After a good four plus years in college, I’ve had enough time to evaluate the whole professor-student dynamic. And after all this time, I’d have to say that I’m walking away with the most sympathy for my instructors, and not my classmates. A lot of people say that U.S. college students are really, really dumb. […] … learn more→

There’s no doubt about higher education being a major source of illicit funds. The primary reason for this is the student loan scam, but part of why the scam works is we’re trained from a very young age that “go to school” is the trick to being a successful person. Thus, we as a people […] … learn more→

< p>So now we know. After the debates have been had and all the votes have been counted, Britain has decided. After a lifetime in which I have felt part of a European project born out of conflict and hopeful of peace and trade, the majority of voters have decided that they no longer have […] … learn more→

When the first dinosaur bone was described in 1676, it was thought to come from an elephant or perhaps a giant. Over a century later, scientists realised such fossils came from a creature they named Megalosaurus, portrayed as a sort of stocky, overgrown lizard. Then, in 1842, leading anatomist Richard Owen recognised Megalosaurus as part […] … learn more→

Last year, the Indian government called for a review into how to best reform its education system. The findings and recommendations released this week reflect the momentum building in India for change in the sector. The report addresses a longstanding civil society concern within India to raise the percentage of GDP per capita spent on […] … learn more→

The decades-old “assault” on American public higher education – as detailed by Christopher Newfield in his book – has, among other things, often put public colleges and universities in a bind if they try to raise their undergraduate admissions standards. As institutions that in the past had virtually “open admissions” attempt to become more selective academically […] … learn more→

Data breaches are a regular part of the cyberthreat landscape. They generate a great deal of media attention, both because the quantity of information stolen is often large, and because so much of it is data people would prefer remained private. Dozens of high-profile breaches over the last few years have targeted national retailers, health […] … learn more→

Good ol’ CNN, the major news organization that’s been dying on the vine for years…am I the only one that wonders how these guys make any money? It’s almost like they have a benefactor with very deep pockets that doesn’t care about CNN profits as long as CNN continues to spout the party line, but […] … learn more→

Too often in campus meetings, I hear people accuse others, sometimes me, of “wordsmithing.” I hate that word. The notion that caring about language is somehow different from — and not as important as — attending to content confounds me. We are what we write. That lesson was reinforced for me recently when I served […] … learn more→

One of the hardest parts of my job here at ANU is being responsible for ANU’s participation in the Three minute thesis competition. Just in case you have just joined PhD land, the 3MT is an international competition for PhD students with only a couple of simple rules. You have to tell a non-academic audience […] … learn more→