Feeling Violated and Not Fully Heard
"A months-long conflict has been simmering between a group of faculty and staff members of color and administrators at Queens College after a racist message was found written on a bulletin board on campus. Some professors, employees and students say campus leaders lagged in responding to their demands for new safety measures and mental health supports, which—even after some significant wins—left them feeling burned out and disheartened. Administrators say their response to the incident was thorough and immediate." - Inside Higher Ed, 5/25/22
Gates Foundation pushes to scale dual enrollment and early college
"The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on Tuesday announced a series of six-month grants each totaling about $175,000 to support regional design efforts to boost dual enrollment and early college credit offerings. A dozen groups of organizations around the country are receiving the grants under an initiative the foundation calls Accelerate ED: Seamless Pathways to Degrees and Careers. Students should be able to earn enough credit to finish an associate degree a year after graduating from high school, all while earning career experience at little or no cost, according to the foundation. These pathways are meant to lead to a good job or enable students to transfer to a bachelor’s program." - Higher Ed Dive, 5/25/22
Student Debt’s Impact on Perceived Value of College
"The Federal Reserve Bank does more than set the nation’s monetary policy; it also keeps close tabs on Americans’ views of the economy and their own financial well-being. And the latest iteration of its closely watched household survey reaffirms the people’s belief in higher education but offers some significant warning signs for college leaders. Some of the findings of 'Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2021' buttress those who believe higher education remains essential for individual economic success and satisfaction in the U.S." - Inside Higher Ed, 5/25/22
After splashy opening, Whittle School faces financial struggles
"Three days before Christmas, the founder of a private school with global ambitions sent a bombshell note to families, faculty and staff of the D.C. campus. Paychecks for employees of Whittle School & Studios were a week late, Chris Whittle disclosed, and the financial situation looked dire. It was unclear whether classes would resume after the winter break. ... The school survived that scare, with parents pitching in to help cover the payroll. It plans to hold its first D.C. graduation this week for 14 students in the Class of 2022 — a milestone for an educational start-up that has struggled to live up to grand promises. Uncertainty hangs over the Whittle School nearly three years after it opened in Northwest Washington with about 185 students in tandem with a sister campus in China." - Washington Post, 5/25/22
Blind Review Is Blind to Discrimination
"The blind peer-review process has long been a hallmark of academic research. Blind review ensures that research is evaluated based on the merits of the work, not the individuals who did the work. In theory, this results in better-quality research and mitigates the impacts of bias and gatekeeping in academic publishing. In reality, however, blind review can facilitate the perpetuation of institutional discrimination by turning a blind eye to the identities of those whose work is disseminated and the agendas of their institutions. It is time for academia to rethink the consequences of blind review and create processes to evaluate research that promote the sharing of high-quality work without the unintended consequence of reinforcing legacies of harm." - Inside Higher Ed, 5/25/22
To Restore American Liberty, We Need Colleges that Actually Teach the Liberal Arts
"Collectivists of many stripes—but one aim—have been eating away at our free society for over one hundred years. If we want to reverse America’s current slide into authoritarianism and actively move towards a fully free society, we need to be as clear about our goals as the collectivists have been about theirs. And theirs have always been power and control—to that end, ingeniously using indoctrination masquerading as education. To counter this, our educational goal should be to vigorously nurture that autonomous, active minority in every profession who are capable of being society’s change agents and who are entrepreneurial." - The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal, 5/25/22
Indiana Lawmakers Override Transgender Sports Veto
"Republican lawmakers in Indiana on Tuesday banned transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams at their schools, overriding the veto of Gov. Eric Holcomb, a fellow Republican who said the measure did not address any pressing problem and exposed the state to lawsuits. The override made Indiana the latest conservative state to enact legislation blocking transgender girls or women from playing on sports teams that align with their gender identity. Though the details of the laws vary from place to place, at least 17 other states have introduced restrictions on transgender sports participation in recent years, according to data from the Human Rights Campaign, an L.G.B.T.Q. advocacy group." - New York Times, 5/24/22
Ohio School District’s ‘Transgender Guidelines’ Instruct Teachers to Socially Transition Students without Parental Consent
"In recently developed K-12 'transgender guidelines' circulated among principals and school counselors, the Olentangy Local School District in Ohio instructs teachers to begin the social transitioning of non-gender conforming students without parental consent. The guidelines, obtained by non-profit Parents Defending Education, would advise teachers and staff on how to treat students who identify as a member of the opposite sex, though it’s not clear whether they’ve yet been issued to teachers." - National Review, 5/24/22
Consumer groups seek to force Ed Department to forgive Westwood College students’ loans
"A group of higher ed and consumer advocacy groups filed a lawsuit last week against the U.S. Department of Education requesting debt forgiveness for students who took out federal loans to attend the now-shuttered Westwood College, a for-profit chain. In late 2016, the attorney general for Illinois filed a group borrower defense to repayment application to the Ed Department on behalf of the state’s students who enrolled in Westwood’s criminal justice program. But the Ed Department still hasn’t made a decision on the application, which would grant defrauded students debt forgiveness if approved. The lawsuit follows a letter sent to the Ed Department earlier this month by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul." - Higher Ed Dive, 5/24/22
When Privileged Students Protest
"It occurred to me that the Sarah Lawrence student protesters had quite naturally assumed the position of the weaker party vis-à-vis the college’s administrators. But from the van driver’s perspective, by going public in a self-righteous way, the students had widened their audience to individuals who had a very different understanding of what constituted identity privilege and who held it. To the high-school educated, hourly employee that drove Sarah Lawrence students and visitors around, it was the college students she chauffeured around campus, regardless of race, gender or sexuality, who had quite a bit of power." - Chronicle of Higher Education, 5/24/22
Small, liberal arts schools like Lincoln College (the one closed by its president) have a strong incentive to avoid administrative bloat. They are more likely to be close to their students and to avoid ideological excess. They are also more likely to fail.
