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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This year has been an eventful one for higher education in general and for North Carolina specifically. As Santa checks his list, the Pope Center has a few suggestions as to who's been naughty and nice this year.
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This year has been an eventful one for higher education in general and for North Carolina specifically. As Santa checks his list, the Pope Center has a few suggestions as to who's been naughty and nice this year.
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I have made the decision to never again seek employment at a college or university. I will never send another C.V. to an institute of higher education. I am finished wasting my time.
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I have made the decision to never again seek employment at a college or university. I will never send another C.V. to an institute of higher education. I am finished wasting my time.
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I had my first taste of the University of Georgia in 1995 when I participated in a classical guitar competition at the flagship in Athens. Instructors in the university's music department judged me and a handful of other guitar players from around the state on our technique and performance (in case
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I had my first taste of the University of Georgia in 1995 when I participated in a classical guitar competition at the flagship in Athens. Instructors in the university's music department judged me and a handful of other guitar players from around the state on our technique and performance (in case
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In July, I wrote about the pressure that University of Wisconsin officials have been exerting on the faculty for greater "equity" on campus.
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In July, I wrote about the pressure that University of Wisconsin officials have been exerting on the faculty for greater "equity" on campus.
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"Academia is American liberals' sanctuary, their fortress, their source. By controlling the campuses, the Left is able to control much of the nation's intellectual debate," said my colleague Jay Schalin at last year's State Policy Network convention.
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"Academia is American liberals' sanctuary, their fortress, their source. By controlling the campuses, the Left is able to control much of the nation's intellectual debate," said my colleague Jay Schalin at last year's State Policy Network convention.
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What are the limits of the partnerships that a public institution of higher education may form? A growing number of critics, including university officials and faculty, argue that accepting funding and academic influence from the communist Chinese government crosses a line.
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What are the limits of the partnerships that a public institution of higher education may form? A growing number of critics, including university officials and faculty, argue that accepting funding and academic influence from the communist Chinese government crosses a line.
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On the whole, U.S. colleges and universities don't get everything right. They're overpriced, operationally hidebound, and ideologically stagnant. But American higher education does some things very well-well enough that students from around the world still choose to come to the United States to...
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On the whole, U.S. colleges and universities don't get everything right. They're overpriced, operationally hidebound, and ideologically stagnant. But American higher education does some things very well-well enough that students from around the world still choose to come to the United States to...
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About one-third of all freshmen are enrolled each year in a remedial class. Yet current remedial methods are not very effective. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, a mere 17 percent of four-year students enrolled in remedial reading and 27 percent of four-year students...
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About one-third of all freshmen are enrolled each year in a remedial class. Yet current remedial methods are not very effective. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, a mere 17 percent of four-year students enrolled in remedial reading and 27 percent of four-year students...
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At the end of October, the Department of Education released its much-awaited "gainful employment" rule.
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At the end of October, the Department of Education released its much-awaited "gainful employment" rule.
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But turning the ship of higher education around is a herculean task (we at the Pope Center are engaged in the same enterprise-ACTA's president, Anne Neal, serves on our academic advisory council-so we know). Furthermore, the context of the university is changing in unpredictable ways.
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But turning the ship of higher education around is a herculean task (we at the Pope Center are engaged in the same enterprise-ACTA's president, Anne Neal, serves on our academic advisory council-so we know). Furthermore, the context of the university is changing in unpredictable ways.
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In 2012, a UNC-Chapel Hill freshman with a blood level of alcohol nearly three times the legal limit was found dead. Winston Crisp, vice chancellor for student affairs, saw this as indicative of a nationwide problem-one he has been working to address since then.
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In 2012, a UNC-Chapel Hill freshman with a blood level of alcohol nearly three times the legal limit was found dead. Winston Crisp, vice chancellor for student affairs, saw this as indicative of a nationwide problem-one he has been working to address since then.
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About to retire, Oklahoma senator Tom Coburn, M.D., has just released his 107-page 2014 Wastebook, a tabloid-type listing of over a hundred wasteful government-funded projects. Coburn continues the tradition of the late William Proxmire, the Wisconsin senator who, more modestly, chose just...
