A story in Inside Higher Education (“A few states are spending more on higher ed than before the recession hit”) shows which state are rebounding in 2012-13 from the drop in higher ed spending associated with the economic downturn and which are still cutting support for schools.
The good news is that states are starting to spend on higher education again. The bad news is that Texas is not.
An essay in Inside Higher Ed (“Accreditation helps limit government intrusion in U.S. higher education“) reminds us that the annoying intrusion of regional accrediting bodies is a way of avoiding the annoying intrusion of state and national governments.
Inside Higher Ed has a story (“Colleges move to digital transcripts managed by outside firms“) that outlines the advantages of digital transcripts.
Isn’t it time we upgraded transcripts?
National Journal has a story previewing 5 Higher-Ed Trends for 2014. The article identifies five broad trends that look likely to impact higher education this year. National Journal does excellent reporting and their list looks solid to me.
National Journal has a story (“Harvard Is Completely Ordinary When It Comes to Grade Inflation“) how an A has become the most common grade in the US and the average GPA has risen from 2.52 in 1966 to 3.11 in 2006.
The rise of grade inflation is on display every day at GradeInflation.com. The picture isn’t pretty.
This is a problem that faculty need to take responsibility for. Why aren’t we doing a better job holding the line?
The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics has released a database (“Athletic & Academic Spending Database for NCAA Division I“) that let users put together custom reports that compare spending for Division I athletic programs.
I did a quick comparison of spending at Stephen F. Austin vs the University of Texas (that is, where I am compared to where I went to school). You can click on the graph to see a larger version.
As you can see, there’s no real comparison. I have occasionally been amused by colleagues here who like to talk about “big time college athletics” at SFA
The Knight Commission’s system allows you to compare spending on academics (I chose “Instructional Spending per FTE) to academic and non academic spending per student. You can compare all kinds of schools and all kinds of variables. It’s big-time college fun.
A story in Inside Higher Ed (“McGill professor manages to turn down student request and gain popularity“) looks like a great example of turning the plea for extending a deadline a fun and teachable moment.
A story in Inside Higher ed (Study links binge drinking and low critical thinking skills, with a caveat“) reveals that students who enter college with poor critical thinking skills don’t develop these skills if they binge drink. That’s not surprising. However, students who start college with good critical thinking skills seem to seem not to have this problem.
Congress seems to be getting more interested in looking at reforming accreditation and other aspects of higher education (“Calls from Washington for streamlined regulation and emerging models“). It’s hard to believe that they could break the deadlock they’ve experienced on other issues. However, more tinkering with higher ed seems inevitable.
Aaron Taylor has an article in Inside Higher Ed calling for historically black colleges to move to Division II. He makes some very good arguments. However, it’s worth noting that some of us think this argument goes beyond HBU programs and the the NCAA and the media have some obligation to creating meaningful competition and fan interest in schools beyond the big programs that make them the most money.
High(er Ed) Anxiety 