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Some Want To Get Rid of College Majors – Here’s How That Could Go Wrong
Should college majors be a thing of the past? That idea received a fresh airing when author Jeffrey Selingo suggested that it’s “time to end college majors as we know them.” As a researcher who studies higher education, I concede that something about the way colleges and universities educate students in the United States needs… Read More
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Supporting Mature Female Students Enrolling in University STEM Programs
Women face many barriers when it comes to post-secondary education, and this is especially true in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), as well as in traditionally male-dominated trades like welding. These barriers are even higher for mature female students — those who are at least 24 years old — who are often discriminated against… Read More
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When You Hear a Negative Statistic About Black Students, Question It
Evidence suggests white teachers are more negative with – and have lower expectations for – black students. As a counseling professor who specializes in educating black children, these findings do not surprise me. I often hear education professionals and others use simplistic negative statistics to explain complex challenges facing black students. In my book, “No… Read More
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What Colleges Must Do to Promote Mental Health for Graduate Students
Sara did not expect much to come from her visit to the university’s counseling center, but she was concerned enough about the dark thoughts she’d been having that she decided to go anyway. As she sat in the waiting room after turning in the patient questionnaire, she thought: “It’s probably not a big deal. I’m… Read More
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1 In 5 College Students Have Anxiety or Depression — Here’s Why
Many of us think of college as a wondrous time of new experiences and great freedom to explore new ideas and find one’s true self. In recent years, however, depression and anxiety have afflicted college students at alarming rates. As noted in the latest Center for Collegiate Mental Health report, anxiety and depression are the… Read More
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First-Generation College Students Earn Less Than Graduates Whose Parents Went to College
When discussions take place about first-generation college students, often the focus is on how disadvantaged they are in comparison to their peers whose parents went to college. Research we recently conducted shows that first-generation college students experience another form of disadvantage that lasts long after they graduate – and that is: how much they earn.… Read More
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Research Shows Students Are as Good as Professors in Tutorial Teaching
Professors and graduate students are at opposite ends of the university hierarchy in terms of experience, qualifications and pay. But at many universities, both do the same job: they teach tutorials offered in parallel with lectures. Our research explores whether it makes sense for professors to teach tutorials – and we found it doesn’t. They… Read More
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What Public Universities Must Do to Regain Public Support
Universities have lost public support in recent years. In order to get it back, college presidents should worry less about how their institutions fare in college rankings and focus more on affordability, great teaching and doing research that matters most to the communities they serve. Those are among the key recommendations that various stakeholders make… Read More
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When Newspapers Close, Voters Become More Partisan
It seems impossible to ignore national politics today. The stream of stories about the president and Congress is endless. Whether online, in print or on television, it has never been easier to follow the action. National news outlets are adapting well to this environment: The New York Times and Wall Street Journal made big gains… Read More