The Campaign for the Future of Higher Education [http://futureofhighered.org/ ] is a loose association of the major faculty unions and faculty associations in the United States. These groups have come together several times each year to share information on issues affecting high education and to shape responses to those issues that emphasize the paramount importance…
In an attempt to rein in rising tuition and skyrocketing debt President Obama has announced a plan for performance based funding for higher education. Under his plan colleges would be rated on affordability, graduation rates and earnings of graduates. While we applaud the President for raising concerns over rising tuition and student debt, concerns that…
The following letter to the editor appeared in the Columbus Dispatch in response to an article that placed some of the blame for increases in tuition and in student debt on inflated faculty salaries and continuing salary increases. ______________ Sunday, August 4, 2013 As president of the Ohio Conference of the American Association of University…
Internships used to be a way for students to gain some practical experience in their fields before they actually graduated and entered the job market. In most cases, interns worked on special projects directly related to their areas of study or assisted people with advanced positions within their prospective fields. In many cases, the internships…
Writing for U.S. News and World Report, Luke Mullins has compiled “The Real Estate Euphemism Pocket Translator.” Here is a sample of the entries: Cozy Home: Too small for your big-screen TV. East Access to Everywhere: Can mean backing up to an expressway. Finishing Touches Needed: Often means lighting, hardware, paint, wood trim, and carpet.…
Many commentators on what is undermining higher education have focused on administrative bloat, on the increasing allocation of revenues to non-instructional or administrative positions. Some have pointed to the increasing exploitation of adjunct faculty at most institutions, citing the very minimal compensation, the non-existent benefits, the general lack of staff support, and the complete lack…
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…
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.].…
The organization OurTime is asking that you visit their website at http://www.ourtime.org/july1st/ before July 1st and sign a petition asking the President and the Congress to keep the interest rates on student loans at 3.4% and to prevent them from rising to 6.8%. Total student loan debt now totals more than $1 trillion, exceeding credit-card…