Don’t Let Colleges Conflate Budget Crises With Money Grabs – To The Detriment of Their Citizens

This story is about state schools admitting out-of-state students over in-state ones just for tuition.  But that is not the whole story, as I described in my comment, posted below. Colleges’ Wider Search for Applicants Crowds Out Local Students - … [Continue reading]

Piketty’s “Key to Overall Productivity Growth” and “the Reduction of Inequality”

The following are quotes from Thomas Piketty's seminal Capital in the Twenty-First Century.  I have used italics to emphasize parts that I think are particularly important with respect to education. "...Knowledge and skill diffusion is the key to … [Continue reading]

In One Sentence Piketty Explains “The Great Wage Slowdown of the 21st Century”

David Leonhardt has a good analysis in today's NY Times. (The Great Wage Slowdown of the 21st Century - NYTimes.com) He realizes the importance of education to economic growth and decreasing inequality.  Yet he makes the same mistake that so many … [Continue reading]

Does The University of Chicago Try to Catch Up on Economic Diversity? Let’s Hope So, But We Need to Watch.

David Leohardt's article is here. The University of Chicago Tries to Catch Up on Economic Diversity - NYTimes.com. My comment was: "It will be important to keep our eye on this program. Hopefully, it will be in the tradition of their … [Continue reading]

Frank Bruni’s Piece in Today’s NY Times: More Symptoms

The Wilds of Education - NYTimes.com. I commented.  For readers of this blog, I will put my last paragraph first. Last Paragraph "If someone had no idea what a university was, and only learned about them from reading the papers (rape … [Continue reading]

Insightful: Why Poor Students Struggle – NYTimes.com

Why Poor Students Struggle - NYTimes.com. … [Continue reading]

A Look at Stats on College Costs and Aid – WSJ

A Look at Stats on College Costs and Aid - WSJ. I'm providing this link for readers.  (I also added a comment.) "Expectations are usually based on past experience. In this case they shouldn't be. In most parents' college experience- around … [Continue reading]

Why Federal Ratings Might Not Do Anything

This is another comment on. Why Federal College Ratings Won’t Rein In Tuition - NYTimes.com. (The first comment is here.) "Colleges have ashown themselves adept at "solving for the winning solution"(as in "need fewer transfers to get a … [Continue reading]

High Tuition is a Gigantic Problem – But It Isn’t “The Problem”

Why Federal College Ratings Won’t Rein In Tuition - NYTimes.com. I made the following comment. A federal system of transparency and accountability is critical. But cost is not the most important reason. As the author notes, "..Economic … [Continue reading]