I guess I’m one of those professors who helped “force” students to take courses remotely. The first term of the pandemic, the university had me “pivot” to an online format with about a week’s notice. Hardest course I ever taught, since I didn’t have the slightest idea what I was doing. A big intro course. Fortunately, my TA saved me, helping me figure out the varied online options. Without that, I probably would have walked off the job. (Being near retirement, not needing the money, and very definitely at high risk from covid — faculty health not being something that the good pseudonymous lawyer/trustee mentions).
Then, a year ago, having been called back to teach from retirement, and thinking I was doing my part to help the society get through this awful mess, and experiencing some gratitude from colleagues, and yes, students, I did a “remote” but real-time large class. It was gratifying to be able to help students, many of whom were having very serious covid-related problems, in their families if not themselves. (Yes, some students actually were concerned about spreading the virus to their parents, siblings, and grandparents.)
This year, we went back to “in-person” classes. But, the university also made us offer a “remote” option for the students who needed to quarantine or were just afraid of covid — a rather significant portion of the class. Again, I came through, with exemplary help from a couple of great TA’s.
Yes, I did notice that this year’s students — mostly recent high school grads — were “different” from any class I had had before. Oddly disconnected, yet extremely attentive at the same time. Those who came to class did pretty well compared to previous years — I have plenty of data to assert this confidently.
Well, I’m told that my department is “counting on me” to come through next year as we face a mass of retirements. But this article makes me wonder. Perhaps the author will explain his own contribution as a lawyer and former trustee. Did he perhaps make use of the “remote option” himself?
Your university does pay you, doesn’t it? You mention not needing the money — what was the source of your wealth?
One of the things I find most infuriating is the self-entitlement attitude of far too many faculty members. You aren’t that good</b, no one is- and there aqe a hundred other people who could have taught that course.
Prior generations of faculty really weren't paid that much and worked a lot harder. Now we have prima donnas — and they are part of the problem.
Yeah, doc, you obviously know all about it. Please tell us about your experience teaching large classes during the pandemic. I’m sure you got hundreds of students through a very difficult time.
Yes, Jonathan, hundreds of students paying how many of thousands of dollars each. Throw in the direct & indirect subsidies and it’s a nice chunk of change.
And I somehow doubt that you took a vow of poverty…
I’m reminded of the arrogant sense of entitlement that the millworkers at Great Northern Paper had 40 years ago. An entire industry that imploded and is no more.
GNP mostly produced newsprint and the decline of newspapers didn’t help, nor did corporate management. But the employees had the same “I deserve it” attittde I see today in a lot of higher ed faculty.
Reality is that large lecture classes are a legacy of the 1970s, and Zoom Skool demonstrated that many of the 21st Century alternatives are actually superior.
Yes, yes, yes!
The three things I would add are:
1: The demographic issue is worse than people realize because every college in the country expanded when the Millenials arrived. So it’s not just having the capacity circa 1980 when their parents (the Baby Boomers) aged out of college but all this additional capacity. Expensive buildings built with borrowed money.
2. What saved them in the ’80s & 90s was that a lot of women either hadn’t gone to college or had dropped out to get married. Their children now grown, they went to college.
Women in their 40s & 50s today already have their degrees & professional credentials — where their mothers were entering the workforce in the 1980s, they never really left it.
3: Most of the women’s colleges went coed because the female students wanted to be where the boys are. As colleges drive out the male students, they’ll attract fewer female students.
2026 – when the babies not born in 2008 won’t turn 18 – will be a very interesting year…