academic

1 in 5 College Students Takes Math Courses That Repeat What They Already Know

Although going to college offers the promise of engaging with new ideas and learning new skills, when it comes to math, the experience can sometimes be like high school all over again. In a new study of more than 5,000 students in two- and four-year colleges across the nation, I found that roughly one in… Read More
UT Austin Now Offers Free Tuition, Joining Cohort of Other Universities

The University of Texas at Austin made recent national news by promising free tuition for in-state undergraduate students whose families make $65,000 or less per year. The initiative, which will begin in the fall of 2020, was made possible by members of the University of Texas System Board of Regents who unanimously voted to establish… Read More
Too Many Students Flunk Out – Here’s How Colleges Can Help

College has always been considered a vehicle for personal economic growth. If someone wants a good, high-paying job, they’re told to go to college. But those jobs are only attainable if students stay long enough to earn a degree. And, concerningly, only 58 percent of students who enroll in college earn their degree within six… Read More
Low Internship Participation Indicates a Need for Change

In today’s rapidly evolving job market, having internship experience can give young job-seekers a tremendous leg up. In fact, 57.5 percent of new grads who were offered a job after graduation had at least one internship on their resume. But internships aren’t all created equally. While some companies adequately prepare interns for the working world… Read More
With College Costs Skyrocketing, Why Still Go?

As graduating seniors unravel their freshly-printed diplomas, it’s hard for most of them to see anything but a huge bill. In recent years, skyrocketing tuition prices have forced 70 percent of college students to take out loans to pay for their education. On average, these borrowers graduate with $37,172 left to pay back. But despite… Read More
The SAT’s New ‘Adversity Score’ Is a Poor Fix for a Problematic Test

The College Board recently revealed a new “adversity score” that it plans to use as part of the SAT in order to reflect students’ social and economic background. The mere fact that the College Board sees a need for an “adversity score” is a tacit admission that the SAT isn’t fair for all students. But… Read More
Are ‘Adversity Scores’ the Solution to Biased College Admissions?

The College Board has just revealed that it will attach an “adversity score” to every student who takes the SAT. That way, college and university admissions departments can better understand applicants’ social and economic backgrounds. Each SAT taker’s “adversity score” will be a number between one to 100. The scores are calculated by using 15… Read More
Why Both Democrats and Republicans Support Free Community College

Recently, West Virginia became the 24th state to establish a statewide College Promise program to allow students to attend community and technical colleges for free. This news comes at an increasingly partisan time when nearly every political idea is tagged with either a red or blue stamp. However, the concept of free community college has… Read More
Student Loans And ‘Risk-Sharing’ – the Problem with Penalizing Colleges When Graduates Can’t Pay

When a student borrows money from the government to go to college and then has serious trouble paying it back, should the college be on the hook to help pay back the government? That question lies at the heart of a proposed idea known as “risk-sharing.” The idea is currently being considered by President Donald… Read More
Unrealistic Striving for Academic Excellence Has a Cost

In my past experience as an academic adviser, it was difficult to explain to a disappointed family why their child did not make an admissions cut-off when the student’s overall high school average was over 80 per cent. I also accompanied students who got into their programs of choice through the many hurdles they faced… Read More
Net Price Calculators Were Supposed to Make It Easier to Understand the Cost Of College – Instead, Many Are Making It More Difficult

Ever since 2011, colleges that get federal student aid have been required to post net price calculators on their websites. These calculators are supposed to help prospective students understand – before they apply – how much it will cost to attend a particular school. But in a new study, we found that not all colleges… Read More
How Higher Ed Can Earn the Public’s Trust After the Admissions Scandal

The college admissions scandal is exposing illegal and unethical conduct by dozens of people who paid or took bribes to get students into the University of Southern California and other elite universities. Concerns about social justice, meritocracy, parental overreach, privileges tied to wealth and philanthropy are rampant. It’s also pointing to another widespread concern that… Read More
Subsidized Privilege: The Real Scandal of American Universities

U.S. federal prosecutors have charged 50 people — 38 of them are parents — for allegedly being involved in fraud schemes to secure spots at Yale, Stanford and other big-name schools. Prosecutors accused some parents of paying millions of dollars in bribes to get their children into these prestigious schools. The scandal has thrust the… Read More
What College Rankings Really Measure – Hint: It’s not Quality or Value

Each year various magazines and newspapers publish college rankings in an attempt to inform parents and prospective students which colleges are supposedly the best. U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges” – perhaps the most influential of these rankings – first appeared in 1983. Since then, many other rankings have emerged, assessing colleges and universities… Read More
Why Meritocracy Is a Myth in College Admissions

The most damaging myth in American higher education is that college admissions is about merit, and that merit is about striving for – and earning – academic excellence. This myth is often used as a weapon against policies like affirmative action that offer minor admissions advantages to low-income students and racial and ethnic minorities. From… Read More