By Joshua Kim. How many of us audiobook fanatics and Audible Stockholm Syndrome customers realize that Audible once sold hardware?
By Matt Reed. I’ll start by conceding the point that much of the discussion online about whether people should go to grad school in the humanities tacitly assumes that grad school means doctoral programs. But there’s no reason it has to. Master’s programs are well-established, and serve purposes of their own. Read more...
By Matt Reed. What happens when you combine administrators and faculty from research universities, master’s level universities, and community colleges to discuss how best to prepare grad students for jobs at teaching institutions?
Apparently, a whole lot of “I hadn’t thought of that”s. Read more...
By Matt Reed. The IHE essay on Monday about “Faculty-Administrators” got me thinking again about the difficulties of crossing over from faculty to administration. The essay itself advocated for new faculty-administration hybrid positions, along the lines of writing center directors. The idea is to break down the silos that separate people in the different roles, with the intended result of reducing the conflict that comes from mutual stereotyping. Read more...
By Matt Reed. As one of the few academic administrators who blogs, I frequently find myself trying to shed light on how an administrative move that may seem strange or silly from the outside actually makes sense from the inside. My goal in doing that is to clear away useless myths to make possible a more intelligent and useful discussion as a sector about the challenges we all face, and how best to handle them. And then there’s Quinnipiac. Read more...By Matt Reed. Dear Graduate Directors,
I hope all is well with you, and that all of your charges have landed safely and happily in tenure-track positions at high salaries in desirable locations with compatible cultures, happy partners, and book contracts. I hope a lot of things. That doesn’t always make them happen. Read more...
CollegeNET, a business that provides a number of admissions-related services to colleges, has announced an antitrust lawsuit against the Common Application. "Common Application has orchestrated a sea change in the student application process, turning a once vibrant, diverse and highly competitive market into a straitjacketed ward of uniformity," the suit says. Read more...
Many faculty members at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign believe that James Kilgore, an adjunct who has been told he will not have his contract renewed, is being treated unfairly. Kilgore had strong reviews, and indications that he would be renewed, but that changed when a local newspaper published an article identifying him as a former member of the Symbionese Liberation Army, who has served jail time before coming to the university (and informing superiors of his past). Read more...
Inside Higher Ed is today releasing a free compilation of articles -- in print-on-demand format -- about strategies for the new economic realities that colleges and universities have faced since the economic downturn started in 2008. Articles include a range of strategies being used at private and public colleges, four-year and two-year institutions. The articles and essays reflect key discussions about pedagogy, technology and the role of faculty members. Download the booklet here. Read more...The Modern Language Association on Tuesday voiced its support for regulations that ensure all traffic on the internet is given the same priority in an open letter to Tom Wheeler, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Read more...
