Flat Funding? Not in the Reality-Based World

It’s been a little over two weeks since Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett delivered his annual budget address. Corbett’s office signaled in advance that his proposed 2013-2014 budget would not be as draconian as the previous two. I think it would be fair to say that the governor would have to work extraordinarily hard to try…

The Making of an “Educational Saboteur”

Guest Blogger Mark Naison teaches at Fordham University and blogs at With a Brooklyn Accent.  Through most of my life as a teacher, I have considered myself a builder. Not only have I worked hard to develop relationships with my students that last well beyond their time in my class, I have helped create three…

The Value Beyond the College Scorecard

In his State of the Union Address, President Obama took the unusual step of commenting on the need for rethinking accreditation.  He also touted the creation of a College Scorecard.  The Scorecard would create benchmarks – a low cost of attendance, high graduation rates, high employment rates, and high salaries – by which consumers would…

And the Wait Begins

At this time of year, college applicants struggle to find the right institution for them. In the early stage of the process, the first decision is to determine whether or not they would feel most comfortable at a large institution or in a smaller setting. I always encourage students to visit those campuses that meet…

What Would Hitler Have to Say about This

Debe Terhar, the President of the Ohio Board of Education, has sparked controversy by posting a picture of Adolph Hitler on her Facebook page alongside a text expressing opposition to President Obama’s gun-control proposals. Worse, when asked to explain the juxtaposition of the two items, Terhar offered the following disclaimer: “I did not compare our…

Ready . . . Set . . . Graduate

As American higher education begins to adapt to the changes that engulf it, one basic assumption must be that policy makers and educators see the education system in America as a continuum. For the moment, educators divide into two basic camps:  basic and postsecondary.  Each group has issues and opportunities, sometimes interrelated, but each approaches…

The Early Days of the Digital Dissertation

This is a guest post by Virginia Kuhn, associate director of the Institute for Multimedia Literacy in the School of Cinematic Arts, University of Southern California. Her article, “Embrace and Ambivalence,” appears in the newest issue of Academe. Digital dissertations are sometimes said to be commonplace; however such talk usually refers to an artifact that is digital but…