Why Every Progressive Group in the Nation Needs to Focus Relentlessly on Voter Registration and Voter Turnout

I received the following e-mail yesterday afternoon: ________________________ Martin, last night the NRA successfully recalled two Colorado state senators who had voted to pass good gun safety laws. Democrats had more money and district demographics were in their favor. But the election came down to turnout and Republicans had more intensity and more reliable voters. The biggest challenge facing…

Ohio Conference President, John McNay, Testifies before Ohio House’s Higher Education Reform Study Committee

On Monday, September 9, Ohio Conference AAUP President John McNay delivered testimony [full text provided below] to the Higher Education Reform Study Committee–a new standing committee started in the Ohio House of Representatives over the summer. The committee has embarked on a “road show,” traveling all over the state to public and for-profit colleges to discuss…

A Critique of Richard Vedder’s Recommendations for Higher Education, Made in Response to President Obama’s Recent Proposals

Part 3: Reduce the Cost of a Degree by 40% by Reducing Labor and Capital Costs. [Explanatory lead to the first post in this series: Richard Vedder is distinguished professor of economics at Ohio University, director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, and an adjunct scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. In an…

A Critique of Richard Vedder’s Recommendations for Higher Education, Made in Response to President Obama’s Recent Proposals

Part 2: Deliver Half of a Baccalaureate Degree by MOOC [Explanatory lead to the first post in this series (): Richard Vedder is distinguished professor of economics at Ohio University, director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, and an adjunct scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. In an earlier post, I pointed out,…

A Critique of Richard Vedder’s Recommendations for Higher Education, Made in Response to President Obama’s Recent Proposals

Part 1: Three-Year Baccalaureate Degrees Richard Vedder is distinguished professor of economics at Ohio University, director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, and an adjunct scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. In an earlier post, I pointed out, as others have, that he is hardly an unbiased or objective commentator on the state…

President Obama’s Weekly Address: Commemorating Labor Day But Not Labor

What follows is the press release of President Obama’s Labor Day address. It is full of nice sentiments amorphously framed. How does a Democratic president deliver make a statement commemorating Labor Day without ever using any of the following words: “union,” “bargaining unit,” “organized labor,” or even “labor.” During the Democratic Convention in 2012, the…

Ohio House of Representatives Creates “Higher Education Reform Study Committee”

Earlier this month, the Ohio House of Representatives announced the creation of the “Higher Education Reform Study Committee,” chaired by Rep. Cliff Rosenberger (R-Carksville), who also served as chair of the House finance Higher Education Subcommittee during the budget process. The committee has embarked on a “road show,” traveling all over the state to public…

State Law to Open Public Colleges and Universities to For-Profit Companies? Not a Good Idea.

A statement from the Campaign for the Future of Higher Education: http://futureofhighered.org/ Despite the praise heaped on California Senate Bill 520 by Phil Hill and Dean Florez in a recent panegyric published in Inside Higher Ed, the bill was not the right answer for California’s higher education access woes; and it is a poor model for other…

AAUP President Releases Statement on Obama Higher Ed Proposal, Sign the Petition for Faculty Inclusion!

Last week, President Obama released a higher education reform proposal, citing the goals of making college more affordable and reining in student debt. While the AAUP applauded the President for raising these concerns – ones that we share – AAUP President Rudy Fichtenbaum called the plan “little more than a version of the failed policy of ‘No Child Left…