In an honorable attempt to arrest grade...
(Author’s note: In response to my 10/29/19 Forbes piece, “Death to Merit —College Admissions Process Descends Into the Abyss,” a number of readers asked me to expand on a subject I mentioned in the course of that piece—grade inflation. What follows distills my research over the years on this subject.) Why should we care that 45% of...
(Author’s note: In response to my 10/29/19 Forbes piece, “Death to Merit: —College Admissions Process Descends Into the Abyss,” a number of readers asked me to expand on a subject I mentioned in the course of that piece—grade inflation. What follows distills my research over the years on this subject.) Some 75% of all college grades earned...
(Author’s note: In response to my 10/29/19 Forbes piece, “Death to Merit: —College Admissions Process Descends Into the Abyss,” a number of readers asked me to expand on a subject I mentioned in the course of that piece—grade inflation. What follows distills my research over the years on this subject.) There is a genuine crisis in American...