Tag: Higher Education

I Know Why College Grades Are Going Up. It’s Definitely Not Wokeism.

Even professionally secure faculty like me know to anticipate the possibility of grade complaints, so when we assess student work, we spend significant time justifying the grades we assign. This isn’t all bad; it’s important for students to understand the rationale behind the feedback, regardless of the grade. It’s not enough to just write “wrong” […]

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AI comes to higher education as OpenAI partners with Arizona State University

Despite concerns raised by some educators and administrators, AI is coming to higher education. Today, Arizona State University announced it has partnered with OpenAI, arguably the leading generative AI company and maker of ChatGPT and DALL-E 3, in a first-of-its-kind alliance to bring the latter’s tech to the former’s institutional processes. “ASU recognizes that augmented […]

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It’s Not the University President’s Job to Police Free Speech

In our book, we deliberately chose not to discuss hate speech in terms of “harm,” and we specifically critiqued the proposition that (as one of our colleagues put it) “a commitment to inclusivity requires that impact is elevated over intent.” In other words, we insisted that the way to determine the difference between free speech […]

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That Insufferable Billionaire Tyrannizing Harvard Enriches Himself by Tyrannizing the Bond Market

Why would Ackman do this? One interlocutor on X pointed out that Pershing Square invested $10 million in X back when it was Twitter, but that’s pocket change to Ackman, and anyway, that money is long gone. I think Ackman defends Musk and stays on X because the site has been Ackman’s tool lately for controlling the […]

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Liz Magill Was Practice. The Right Really Wants to Get Claudine Gay.

You will not be surprised to learn that this topic is in heavy rotation in conservative media (“Stefanik shreds Harvard over ‘complete moral failure’ after allowing Claudine Gay to remain president,” screams the headline on foxnews.com). Just like the hearing at which Stefanik put on such a passionately convincing performance of umbrage, the “plagiarism” issue […]

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The Real Problem With Those College Presidents? Gross Incompetence.

Why? Let us count the ways. First, speakers traditionally work their way up, slowly building relationships, doing favors, raising money. Jordan has surely done some of that, but it’s not his real calling card. His real calling card is that he’s a right-wing media star who has made himself memorable and notable with his obnoxious […]

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Antisemitism Is a Problem. But Shuttering Speech Is No Solution.

At the University of Pennsylvania, the administration was already reeling before the Hamas attack from its willingness to allow a Palestinian literary conference to take place on its campus. This inspired denunciations and threats of withdrawn funding from Jewish cosmetics mogul Ronald S. Lauder and private equity’s Marc Rowan, both deeply involved in funding legacy […]

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West Virginia University Is Everything That’s Wrong With Higher Education Today

Similarly, the 10 programs being cut at Vermont State University include applied business, computer engineering technology, climate change science, and school psychology. Cuts at Marymount University include mathematics, economics, and secondary education, among others. At the University of Maine, Farmington—the University of Maine system’s public liberal arts college—philosophy and religion, history, world languages, and women’s […]

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Welcome to College—and a Lifetime of Debt

President Joe Biden has taken commendable steps in this direction by coupling investments in public education with alternative, noncollege pathways to good jobs. Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS Act, and Inflation Reduction Act, his administration is working with unions, community organizations, schools, and employers to expand training programs in broadband, construction, and electrification. The […]

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