academic

  • Skeptics Claim Changes to AP Exams Are ‘All About Money’

    Skeptics Claim Changes to AP Exams Are ‘All About Money’

    Skeptics are fighting back against the College Board’s proposed changes to AP exams, which they claim could make things more stressful and expensive for high school students. Traditionally, students register to take AP exams in March, but the proposed changes, which would go into effect before the 2019-20 school year, would force students to register… Read More

  • College Admission Scandal Grew Out of a System That Was Ripe for Corruption

    College Admission Scandal Grew Out of a System That Was Ripe for Corruption

    As part of the “Operation Varsity Blues” case that federal prosecutors announced March 12, dozens of people – including Hollywood actresses and wealthy businessmen – stand accused of having bought their children’s way into elite colleges and universities. As a researcher who has studied how young athletes get admitted to college, I don’t see a… Read More

  • College Admission Scheme Busted

    College Admission Scheme Busted

    An indictment in Massachusetts, which was unsealed today, reads like a Hollywood mobster movie. There are rich, unscrupulous parents desperate to place their children in prestigious schools, fixers and university athletic coaches. And like many mobster movies, it ends with the wise guys being hauled away in handcuffs and charged under the Racketeer Influenced and… Read More

  • Why Double-Majors Might Beat You Out of a Job

    Why Double-Majors Might Beat You Out of a Job

    Two college majors are better than one. That is the conclusion that researchers are beginning to reach. Prior research has already shown that students who double major can earn more than peers who majored in only one field. New research we conducted recently shows that double majors fare better in another way as well: They… Read More

  • More American Students Are Studying Abroad, New Data Show

    More American Students Are Studying Abroad, New Data Show

    Kelsey Hrubes knew she had a challenge on her hands when she visited Germany as a study abroad student back in 2015. “I was forced to adapt to cultural norms I had never considered before and try to comprehend everything in a new language,” recalls Hrubes, a software engineer at Microsoft and 2017 Iowa State… Read More

  • Student Feedback Rates Male Professors Higher Than Females

    Student Feedback Rates Male Professors Higher Than Females

    Students are consistently rating male professors from English-speaking backgrounds higher than female professors or professors from non-English speaking backgrounds in course evaluations for science and business classes, a new study from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia finds. These findings are not meant to suggest that men who grow up speaking English… Read More

  • Foreign Language Classes Becoming More Scarce

    Foreign Language Classes Becoming More Scarce

    Of all the skills that a person could have in today’s globalized world, few serve individuals – and the larger society – as well as knowing how to speak another language. People who speak another language score higher on tests and think more creatively, have access to a wider variety of jobs, and can more… Read More

  • If You Thought Colleges Making the SAT Optional Would Level The Playing Field, Think Again

    If You Thought Colleges Making the SAT Optional Would Level The Playing Field, Think Again

    When colleges and universities began to make the SAT an optional part of the admissions process, the hope was that it would expand access to the nation’s most selective institutions to groups that had historically been shut out. The reality is – at least at selective liberal arts colleges – the decision by a growing… Read More

  • Institutions Overlook Community College Transfer Students, Despite Their Success

    Institutions Overlook Community College Transfer Students, Despite Their Success

    Society favors the “classic” college experience, in which students graduate from high school and immediately move away to settle into four years of new classes, culture, friends and independence. But today, attaining the “classic” college experience isn’t as easy as it once was. Mostly due to skyrocketing tuition prices, many well-prepared students have to start… Read More

  • More Colleges Than Ever Have Test-Optional Admissions Policies — And That’s a Good Thing

    More Colleges Than Ever Have Test-Optional Admissions Policies — And That’s a Good Thing

    Back in the 1980s, Bates College and Bowdoin College were nearly the only liberal arts colleges not to require applicants to submit SAT or ACT test scores. On Jan. 10, FairTest, a Boston-based organization that has been pushing back against America’s testing regime since 1985, announced that the number of colleges that are test-optional has… Read More

  • Can You Trust ‘Rate My Professors’?

    Can You Trust ‘Rate My Professors’?

    Nearly every day, college students are faced with decisions that could change the direction of their lives. Career paths are molded by the judgments students make in college, such as choosing one professor or class over another. For help making these difficult decisions, students often turn to Rate My Professors, a popular online destination where… Read More

  • Understanding Why So Few Community College Transfer Students Graduate With Bachelor’s Degree

    Understanding Why So Few Community College Transfer Students Graduate With Bachelor’s Degree

    Transfering from a community college to a senior college often comes with a unique set of challenges. More than 30 percent of U.S. students begin their post-secondary studies at a community college, and while more than eight in 10 students intend to earn a bachelor’s degree, only 17 percent will have obtained one after six… Read More

  • Employers Prefer Social Skills, Timeliness to Academic Success

    Employers Prefer Social Skills, Timeliness to Academic Success

    Most employers care more about social skills and timeliness than how well you do in academics, a new study finds. The research, conducted by professor Phillip Brown and professor Manuel Souto-Otero of Cardiff University, looked at more than 21 million job advertisements in the UK and found that only 18 percent of them specified an… Read More

  • How to Manage Stress, Anxiety During Finals Week

    How to Manage Stress, Anxiety During Finals Week

    We’ve all been there. There is only a week until break, but standing in its way are five days jam-packed with exams, final papers and projects. Stress, anxiety and depression are widespread at universities, and for many students, finals week can be the most difficult time of the year. Professors cram a semester’s worth of… Read More

  • Students Who Sleep 8 Hours Score Higher on Final Exams

    Students Who Sleep 8 Hours Score Higher on Final Exams

    During exam week, pulling an all-nighter is staple study technique for college students. Professors cram a semester’s worth of material into one final test, and students think the best way to prepare is to stay up all night studying and loading up on caffeine. But new research shows that it might be time to change… Read More

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