John William Pope Center Guest Editorial
The university system in the United States has accomplished a great deal of good, but we believe that higher education in the United States, including North Carolina, has strayed from its chief goals of scholarly inquiry and responsible teaching.
All too often, universities allow teaching to become shallow and trendy, failing to challenge students intellectually and disparaging traditional principles of justice, ethics, and liberal education. Students know little about the history of their country or the institutions that led to this nation’s prosperity and liberty. Students can get by without taking rigorous courses, and non-academic activities overshadow scholarship. As a result, many college graduates have poor skills in computation, communication, and logical analysis. Faculty are allowed excessive latitude in what they teach and often get away with little teaching at all, because research is emphasized. Taxpayers as well as students and their families pay hefty prices to support a system that often appears to provide little educational value.
To address these and other problems, the Pope Center conducts studies in areas such as governance, curriculum, financing, access, accountability, faculty research, and administrative policies. We explore ways to increase the accountability of trustees, administrators, faculty, and students. And we engage in the broader dialogue about how to improve higher education around the nation.
In these endeavors, we are motivated by the principles that have traditionally guided public policy in the United States: limits on government; freedom to pursue goals through voluntary means, both for-profit and nonprofit; accountability through private property rights; and the belief that competition is an excellent regulating force.
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In late May, my husband and I welcomed our first child, Edward James Robinson. We're calling him Ned. After the first few weeks of sleepless nights and a very steep learning curve, the hospital bills came. They're only the first of many expenses involved in raising a child - and they're chump...
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In late May, my husband and I welcomed our first child, Edward James Robinson. We're calling him Ned. After the first few weeks of sleepless nights and a very steep learning curve, the hospital bills came. They're only the first of many expenses involved in raising a child - and they're chump...
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I have always tried to be successful. Back in high school, success meant doing well in classes so that I would get into a good college. Being involved in extracurricular activities or having a job was helpful, but academics were vital. Getting into a top school like Chapel Hill only strengthened...
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I have always tried to be successful. Back in high school, success meant doing well in classes so that I would get into a good college. Being involved in extracurricular activities or having a job was helpful, but academics were vital. Getting into a top school like Chapel Hill only strengthened...
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Some people have an unshakable belief in the ability of government to solve problems. We hear lots of demands, for example, that the government fix all the problems in our health care system with a "single payer" system where it pays the bills and writes the rules.
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Some people have an unshakable belief in the ability of government to solve problems. We hear lots of demands, for example, that the government fix all the problems in our health care system with a "single payer" system where it pays the bills and writes the rules.
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In a 2009 Pope Center article, Professor Robert Blumenthal poses several questions to parents and prospective college students: "Does the institution [you're considering] have sufficient financial resources to deliver the education it promises? Does it have sufficient operating funds to provide...
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In a 2009 Pope Center article, Professor Robert Blumenthal poses several questions to parents and prospective college students: "Does the institution [you're considering] have sufficient financial resources to deliver the education it promises? Does it have sufficient operating funds to provide...
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Early June is alumni weekend time at many private colleges, where past graduates gather to revisit old haunts, compare notes with fellow classmates, and hear stirring pronouncements from current administrators. It is also where donation-seeking alumni offices hope to inspire alumni to step up...
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Early June is alumni weekend time at many private colleges, where past graduates gather to revisit old haunts, compare notes with fellow classmates, and hear stirring pronouncements from current administrators. It is also where donation-seeking alumni offices hope to inspire alumni to step up...
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This year, a plan for a "gender-neutral" housing complex at UNC-Chapel Hill drew lots of attention, first from the state legislature, and then from the university system's governing body, the UNC Board of Governors. The plan was intended to permit gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, or transgendered...
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This year, a plan for a "gender-neutral" housing complex at UNC-Chapel Hill drew lots of attention, first from the state legislature, and then from the university system's governing body, the UNC Board of Governors. The plan was intended to permit gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, or transgendered...
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In today's quarrels over politicized instruction, it is always assumed that eschewing ideological bias is pedagogically possible. That is, a professor, regardless of personal ideology, can instruct objectively. Yes, that's wonderful in principle, but perhaps no longer possible. Some professors...
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In today's quarrels over politicized instruction, it is always assumed that eschewing ideological bias is pedagogically possible. That is, a professor, regardless of personal ideology, can instruct objectively. Yes, that's wonderful in principle, but perhaps no longer possible. Some professors...
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Tomatoes that don't rot for more than a year, fish with glow-in-the-dark blood vessels, sunscreen made from watermelons, and super-cancer-fighting broccoli: those are but a few of the...
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Tomatoes that don't rot for more than a year, fish with glow-in-the-dark blood vessels, sunscreen made from watermelons, and super-cancer-fighting broccoli: those are but a few of the...
