By Philip Zaleski and Carol Zaleski. During the hectic middle decades of the 20th century, from the end of the Great Depression through the Second World War and into the 1950s, a small circle of intellectuals gathered weekly in and around the University of Oxford to drink, smoke, quip, cavil, read aloud their works in progress, and endure or enjoy with as much grace as they could muster the sometimes blistering critiques that followed. This erudite club included writers and painters, philologists and physicians, historians and theologians, soldiers and actors. They called themselves, with typical self-effacing humor, the Inklings. More...
3 Key Findings About College Admissions
By Eric Hoover. If your vice president for enrollment looks haggard these days, maybe it’s because the percentage of accepted applicants who enroll keeps going down, complicating those all-important revenue projections. Or maybe she’s scrambling to attract more transfer students to the campus. The best strategy for recruiting foreign students? Everyone’s trying to figure that out, too. More...
How a Cultural Moment Becomes a College Course: The Case of Deflategate
By Steve Kolowich. These days, one measure of a pop-culture phenomenon is how quickly it gets its own college course.
Last summer Rutgers University offered a course on Beyoncé, while Skidmore College held one on Miley Cyrus. A few years ago Rice University listed a course devoted to "the mythology, symbolism, and history of Batman." Professors elsewhere have pegged courses to "The Simpsons," "South Park," "The Wire," "Star Trek," and many other popular TV shows. More...
Social and emotional development: The next school reform frontier
By Hugh B. Price. As Congress wrestles with rewriting the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (currently better known as the No Child Left Behind law or NCLB), it is high time policymakers address a crucial aspect of K-12 school improvement that has long been given short shrift by legislators and educators–the social and emotional development of youngsters who chronically lag far behind academically. More...
Stuart Butler on MOOCs, college costs, and the future of higher education
By Stuart M. Butler and Fred Dews. “Ten years from now college is going to look a lot different,” says Senior Fellow Stuart Butler in this podcast. Butler, an expert on the future of higher education, economic mobility, budget process reform, and federal entitlement reform, explains how developments in education technology, such as MOOCs, are driving college costs down, changing university business models, and could have a dramatic effect on social mobility in this country. More...
Research and the pursuit of equity under ESEA
By Mark Dynarski. Current drafts of the reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) fall short of a commitment to use research to improve education. The bills—the “Student Success Act” in the House and the “Every Child Achieves Act” in the Senate—no doubt represent compromises and tradeoffs as any major legislation would. But who is arguing for less research and innovation in education. More...
The evolving politics of the Common Core
By Ashley Jochim and Lesley Lavery. In 2009, the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) launched an effort to standardize English and Mathematics curriculums for high school graduates preparing for college—standards that would come to be known as the Common Core. By 2011, 45 states plus the District of Columbia effectively embraced the policy. As the standards reached implementation, however, five states have rescinded them and dozens more have proposed reconsidering, delaying, or limiting participation. More...
Alumni from these colleges (almost) always pay their debts
By . Fans of Game of Thrones know that “a Lannister always pays his debts.” So too do nearly all alumni from Notre Dame, Vassar, Harvey Mudd, and Brigham Young, at least when it comes to federal student loans. More...
University modern language courses easier to get on than five years ago
By Sally Weale. In 2010, students had a 15.9% chance of winning a place at one of the 24 Russell Group universities, rising to 17.4% in 2014 due to dwindling interest. More...
University in Europe: how to know if it's right for you
By Louise Tickle. Student life on the continent can seem idyllic, and with Ucas now including European universities in the admissions process, many British students are shunning the UK. But how do you know if this is the right choice for you. More...