BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL One of the most persistent problems facing American higher education is how best to explain its importance and enduring value to the public. The problem is that various perspectives shape the approach utilized. Higher education leadership – especially at the research universities and the liberal arts colleges – often speak to…
BY KELLY HAND In 1967, during a period of intense student protests, the AAUP and four other groups issued a Joint Statement on Rights and Freedoms of Students. Many issues covered in the statement are as pertinent fifty years later as they were in 1967. The AAUP invites proposals for presentations focused on these issues…
BY HANK REICHMAN The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that “University of Tennessee officials are investigating a claim of sexual harassment after reports surfaced online that a student received a zero on a geology quiz for answering a question about his lab instructor’s name with that of a semifamous lingerie model. Neither the student nor the…
BY PSC-CUNY What follows is a press release from the Professional Staff Congress of the City University of New York: As Part of #ReclaimOurSchools, CUNY Faculty, Staff & Students Document Crumbling Facilities and Damaged Equipment New York, NY – As part of a national day of action to highlight the importance of public education, City…
POSTED BY HANK REICHMAN Last week I posted excerpts from an op-ed piece about the search for a new UC Berkeley Chancellor published in the Daily Californian, the campus newspaper, by leaders of the Berkeley Faculty Association. They endorsed the Statement of Principles enunciated earlier in the week by the Council of University of California…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL For thousands of high school students, October marks the start of the college application season. Application deadlines approach, standardized tests and essays are finalized, and this year, an earlier deadline for the FAFSA financial aid application. In a series of reports last month, seasoned higher education journalist Scott Jaschik presented some…
POSTED BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL Reporting in last week’s Inside Higher Education, Kasia Kovacs reviewed the findings of the Commission on the Future of Higher Education, an initiative of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Dr. Michael McPherson, co-chair of the commission and a well-respected economist,…
BY ALVIN BURSTEIN Guest blogger Alvin Burstein is professor emeritus at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and past president of the Louisiana AAUP conference. For many academics, members or not of the AAUP, the need to protect academic freedom and tenure is a rallying cry, and the organization has been stalwart in defending both. However, the…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL Earlier this month, Jeff Selingo wrote in The Washington Post about the coming era of consolidation among colleges and universities. Mr. Selingo based many of his comments on findings from a study by Parthenon-EY Education to which he also contributed. The study concluded that more than 800 American colleges exhibit factors that call into…
BY JOHN K. WILSON UPDATE: Berkeley rescinded the suspension on Sept. 19. Suspending a course in the middle of a semester is one of the most serious actions a university can take. On Sept. 13, Dean Carla Hesse of the University of California at Berkeley did exactly that to a student-taught DeCal class about Palestine.…