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About to retire, Oklahoma senator Tom Coburn, M.D., has just released his 107-page 2014 Wastebook, a tabloid-type listing of over a hundred wasteful government-funded projects. Coburn continues the tradition of the late William Proxmire, the Wisconsin senator who, more modestly, chose just...
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A new report from the Center for American Progress alleges that the "Great Recession" that began in 2008 devastated public university investments nationwide.
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A new report from the Center for American Progress alleges that the "Great Recession" that began in 2008 devastated public university investments nationwide.
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In the past few months, under the chairmanship of John Fennebresque, the UNC Board of Governors has been more aggressive than in the past, drilling down into more topics and increasing its discussions in committees and in the full board meetings.
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In the past few months, under the chairmanship of John Fennebresque, the UNC Board of Governors has been more aggressive than in the past, drilling down into more topics and increasing its discussions in committees and in the full board meetings.
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Many college leaders speak as though the upward cost spiral is permanent and unavoidable. From experience, I can say that's not true.
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Many college leaders speak as though the upward cost spiral is permanent and unavoidable. From experience, I can say that's not true.
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I recall vividly in the early 1980s spending fifteen minutes walking two hundred yards with my older faculty mentor from our offices to Davidson's post office. Along the way, he greeted or was greeted by Davidson students, staff, other faculty, and townspeople. For each there was a hearty "good morn
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I recall vividly in the early 1980s spending fifteen minutes walking two hundred yards with my older faculty mentor from our offices to Davidson's post office. Along the way, he greeted or was greeted by Davidson students, staff, other faculty, and townspeople. For each there was a hearty "good morn
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For all of the words devoted to our student loan mess (or "crisis" or "bubble"), little has been written on its origins. We know that student loan debt now exceeds $1 trillion and that many young Americans are struggling with a heavy burden, but how things got that way is largely a mystery.
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For all of the words devoted to our student loan mess (or "crisis" or "bubble"), little has been written on its origins. We know that student loan debt now exceeds $1 trillion and that many young Americans are struggling with a heavy burden, but how things got that way is largely a mystery.
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With most academic fields, we know what they are about. Political science teaches about political systems and their workings; philosophy about how people have thought on questions such as ethics; literature courses have students read and contemplate worthwhile books.
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With most academic fields, we know what they are about. Political science teaches about political systems and their workings; philosophy about how people have thought on questions such as ethics; literature courses have students read and contemplate worthwhile books.
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Back in the early 1990s, while I was in the middle of a long business career, I recall reading that the University of Pennsylvania had decided to add an unusual essay requirement for their undergraduate applicants.
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Back in the early 1990s, while I was in the middle of a long business career, I recall reading that the University of Pennsylvania had decided to add an unusual essay requirement for their undergraduate applicants.
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One of the first books about the state of higher education that I read after coming to the Pope Center was Generation X Goes to College by Peter Sacks
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One of the first books about the state of higher education that I read after coming to the Pope Center was Generation X Goes to College by Peter Sacks
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Eduardo Porter, who writes "The Economic Scene" for the New York Times, says our country's higher education system is in crisis and that he has a solution.
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Eduardo Porter, who writes "The Economic Scene" for the New York Times, says our country's higher education system is in crisis and that he has a solution.
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From 2009 to 2013, the University of North Carolina system gradually increased its minimum admission standards. Students entering UNC schools this fall had to score at least 800 on combined math and verbal SAT tests to be admitted.
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From 2009 to 2013, the University of North Carolina system gradually increased its minimum admission standards. Students entering UNC schools this fall had to score at least 800 on combined math and verbal SAT tests to be admitted.
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The job rationale for going to college is intense these days, especially now that there are statistics from state governments showing that some majors offer dismal prospects while others are high-paying.
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The job rationale for going to college is intense these days, especially now that there are statistics from state governments showing that some majors offer dismal prospects while others are high-paying.