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In 2008, a committee of faculty members at UNC-Chapel Hill was astounded to discover that the average grade of a Carolina student was 3.213 - well over a B average. Led by Andrew Perrin, a professor of sociology, the school's Educational Policy Committee began looking at how other universities...
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In 2008, a committee of faculty members at UNC-Chapel Hill was astounded to discover that the average grade of a Carolina student was 3.213 - well over a B average. Led by Andrew Perrin, a professor of sociology, the school's Educational Policy Committee began looking at how other universities...
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My facility with math is due to good teaching and good textbooks. I fully expected the same for my daughter, but after seeing what passed for mathematics in her elementary school, I became increasingly distressed over how math is currently taught in many schools.
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My facility with math is due to good teaching and good textbooks. I fully expected the same for my daughter, but after seeing what passed for mathematics in her elementary school, I became increasingly distressed over how math is currently taught in many schools.
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This has been a rough year for the University of North Carolina system. An ongoing scandal involving both academic and athletic departments continues to roil UNC-Chapel Hill, with the more recent wild antics of basketball star P.J. Hairston adding fuel to the fire. A second longstanding...
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This has been a rough year for the University of North Carolina system. An ongoing scandal involving both academic and athletic departments continues to roil UNC-Chapel Hill, with the more recent wild antics of basketball star P.J. Hairston adding fuel to the fire. A second longstanding...
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To understand and evaluate a university's effectiveness requires a lot of information. But rarely is that information brought together in one place.
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To understand and evaluate a university's effectiveness requires a lot of information. But rarely is that information brought together in one place.
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The historian Polybius famously observed that empires deteriorate either internally or from without.
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The historian Polybius famously observed that empires deteriorate either internally or from without.
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We often hear officials at America's elite colleges and universities crowing about their "rich and interesting" student bodies, and how they assemble them by using "holistic" procedures to evaluate the huge numbers of applicants.
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We often hear officials at America's elite colleges and universities crowing about their "rich and interesting" student bodies, and how they assemble them by using "holistic" procedures to evaluate the huge numbers of applicants.
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Students are defaulting on their college loans at worryingly high rates. Many observers of higher education believe that one reason for the defaults is that those most...
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Students are defaulting on their college loans at worryingly high rates. Many observers of higher education believe that one reason for the defaults is that those most...
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In a previous article, I argued that students and professors in the sciences benefit from studying the humanities. Now...
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In a previous article, I argued that students and professors in the sciences benefit from studying the humanities. Now...
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A colleague at the Pope Center has sighted some interesting birds - "bubble hawks" and "bubble doves." Using language...
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A colleague at the Pope Center has sighted some interesting birds - "bubble hawks" and "bubble doves." Using language...
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Few state-level legislative sessions have garnered as much attention as North Carolina's did his year, as evidenced by the "Moral Monday" protests and a condescending New York Times editorial. For the first time since Reconstruction, Republicans controlled all branches of government, and...
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Few state-level legislative sessions have garnered as much attention as North Carolina's did his year, as evidenced by the "Moral Monday" protests and a condescending New York Times editorial. For the first time since Reconstruction, Republicans controlled all branches of government, and...
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Twenty years ago, the state of Georgia pioneered the Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally (HOPE) scholarships. Since then, these scholarships have spawned imitations around the country and, at least within Georgia, they have achieved third rail status - that is, they are practically...
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Twenty years ago, the state of Georgia pioneered the Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally (HOPE) scholarships. Since then, these scholarships have spawned imitations around the country and, at least within Georgia, they have achieved third rail status - that is, they are practically...
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The great majority of the teachers in America's public schools were trained for their work in one of our education schools. Students who want to go into K-12 teaching usually major in education, just as our future engineers major in engineering and future chemists major in chemistry. There is...
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The great majority of the teachers in America's public schools were trained for their work in one of our education schools. Students who want to go into K-12 teaching usually major in education, just as our future engineers major in engineering and future chemists major in chemistry. There is...
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The meeting of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors on August 9 will be a milestone. Sixteen new members of the UNC Board of Governors will take office - and for the first time in North Carolina history, all voting members have been selected by a Republican legislature (the first 16 w
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The meeting of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors on August 9 will be a milestone. Sixteen new members of the UNC Board of Governors will take office - and for the first time in North Carolina history, all voting members have been selected by a Republican legislature (the first 16 w
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Most professors accept the following statement, or something very nearly like it: tenure exists in order to protect academic freedom. Without tenure, so the story goes, scholars would be forced to choose between employment and the quest for truth; dogma would replace objectivity.
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Most professors accept the following statement, or something very nearly like it: tenure exists in order to protect academic freedom. Without tenure, so the story goes, scholars would be forced to choose between employment and the quest for truth; dogma would replace objectivity.
