What to Make of the Government’s College Watch List
By . A list of schools that are under the microscope for financial reasons was recently made public. How risky is it to attend a troubled school?
Regulators recently made public a once secret watch list of around 550 colleges under scrutiny for financial irregularities. More...
Why Students At The University Of Washington Want To Put Their Phones Away
By Tyler Kingkade. For almost a decade, David Levy has taught a course at the University of Washington's Information School called "Information and Contemplation." At the beginning of each class, he asks students to pay attention to their breathing. The 20 students in the room can't talk to each other while they do this, and phones and laptops are off limits. More...
Korean-language classes are growing in popularity at U.S. colleges
By . When Olivia Hernandez was a middle schooler in Oxnard, she became hooked on K-wave — the global phenomenon of South Korean pop music, television and culture. Inspired by the romantic series "My Lovely Sam Soon" and bands like Clazziquai, she taught herself the Korean alphabet and learned a few phrases. More...
What Are Universities For?
Zocalo Public Square is a not-for-profit Ideas Exchange that blends live events and humanities journalism.
What will it take to redesign and reinvigorate American higher education?
Pretty much anyone you talk to in America today has an opinion about what’s wrong with our universities. Parents think they’re too expensive. Recent graduates fear being crushed by debt and ending up untrained for the current job market. Professors worry that entering students have not been adequately prepared by their high schools. Economists and sociologists point to troubling studies about a lack of diversity—in both income and race—on American campuses. In Silicon Valley, they talk about MOOCs and STEM, flipped classrooms and gamification. And in Washington, D.C., they talk about federal aid and compliance, Title IX and irresponsible lending. More...
Española college battles flap over name change
. In a largely unheralded move in January, the Board of Regents of Northern New Mexico College voted to change the school’s name to “Northern New Mexico University.” Officials at the time said the change would better reflect the school’s academic offerings, and would help the institution be regarded in the same light as the state’s other regional universities, such as Western New Mexico in Silver City and New Mexico Highlands in Las Vegas. More...
Math Geek Mom: When Evil Enrolls
By Rosemarie Emanuele. Economists teach that there we can find a “market clearing” price that equates the amount demanded by consumers with the amount supplied by producers. I recall one extreme case of this when I left my first job almost twenty years ago. Before leaving, I had been teaching a section of a “First Year Seminar,” a piece of the core curriculum that every department was instructed to offer each semester. Read more...