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When the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) released its first comprehensive review of education programs in 2013, many K-12 education reformers were enthusiastic. Prominent news coverage and support from school superintendents called attention to the need to improve teacher preparation.
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When the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) released its first comprehensive review of education programs in 2013, many K-12 education reformers were enthusiastic. Prominent news coverage and support from school superintendents called attention to the need to improve teacher preparation.
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It tells a gripping story. The 131-page report by Kenneth L. Wainstein and his colleagues peels back 18 years of scandalous secrecy at UNC-Chapel Hill to reveal that between 1993 and 2011, more than 3,100 students took "paper classes."
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It tells a gripping story. The 131-page report by Kenneth L. Wainstein and his colleagues peels back 18 years of scandalous secrecy at UNC-Chapel Hill to reveal that between 1993 and 2011, more than 3,100 students took "paper classes."
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College syllabi are handed out en masse at the beginning of a course for students. Sometimes they're kept and carefully followed; sometimes they're tossed away when the student decides not to take the course after all. Professors often post their syllabi online. They're certainly not treated like cr
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College syllabi are handed out en masse at the beginning of a course for students. Sometimes they're kept and carefully followed; sometimes they're tossed away when the student decides not to take the course after all. Professors often post their syllabi online. They're certainly not treated like cr
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The national hysteria over sexual assault on college campuses is approaching a frightening crescendo.
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The national hysteria over sexual assault on college campuses is approaching a frightening crescendo.
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In most states, community colleges offer only associate degrees in nursing, which require two to three years of education. But in five states Florida, Indiana, Nevada, New Mexico, and Washington they offer a four-year nursing bachelor's degree.
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In most states, community colleges offer only associate degrees in nursing, which require two to three years of education. But in five states Florida, Indiana, Nevada, New Mexico, and Washington they offer a four-year nursing bachelor's degree.
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For a long time, those of us who argue that higher education’s standards are eroding had to point to anecdotes to support our case.
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For a long time, those of us who argue that higher education’s standards are eroding had to point to anecdotes to support our case.
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General education is not given the respect and attention it deserves in the great majority of US colleges and universities, North Carolina State University included. Largely because of campus politics, political correctness, and pandering to students, at most colleges it has become an academic...
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General education is not given the respect and attention it deserves in the great majority of US colleges and universities, North Carolina State University included. Largely because of campus politics, political correctness, and pandering to students, at most colleges it has become an academic...
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From time to time, the Pope Center brings speakers to colleges in North Carolina to share ideas that are neglected on campus. Surprisingly, those ideas include aspects of entrepreneurship.
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From time to time, the Pope Center brings speakers to colleges in North Carolina to share ideas that are neglected on campus. Surprisingly, those ideas include aspects of entrepreneurship.
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Should public universities be allowed to derecognize a Christian student group because it requires members to be Christian? Astoundingly, the courts say yes. Ever since the 2010 Supreme Court decision in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, the courts have allowed universities this power.
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Should public universities be allowed to derecognize a Christian student group because it requires members to be Christian? Astoundingly, the courts say yes. Ever since the 2010 Supreme Court decision in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, the courts have allowed universities this power.
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It's easy for young students to be dazzled when they hear that going to college will earn them an extra $1 million in their lifetime. Or when they see headlines touting high-paying majors and new graduates' success stories.
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It's easy for young students to be dazzled when they hear that going to college will earn them an extra $1 million in their lifetime. Or when they see headlines touting high-paying majors and new graduates' success stories.
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After 30 years working in the chemical industry, I knew that I wanted to teach as a second career. I was fortunate in 2002 to find my way to Ursinus College, a highly regarded liberal arts school near Philadelphia, where I have worked for a dozen enjoyable and stimulating years on both faculty and s
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After 30 years working in the chemical industry, I knew that I wanted to teach as a second career. I was fortunate in 2002 to find my way to Ursinus College, a highly regarded liberal arts school near Philadelphia, where I have worked for a dozen enjoyable and stimulating years on both faculty and s
