Students cheat. Surveys for the past 50 years have been disappointingly consistent: about 75% of all college students admit to cheating at least once. There is no shock or head scratching when we learn of plagiarized papers or purloined exams. What happened at the University of North Carolina, however, was different. UNC was home to institutionally…
Presidential Memoirs and Priorities
I am a higher education nerd. When I travel and spot a college campus, I explore it. When people tell me that their children are attending this school or that university, I actually am interested in hearing more their child’s college experience. When given the chance to read a book about a college, I usually do.…
Equity and Stereotypes – We Have Much Work To Do
My parents told me when I was a child to avoid stereotyping people. They said that stereotypes were unfair and lazy ways of judging. Their admonitions made sense. Since I wanted to be thought of as a special person, why shouldn’t I do the same for others? It also seemed relatively easy: don’t judge in…
Following the Money – Right Into the End Zone
For many Americans, thinking about higher education means thinking about sports, especially college football. We love college football and our passion for it is growing annually. College football may not be central to the mission of most colleges and universities, but understanding its popularity and influence is essential. Gilbert Gaul, a prize-winning journalist, explains how…
Rights, Referenda, and Reasons
Good questions can take a long time to answer. Earlier this month in a special election Houston voters decisively rejected a city ordinance protecting citizens from discrimination. The issue, framed as liberal versus conservative conflict, attracted national attention. Sports figures, religious leaders, actors, and even the White House weighed in. Supporters argued that the law would protect people…
Missoula: Crime Upon Crime
John Krakauer’s Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town is hard-hitting journalism, a powerful work that stays with you and makes you think. When problems occur that involve the most visible in college life – varsity athletics – media attention is immediate. When those problems are crimes that involve college football players, media…
Access ≠ Access, and Other Lessons from the Digital Divide
My college, like many other institutions of higher education, is working to increase the number of students who complete degrees and certificates in IT fields. We partner with high schools, external organizations, other colleges and universities, and industry. There is genuine enthusiasm for the goal and widespread agreement that information technology knowledge and skills are essential…