In 1989, Oliver Stone released his second Vietnam War film, Born on the Fourth of July. Based on the autobiography of Ron Kovic, it begins with his boyhood, with his being raised with very conventional notions of patriotism and duty. Following high school graduation, he enlists in the Marine Corps, and during two tours of duty…
Much attention has been paid to the ballooning accumulation of student debt and its short- and long-term impact on the U.S. economy. As a response to the Great Recession, most states dramatically reduced their subsidies supporting public colleges and universities over a series of annual budgets. In the last year or two, some states have…
The GOP-dominated Ohio legislature has included in the state budget bill a series of amendments that together constitute one of the most restrictive sets of laws on abortion in the nation. In doing so, the state GOP has been very true to its publicly proclaimed principles, at least in terms of its stance on abortion…
This is a re-post from the “On the Issues” blog of the Campaign for the Future of Higher Education [http://futureofhighered.org/on-the-issues/] I encourage you to become more involved in this national advocacy group. ******************** It’s almost a truism in many places today that colleges and universities ought to be run more like businesses. But should they? …
In the 1990s, the concept of “job sharing” was introduced to allow employees, an especially women with small children, to “share” the equivalent of a full-time position. Each of the employees receives a proportionate share of the salaries and benefits normally allocated for the position. On the plus side, studies have shown that the employees…
I recently came across a January 2013 article posted by PolitiFact. It opens: “State Sen. Nicholas D. Kettle wants Rhode Island to become the first ‘right-to-work’ state in the Northeast–a place where workers in union jobs could choose to opt out of union membership and paying dues. “The freshman Republican from Coventry has introduced one piece of…
This is a re-post from the “On the Issues” blog of the Campaign for the Future of Higher Education [http://futureofhighered.org/on-the-issues/] *************** When the new healthcare law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, takes effect in 2014, large employers will be required to provide healthcare benefits to employees who work over 30 hours a week.…
Earlier this week, I was one of the 13 million American television viewers—along with uncounted millions of viewers in 200+ other countries–who tuned in to the Discovery Channel to watch Nik Wallenda walk across a gorge of the Grand Canyon on a two-inch steel cable. He carried a 30-foot-long balancing pole that weighed a little…
From: info@futureofhighered.org [mailto:info@futureofhighered.org] Sent: Monday, June 24, 2013 10:50 AM To: cic@staff.cic.net Subject: Letter from Campaign for the Future of Higher Education June 24, 2013 Dear Members of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation: We read with interest your recent paper, “CIC Online Learning Collaboration: A Vision and Framework [http://www.cic.net/docs/default-source/reports/cic-online-learning-collaboration.pdf?sfvrsn=2],” and the Inside Higher Ed coverage of it [http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/06/19/big-10-provosts-question-partnerships-ed-tech-companies#.UcGeqhW1_FY.email.].…