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I worked at Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) for more than four years, rising to the post of director of academic technology in the school's Information Technology Department. My first position at the school was that of instructional designer in the Center for Excellence in Teaching and...
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I worked at Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) for more than four years, rising to the post of director of academic technology in the school's Information Technology Department. My first position at the school was that of instructional designer in the Center for Excellence in Teaching and...
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What is it like to be a Swedish graduate student in the United States? Before being asked to write this article, I had hardly given the subject a single thought. I just assumed that it must be more or less the same as being an American student.
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What is it like to be a Swedish graduate student in the United States? Before being asked to write this article, I had hardly given the subject a single thought. I just assumed that it must be more or less the same as being an American student.
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Freshman year in college is a time of celebration for most. Freed from the babysitting and busy-working grind of high school as well as from the direct supervision of family members, most freshmen revel in their newfound liberty. It is a profoundly strange time for anybody to be...
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Freshman year in college is a time of celebration for most. Freed from the babysitting and busy-working grind of high school as well as from the direct supervision of family members, most freshmen revel in their newfound liberty. It is a profoundly strange time for anybody to be...
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You've never heard of Sarah Danaher or the company she founded, Ampersand Photography. What makes Sarah's story interesting is that she could easily have gone to college after finishing high school, but chose not to. She likes learning, but is passionate about photography and didn't want to...
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You've never heard of Sarah Danaher or the company she founded, Ampersand Photography. What makes Sarah's story interesting is that she could easily have gone to college after finishing high school, but chose not to. She likes learning, but is passionate about photography and didn't want to...
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On Sunday, June 30, a group of 37 organizations representing the higher education establishment took out an ad in the New York Times to run a remarkable statement, "Diversity in Higher Education Remains an Essential National Priority."
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On Sunday, June 30, a group of 37 organizations representing the higher education establishment took out an ad in the New York Times to run a remarkable statement, "Diversity in Higher Education Remains an Essential National Priority."
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The University of North Carolina's Board of Governors gives high priority to preparation of elementary and high school teachers, and for good reason. The education schools in the state university system produce one-third of the new teachers in North Carolina each year.
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The University of North Carolina's Board of Governors gives high priority to preparation of elementary and high school teachers, and for good reason. The education schools in the state university system produce one-third of the new teachers in North Carolina each year.
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In 1651, Englishman Thomas Hobbes described the lives of men as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."
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In 1651, Englishman Thomas Hobbes described the lives of men as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."
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Over the last decade, freshman reading programs at North Carolina college have been, variously, controversial, touchy-feely, and arguably too easy. Now, they seem to be dying off. Four North Carolina colleges have dropped their programs outright, and several more have scaled them down considerably.
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Over the last decade, freshman reading programs at North Carolina college have been, variously, controversial, touchy-feely, and arguably too easy. Now, they seem to be dying off. Four North Carolina colleges have dropped their programs outright, and several more have scaled them down considerably.
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Jeffrey Selingo, editor at large for the Chronicle of Higher Education, introduces Aiden late in his new book College (Un)Bound: The Future of Higher Education and What it Means for Students. Aiden does not attend a four-year college. Instead, he assembles his own degree, patching together...
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Jeffrey Selingo, editor at large for the Chronicle of Higher Education, introduces Aiden late in his new book College (Un)Bound: The Future of Higher Education and What it Means for Students. Aiden does not attend a four-year college. Instead, he assembles his own degree, patching together...
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Fisher v. Texas was one of the first cases heard in the Supreme Court's term this season and one of the last to be decided. Whatever the reason for the long delay, the justices took the path of least resistance and decided to remand the case back to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Therefore...
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Fisher v. Texas was one of the first cases heard in the Supreme Court's term this season and one of the last to be decided. Whatever the reason for the long delay, the justices took the path of least resistance and decided to remand the case back to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Therefore...
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As a professor in a business school, each semester I strive to make my courses relevant for students. For readers who are not well-versed in the ins-and-out of B-Schools, my admission may be a bit of a surprise. But politicized majors (e.g., gender studies) are not the only disciplines that...
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As a professor in a business school, each semester I strive to make my courses relevant for students. For readers who are not well-versed in the ins-and-out of B-Schools, my admission may be a bit of a surprise. But politicized majors (e.g., gender studies) are not the only disciplines that...
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Hardly a day goes by without the publication of articles on the plight of recent college graduates. Large numbers are either unemployed or employed in jobs that don't call for any academic preparation. Many are struggling with the burden of their college loans.
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Hardly a day goes by without the publication of articles on the plight of recent college graduates. Large numbers are either unemployed or employed in jobs that don't call for any academic preparation. Many are struggling with the burden of their college loans.
