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Half of college grads start in low-level jobs, and most won't catch up
Half of college graduates are working in jobs that don't require a degree or college skills, report Vanessa Fuhrmans and Lindsay Ellis in...
Joanne Jacobs
Mar 1, 20242 min read
12 comments


Where to find curious, confident, inquisitive students
Her expectations were low she visited Utah Valley University, a large, open-enrollment state university, admits Martha C. Nussbaum, a...
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 20, 20242 min read
0 comments


Why Joe College can't read
College students have trouble reading anything long or complex, complains Adam Kotsko, in Slate. He's taught humanities classes in small...
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 19, 20242 min read
5 comments


'Tis better to have tried AP and earned a low grade than never to have tried at all
Taking an Advanced Placement class, struggling with college-level material and earning a low grade on the exam is a learning experience,...
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 14, 20242 min read
9 comments


In defense of remedial math classes
Students who are almost ready for college math do best by taking college-level classes with support in basic skills, researchers agree....
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 9, 20242 min read
2 comments


Ivy crazy
Getting Aidan or Abigail into a bumper-sticker-worthy college doesn't come cheaply. In addition to $800,000 or so for 13 years at a top...
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 6, 20242 min read
6 comments


Dartmouth will require SAT/ACT scores to help low-income students
Dartmouth will require applicants to submit standardized test scores such as the SAT or ACT, ending a long "pandemic pause," reports...
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 6, 20242 min read
3 comments


Prof suspended for 'anti-trans' chocolates will be back in class
A California history professor will return to teaching, nine months after he was suspended for bringing "transphobic" chocolates to a...
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 4, 20241 min read
3 comments


College is now a 'what to think' place, not 'how to think' for yourself
"Professors here teach how to think, not "what to think," college tour guides claim. Don't believe them, writes Caitlin Flanagan in The...
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 4, 20242 min read
5 comments

Apprenticeships fail to launch in the U.S.
Ninety-two percent of Americans like the idea of apprenticeships, according to a recent American Staffing Association survey, and 62...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 31, 20243 min read
7 comments


More than ever, college applicants are writing about race
Writing about race is more popular than ever for black, Hispanic and indigenous college applicants, writes Bernard Mokam in the New York...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 28, 20242 min read
4 comments


College students aren't all that smart: IQ average falls to 102
The average college student has average intelligence, concludes a meta-analysis by Canadian researchers, writes Ross Pomeroy on Big...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 25, 20242 min read
14 comments


A professor writes: What I really think about DEI
James Hankins, a Harvard history professor, posts an honest diversity statement addressed to "dear members of Harvard's Faceless...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 21, 20242 min read
2 comments


DEI backlash
In the name of DEI -- diversity, equity and inclusion -- many colleges and universities "have violated their constitutional commitments...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 15, 20242 min read
0 comments


Wary students seek no-debt degrees -- and no-degree jobs
Young Americans are trying to avoid student loans or find low-debt paths to good jobs, reports Nirvi Shah in USA Today. Janika Cook...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 13, 20242 min read
2 comments

To gain public trust, make college admissions less 'murky'
College admissions are "murky," and getting murkier, writes Peter Arcidiacono, a Duke economics professor, on Persuasion. "Test-optional"...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 9, 20241 min read
3 comments


Why Americans don't trust higher ed: It's the lying and the whining
Only 36 percent of Americans expressed "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of trust in higher education in a 2023 Gallup survey, down from 57...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 9, 20242 min read
2 comments


SAT/ACT scores predict success, open doors for 'diverse' students
Want equity? Require college applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores, writes David Leonhardt in the New York Times. The progressives' "war...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 8, 20242 min read
8 comments


It starts with a goal
What's the point of school? Where am I going? Do I need to go to college? How much could I earn? The Make It Movement is helping young...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 6, 20241 min read
3 comments


The Great Renaming: Adios to DEI, hello to 'Belonging' bureaucrats
Is DEI dead -- or just disrupted? Texas' state colleges and universities were forced to close diversity, equity and inclusion offices...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 5, 20242 min read
8 comments
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