Ten Questions for Conference and Chapter Leaders: 1. Ohio Conference

This is the first post in what I hope will be a series, in which conference and chapter leaders comment on the issues that they are trying to address and the initiatives that they are trying to organize and to promote. I intend to contact conference or chapter leaders directly to invite them to participate,…

The Young Invincibles’ Annual Report on State Support for Higher Education; Or, Analogously, What If Almost Half of Your Students Received D’s and F’s

Here is the table summarizing the results from the Young Invincibles report on state support for higher education over this past year: The detailed profiles for each state are available at: http://www.studentimpactproject.org/state_report_cards You can see from the table that four states have received A’s; ten have received B’s; thirteen have received C’s; twelve have received…

It Is Time for Some Real Accountability

In a feature article for University Business, Ioanna Opidee provides an overview of the major trends related to postsecondary teaching that we might expect in 2015. Opidee focuses on what she asserts will be four increasing areas of emphasis: 1. Academic Return on Investment 2. Competencies at the Core 3. Flipped Classrooms and Evolving MOOCs…

The Increased Teaching Load for Composition Instructors at Arizona State Provides a Disturbing Glimpse into the Future for Other Faculty

Inside Higher Ed recently ran an article on a 25% increase in the teaching loads for full-time non-tenure-eligible writing faculty at Arizona State University. The article, written by Colleen Flaherty is titled “One course without Pay,” and the full article is available at: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/12/16/arizona-state-tells-non-tenure-track-writing-instructors-teach-extra-course-each The writing instructors, none of whom were willing to be identified…

NLRB Ruling on the Efforts of the Adjunct and Full-Time Contingent Faculty at Pacific Lutheran University to Organize a Collective Bargaining Unit

Pacific Lutheran University argued that SEIU should be prevented from organizing a collective bargaining unit for adjunct faculty at the institution for two reasons: the faculty promote the religious mission of the university and the faculty have managerial rights as described in the “Yeshiva” decision. On both counts, the NLRB (with one member providing a…

The Self-Propagation of the Consultants

In its list of the most influential people in higher education for 2014, the Chronicle of Higher Education includes diverse individuals and just one group, “The Hired Guns: The Consultants.” In her article on the increasing influence of consulting firms on higher-education policies and practices, Goldie Blumenstyk seems to think that this increased influence is…

Undermining Affordability and Access to Higher Education

An “On the Issues” Post from the Campaign for the Future of Higher Education [http://futureofhighered.org] _______________ A recent report from the New America Foundation highlights one important way access to higher education is closing down for low-income students. Even after Pell grants are factored in, the net cost of college for many of these students is still…

Deadline Approaching! Register for the CFHE Meeting in Los Angeles

The following is a letter from Susan Misenhelder of the Campaign for the Future of Higher Education:   Dear CFHE friends, If you haven’t already registered, we hope you’re consulting with your organization about attending the next CFHE Gathering in Los Angeles (actually Manhattan Beach) on January 16-18, 2015. Please do plan to join us! The…

Addenda to Aaron Barlow’s Review of More than a Score

—or, If Moses Was a Founding Father, Then Was Charlton Heston’s Leadership of the NRA Divinely Preordained? Aaron’s post references the addition of new standardized tests in Texas. In an October 11 article for the British newspaper The Telegraph, Katherine Rushton opens a discussion of the UK-based conglomerate’s “challenges” with pointed references to the business…