Archives for March 2015

America: A flagging model | The Economist

America: A flagging model | The Economist. This is a continuation of the “Must Read” in The Economist. I commented. This article makes the critical observation that “…returns [to individual students] have held up not because graduates have done so well but because those with only high-school degrees have done so badly…” That is an […]

A Must Read From The Economist (This Week’s Cover Story)

Universities: The world is going to university | The Economist. This link is to the introduction. Here is the link to the complete report. http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21646985-american-model-higher-education-spreading-it-good-producing-excellence I commented on the introduction. “”…price becomes a proxy for quality. By charging more, good universities gain both revenue and prestige…” I am a former professor. I taught math at one […]

Why So Few Online Courses? Quotes From “The Economist” 3/28/2015 Edition on Universities

“…Since the value of a degree from a selective institution depends on its scarcity, good universities have little incentive to produce more graduates..” (From <http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21647285-more-and-more-money-being-spent-higher-education-too-little-known-about-whether-it>) which may be why, even though “…Technology offers the promise of making education both cheaper and more effective, but universities resist adopting it…”  (From <http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21646985-american-model-higher-education-spreading-it-good-producing-excellence>)

It Cost a Fortune NOT to Grade Teachers by Their Students’ Test

Grading Teachers by the Test – NYTimes.com. Raj Chetty coauthored an important paper cited in this article, but, apparently not completely believed.  I commented. “Professors Rockoff, Chetty and Friedman, found something more than that “…teachers who improved students’ scores…raised the students’ chances of going to college as well as their salaries later in life…” They […]

How Do You Distinguish Empire Building From Education/Research Building?

When a field of study becomes important in the mind of the public, should a university respond? It probably will put resources behind that field; but many times that is only because it isn’t listening to Robert Maynard Hutchins comments on that. “…an institution…should have an educational policy and then try to finance it, instead […]

More On Holden Thorp

Interview: Jay Smith And Mary Willingham, Authors Of ‘Cheated’ : NPR. I commented. ” I’m surprised that no one has mentioned what happened to Holden Thorp, the Chancellor of UNC. First, though, here is a quote from Greg Easterbrook’s review of “Cheated” – a quote that, from my reading of the book, I agree with. […]

“We’re Frighteningly in the Dark About Student Debt” – But Even More in the Dark About What We Are Buying

We’re Frighteningly in the Dark About Student Debt – NYTimes.com. I commented as follow: (Please note the “fixes” to the poor writing I submitted.) We are loaning money to naïve – and by definition – uneducated “consumers” so that they can “buy” an education. Yet the “sellers” in blocking block all attempts for either the […]

Scientists “Forced” to Cheat Says Medical School Professor

That statement is immediately after the bullets in this article. Amid a Sea of False Findings, the NIH Tries Reform – Research – The Chronicle of Higher Education. Poor scientists!  “Forced” to cheat to get all that money.  (Top medical school professors make from $500,000 to a few million.) Here are some posts on the […]

Good News: Today’s Anxious Freshmen Declare Majors Far Faster Than Their Elders – WSJ

Today’s Anxious Freshmen Declare Majors Far Faster Than Their Elders – WSJ. But they need advice.  I wrote. I am a former professor who taught at Washington University in St. Louis.  With honest advice these earnest students will do well.  Unfortunately, they cannot count on college officials to always give them that honest advice.   In the words of David Riesman […]