What the Ground Zero mosque controversy has taught us The controversy over the so-called “Ground Zero mosque” dominated the last couple months of summer and sparked an increase in anti-Muslim rhetoric and activities around the country. A Florida pastor’s plan to burn the Koran was headline news, there were numerous protests against the building of … Read more
How we count, not who we count, matters most In October 2009, Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) and Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) sparked a debate when they introduced an amendment to an appropriations bill that would have required the 2010 census to collect data on citizenship status. This kind of controversy, revolving around precisely what data … Read more
How America can address the climate challenge In the summer of 2009, the American Clean Energy and Security Act, which included a cap and trade system for regulating carbon emissions, passed the House of Representatives by seven votes. Now, more than a year later, the bill is dead in the Senate; Majority Leader Harry Reid … Read more
UC provides case studies of new modes of funding Since the 1960s, the University of California system has served as a role model for publicly-funded higher education. It has established ten campuses across the Golden State, and educates over 118,000 students annually. However, the UC system, once acclaimed for increasing the accessibility of higher education, … Read more
Why higher education is still too expensive On Nov. 8, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Higher Education Act. The legislation increased financial assistance for post-secondary education and, supporters claimed, opened the doors of college to those who had previously been denied access because of lack of means. As the president proclaimed in … Read more
Changes needed to bring tenure system into modernity Since the early 20th century, tenure has rewarded talented university faculty with the benefits of status, academic freedom, and lifetime job security. Tenure rests on the assumption that qualified faculty members are worth a lifelong investment, and will easily repay their costs. Indeed, advocates of tenure contend … Read more
Assessing the threat of grade inflation “Grades are going up. Workloads are going down. … Professors are giving A’s instead of B’s, and have largely given up on C’s, D’s and F’s altogether.” This claim, made by Stuart Rojstaczer, a retired Duke geophysics professor, reflects a widespread view about higher education. But the concern is … Read more
U.S. high schools fail to prepare grads for college According to the Academic Ranking of World Universities, the United States boasts 17 out of the top 20 world universities, and 35 of the top 50. But the general strength of America’s universities shouldn’t lead us to overlook the low level of preparedness of many of … Read more
The debate over class-based affirmative action This summer, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit heard a case with profound implications for college students and their universities. The case of Fisher v. Texas charges that the University of Texas at Austin unconstitutionally used race as a factor in determining admissions. The case, which … Read more
In May 1892, The Atlantic Monthly published an article of clear concern to the magazine’s readership: transformative changes in the admissions requirements for Harvard College. Harvard had dropped its 200-year-old requirement of studying Greek and Latin, and now allowed applicants the option of proving their fluency in “modern languages” like Spanish and French. As author … Read more