Close to my house in Tambaong, Togo–where I was a Peace Corps Volunteer 25 years ago–was the remains of a large fish pond, a development project of the past. Nobody I knew could even identify the Non-Governmental Organization that had built it–nor could anyone remember having eaten fish from it. West Africa is littered with […] … learn more→

Last year the younger of my two sons went off to college. As we went through the search process, we looked at university and department websites, checked faculty research interests, looked for evidence of faculty involving students in their research, flinched at the prices, marveled at the climbing walls, and considered quality of the food […] … learn more→

When covering the fraud of higher education, I repeatedly get amazed by the systemic fraud at community colleges. Yes, universities totally have their scandals, but community colleges have all the scandals of universities…and then more. Part of this likely is because universities are set up as individual institutions—there is no one grand high Poo Bah […] … learn more→

Another university admissions cycle is reaching its climax with A-level results envelopes opening, university places confirmed and the clearing process for those who did better or worse than they’d hoped kicking into action. Amid all this, the government is having a third go at creating a real market in higher education. Controls on the number […] … learn more→

In the northern hemisphere it’s the time of year when many doctoral researchers are thinking about the places where they are hoping to do their research. As I’m writing about this very topic at the moment, I’ve decided to post some of the things I’m writing. The book is about methods and is intended for […] … learn more→

On July 30, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) joined the many organizations and policymakers calling for reforming the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). NASFAA’s four point proposal calls for a few familiar changes, but innovates in other ways. In this post, we’ll break down the details of how NASFAA […] … learn more→

Copy and paste and copyright rarely go hand in hand. On the Internet, plagiarism is both easier to do and easier to bust — all thanks to technology’s growth. Plagiarism, which is defined as the practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own, is often thought of as a […] … learn more→

About this time two years ago, President Obama went on his college affordability bus tour and unveiled his plan to take on the rising costs of higher education in front of thousands of students at SUNY Buffalo. Promoting innovation and competition was a key part of his plan and President Obama held up competency-based education […] … learn more→

For bookish types, the equivalent of 42.195 kilometers is the reading marathon. Instead of running, you sit and listen and cheer the readers on and maybe struggle to stay alert and upright. The complete Ulysses, every pentameter line of Paradise Lost, each word of that big book about a whale. There have been marathon readings […] … learn more→

Between 6:00 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. this morning, the Discovery Channel aired the following three 30-minute infomercials:Sexy in Three Weeks!; The Graduate: Learn about Innovative Grad and Undergrad Degrees; and No More Wrinkles! The middle of those three infomercials has been produced by Tribune Media for Western Governors University. One alternative to conventional, on-site delivery […] … learn more→