A Bumper Crop of Lupins
Because That’s Where the Money Is…
Begin By Listening
By Mary Churchill. Last Friday, my Associate Dean and I traveled south of Boston (Bridgewater for those of you who know the region) to attend a system wide meeting for those of us leading graduate, professional, continuing, and/or extension units in the nine state universities. More...
We Can't Train Students for the "Real World"
By John Warner. In my “real world,” undergraduate tuition (1988-1992) at a highly regarded state university cost a little over $2k a year, and when you graduated, you could get a three-bedroom apartment in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood with a couple of buddies for $1100/month (the same apartment now goes for $2800). Read more...
Questioning the Undergraduate Creative Writing Workshop
By John Warner. In the midst of the great lecture debate of the past couple of weeks, I was intrigued by Slate columnist Rebecca Schuman’s argument that one of the reasons lecture remains popular is because academics, likely having been “ideal” students (“front row kids”) themselves, gravitate to a mode that serves that sort of student. Read more...
Reading For Pleasure In Grad School
By Natascha Chtena. Oftentimes, grad students complain about how little time they have to read non-academic books like novels and popular non-fiction. And they’re right – finding time for pleasure reading can be a challenge in grad school. Read more...
Battling Misconceptions
By Erin Bedford. With a Canadian election having just finished and an American election gearing up, bad science and statements that conflict with evidence have been coming from the mouths of politicians, journalists, and family and friends more often than usual. Grad students everywhere listen and cringe. Read more...
How to Manage Irregular Expenses with Limited Cash Flow
By Emily Roberts. Irregular or non-monthly expenses can be difficult to weather for anyone, but even more so when you have a low income or little to no discretionary income. Irregular expenses are a nearly universal pain point among graduate students. Any (relatively) large expenses that crop up once or a few times per year can pose a problem, and common examples include school fees, taxes, car registration, car repairs, travel, conference expenses, entertainment, electronics, clothes, home furnishings, insurance, gifts, and medical expenses. Read more...
Growing Criticism of Theory of 'Disruptive Innovation'
Clay Christensen, a professor at Harvard University's business school, has since his 1997 book The Innovator's Dilemma been widely acclaimed in the business world for his theory of “disruptive innovation” to explain why upstarts derail established companies. A later book applying the ideas to higher education has led many administrators to feature Christensen at meetings and quote him to promote various ideas about change. Read more...