By Melissa Dennihy. The teaching demo is a common step in the hiring process at many colleges. Giving a successful demo can be challenging, especially for candidates who haven’t taught their own classes. To prepare, start by finding out what kind of teaching demo you’ll be giving. Read more...

By Christine Kelly. I’ve had conversations recently with colleagues who are in the reference-check phase for candidates they would like to hire, and in some cases the references are not helping those candidates. Getting good references can be a challenge, and as a job candidate you need to think carefully about who will be the best advocate for you. Read more...

By Casey Randazzo. My college career began with remedial courses at a community college and ended four years later with a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University. Read more...

By Jason Delisle and Ben Miller. With President Obama’s new proposal to greatly expand federal support for community colleges getting all the attention, many on Capitol Hill want to bring back a large program tailor-made for the students who attend these institutions – one that the president himself led the charge to cut. Read more...

By Scott McLemee. His reputation will never recover from that unfortunate business in Salem, but Cotton Mather deserves some recognition for his place in American medical history. He was the anti-vaccination movement’s first target.
The scene was Boston in 1721. Beginning in April, a smallpox epidemic spread from a ship anchored in the harbor; over the course of a year, it killed more than 840 people. Read more...

By Elliot Ratzman. 1. Thou shalt have no other object of attention in the classroom. No devices — phones, gadgets, computers, guns — or distractions; I am a jealous and wrathful instructor. Read more...

By James Ostrow. Students have lost their honor! The recent revelation that 64 Dartmouth College students were charged with cheating this past fall was followed by the predictable comments on a larger social malaise. Read more...

By Carl Straumsheim. Walter H.G. Lewin’s debut as a massive open online course instructor was announced with some fanfare: “Afraid of physics?” a press release asked in January 2013. “Do you hate it? Walter Lewin will make you love physics whether you like it or not.” Read more...

By Colleen Flaherty. Integrative learning. It sounds good, and it’s a cornerstone of the Association of American Colleges and Universities’ Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP) initiative to advance liberal education. Read more...

By Elizabeth Redden. While other U.S. universities have built branch campuses abroad, the University of California at Berkeley is betting it can create a global higher education hub in its own backyard. Read more...