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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Several years ago, Scott Ralls determined that there were serious problems with the way North Carolina's community colleges were handling remediation. To Ralls, who is president of the...
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Several years ago, Scott Ralls determined that there were serious problems with the way North Carolina's community colleges were handling remediation. To Ralls, who is president of the...
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For years, a large percentage of North Carolina's high school students have graduated without proficiency in either math or reading--and sometimes lacking in both.
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For years, a large percentage of North Carolina's high school students have graduated without proficiency in either math or reading--and sometimes lacking in both.
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The Austrian economist and philosopher F.A. Hayek is probably best known for his argument that we are usually better off if we rely on the spontaneous order that emerges from peaceful human interactions than order that is coercively imposed by government officials.
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The Austrian economist and philosopher F.A. Hayek is probably best known for his argument that we are usually better off if we rely on the spontaneous order that emerges from peaceful human interactions than order that is coercively imposed by government officials.
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Last September, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded $3.3 million in grants for papers on the subject of federal student aid programs--specifically, how we should "reimagine" student aid. The papers were recently released, but there wasn't anything very imaginative in them.
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Last September, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded $3.3 million in grants for papers on the subject of federal student aid programs--specifically, how we should "reimagine" student aid. The papers were recently released, but there wasn't anything very imaginative in them.
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Governor Pat McCrory unveiled his proposal for the state's biennial budget on March 20. The University of North Carolina system received a small cut compared to the previous biennium, and the budget also specifies changes that should cut waste and expand key initiatives.
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Governor Pat McCrory unveiled his proposal for the state's biennial budget on March 20. The University of North Carolina system received a small cut compared to the previous biennium, and the budget also specifies changes that should cut waste and expand key initiatives.
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The new James B. Hunt Library at North Carolina State on the new Centennial Campus has been heralded as one of the finest college libraries in the nation -- "the plugged-in library of the future," according to one Scientific American blogger.
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The new James B. Hunt Library at North Carolina State on the new Centennial Campus has been heralded as one of the finest college libraries in the nation -- "the plugged-in library of the future," according to one Scientific American blogger.
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Former North Carolina Governor James G. Martin has joined the board of directors of the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy.
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Former North Carolina Governor James G. Martin has joined the board of directors of the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy.
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The issue of campus speakers has, until now, focused on the rights of invited conservatives to speak without harassment and on the disparity of liberal speakers over conservative ones.
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The issue of campus speakers has, until now, focused on the rights of invited conservatives to speak without harassment and on the disparity of liberal speakers over conservative ones.
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Student end-of-course evaluations are widely used by colleges and universities to determine the success of courses and the effectiveness of their instructors. Schools often use such student feedback even to determine instructors...
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Student end-of-course evaluations are widely used by colleges and universities to determine the success of courses and the effectiveness of their instructors. Schools often use such student feedback even to determine instructors...
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A few weeks ago, I received a flattering email from one of my MBA students. After an engaging class session, this student had gone home, Googled me, and then spent several hours reading "all of my essays" that he could find online.
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A few weeks ago, I received a flattering email from one of my MBA students. After an engaging class session, this student had gone home, Googled me, and then spent several hours reading "all of my essays" that he could find online.
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The humanities, once the core of higher education, have fallen on hard times. Today's emphasis on education for jobs combined with humanities professors' rejection of their own foundations are chasing students from the study of the liberal...
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The humanities, once the core of higher education, have fallen on hard times. Today's emphasis on education for jobs combined with humanities professors' rejection of their own foundations are chasing students from the study of the liberal...
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When the New York Times finds a case of what economists call market failure, you can expect that its reporters will investigate it to the core. But when it stumbles across a clear case of government failure, expect at best a superficial and myopic investigation.
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When the New York Times finds a case of what economists call market failure, you can expect that its reporters will investigate it to the core. But when it stumbles across a clear case of government failure, expect at best a superficial and myopic investigation.
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In recent years, Duke University has developed a reputation for debauchery. A steady drumbeat of scandal--from the 2006 Duke lacrosse rape case to Karen Owen's 2010 "thesis" on the bedroom exploits of her numerous lovers, to various...
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In recent years, Duke University has developed a reputation for debauchery. A steady drumbeat of scandal--from the 2006 Duke lacrosse rape case to Karen Owen's 2010 "thesis" on the bedroom exploits of her numerous lovers, to various...
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Among the Pope Center’s complaints about higher education is that professors devote much of their time to research that adds little or nothing to our understanding of the world...
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Among the Pope Center’s complaints about higher education is that professors devote much of their time to research that adds little or nothing to our understanding of the world...
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For decades, rising tuition rates have been almost as reliable a feature of American life as death and taxes. A substantial part of those increases has been used to fund large amounts of tuition "discounts," a combination of merit- and need-based...
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For decades, rising tuition rates have been almost as reliable a feature of American life as death and taxes. A substantial part of those increases has been used to fund large amounts of tuition "discounts," a combination of merit- and need-based...
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Traditionally, the American education system, from kindergarten through college, produced innovation, intellectual flexibility, analytical and lateral thinking. In contrast, our international competitors stressed rote learning and conformity. Thus, Americans have had a competitive edge.
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Traditionally, the American education system, from kindergarten through college, produced innovation, intellectual flexibility, analytical and lateral thinking. In contrast, our international competitors stressed rote learning and conformity. Thus, Americans have had a competitive edge.
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We hope that Santa came to your house this year and gave you what you wanted. We at the Pope Center are still hoping for our wish list to be fulfilled--but we have high hopes for the New Year.
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We hope that Santa came to your house this year and gave you what you wanted. We at the Pope Center are still hoping for our wish list to be fulfilled--but we have high hopes for the New Year.
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Like many readers I recently encountered the sad tale of how James W. Wagner, President of Emory University, had to apologize for praising the Constitution's three-fifths compromise (treating slaves as three-fifths of a person for purposes of congressional representation).
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Like many readers I recently encountered the sad tale of how James W. Wagner, President of Emory University, had to apologize for praising the Constitution's three-fifths compromise (treating slaves as three-fifths of a person for purposes of congressional representation).
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Not long ago at a North Carolina community college, there always seemed to be fewer cars in the parking lot the week after Pell grant checks were sent out. And one instructor noticed that some students weren't taking the final in her class. Why? They hadn't studied and knew they were going to...
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Not long ago at a North Carolina community college, there always seemed to be fewer cars in the parking lot the week after Pell grant checks were sent out. And one instructor noticed that some students weren't taking the final in her class. Why? They hadn't studied and knew they were going to...
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I hope you had a merry Christmas! Here is Part II of our three-part Christmas policy reform wish list. The first four were posted earlier this week. Now for four more...
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I hope you had a merry Christmas! Here is Part II of our three-part Christmas policy reform wish list. The first four were posted earlier this week. Now for four more...
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We welcome the John William Pope Center for Education Policy to our growing readership, and expect our readers to learn all they can to do their part in this wise endeavor to better educate our People.
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We welcome the John William Pope Center for Education Policy to our growing readership, and expect our readers to learn all they can to do their part in this wise endeavor to better educate our People.
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Change is inevitable; whether it will come from deliberate policy changes or as an inevitable collapse remains to be seen.
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Change is inevitable; whether it will come from deliberate policy changes or as an inevitable collapse remains to be seen.
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This is partly because I helped my nine younger siblings through the college process, from application to graduation, but also because I've spent much of my own life in various colleges and universities, either as a student (I have a B.A., M.A., and a Ph.D.), a teacher, or as a...
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This is partly because I helped my nine younger siblings through the college process, from application to graduation, but also because I've spent much of my own life in various colleges and universities, either as a student (I have a B.A., M.A., and a Ph.D.), a teacher, or as a...
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It's been weeks since children developed their wish lists, and they are about to find out if Santa has brought what they asked for. We here at the Pope Center have put together our own wish list...
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It's been weeks since children developed their wish lists, and they are about to find out if Santa has brought what they asked for. We here at the Pope Center have put together our own wish list...
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Many campuses in the UNC system have a hunger for additional students. Administrators want their schools to grow, and, historically, specific state appropriations geared to growth have helped them do it.
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Many campuses in the UNC system have a hunger for additional students. Administrators want their schools to grow, and, historically, specific state appropriations geared to growth have helped them do it.
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A recent edition of the estimable journal Perspectives on Psychological Science (September 2012) ran something you almost never see in academic literature: an exploration of political bias in academe.
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A recent edition of the estimable journal Perspectives on Psychological Science (September 2012) ran something you almost never see in academic literature: an exploration of political bias in academe.
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The Hospitality and Food Management (HFM) program utilizes student-centered pedagogy that is derived from research and experientially executed. Theory formation and testing is executed in...
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The Hospitality and Food Management (HFM) program utilizes student-centered pedagogy that is derived from research and experientially executed. Theory formation and testing is executed in...
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A few years ago, the country became aware of a "bubble" building in higher education, as it had in housing.
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A few years ago, the country became aware of a "bubble" building in higher education, as it had in housing.
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Sellers of goods and services are motivated to do their best when they can make more money if they do a great job of satisfying their customers. On the other hand, very few will put forth their best when there is no extrinsic reward for doing so.
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Sellers of goods and services are motivated to do their best when they can make more money if they do a great job of satisfying their customers. On the other hand, very few will put forth their best when there is no extrinsic reward for doing so.
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That America needs a better-educated workforce has become today's honored wisdom, so what better measurement of progress than rising college graduation rates?
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That America needs a better-educated workforce has become today's honored wisdom, so what better measurement of progress than rising college graduation rates?
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Diversity, as commonly used by government, academia, and industry, has become so normalized that we are all expected to embrace it unquestioningly.
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Diversity, as commonly used by government, academia, and industry, has become so normalized that we are all expected to embrace it unquestioningly.
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Back in 2007, American universities faced a threat--the Department of Education wanted them to show that they were actually teaching something! Margaret Spellings, education secretary was...
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Back in 2007, American universities faced a threat--the Department of Education wanted them to show that they were actually teaching something! Margaret Spellings, education secretary was...
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The higher education reform world is starting to get crowded. It seems as if every time you blink your eyes, there's a new organization or website focusing on the reform of higher education.
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The higher education reform world is starting to get crowded. It seems as if every time you blink your eyes, there's a new organization or website focusing on the reform of higher education.
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Higher education is not on a sustainable path. Underlying business models are crumbling, costs are spiraling, and there is for the first time significant doubt in the minds of parents and employers about the value of a college degree.
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Higher education is not on a sustainable path. Underlying business models are crumbling, costs are spiraling, and there is for the first time significant doubt in the minds of parents and employers about the value of a college degree.
