Pop quiz: when a student transfers from a community college to a four-year school, which school decides which credits to take in transfer? Hint: the word “take” is key. The four-year school decides. The community college is at its mercy. I bring that up because it demonstrates why this piece by Ames Brown, identified in […] … learn more→
Author Archives: Kevin
Wow, that’s a bad idea
How doing an internship saved my PhD
It was a warm summer day in Kazakhstan. I was having a pretty tough time. Mid-thesis crisis. Emotionally demanding fieldwork in Central Asia, a break-up, and just the feeling that I didn’t succeed with my fieldwork, or my PhD. I was supposed to do productive fieldwork in the political sphere of Kazakhstan. Instead I felt […] … learn more→
Student interns aren’t entitled to the minimum wage and it’s costing them big time
For university students, work placements are heralded as a highly valuable opportunity. Taking a year out from studying to work in their chosen industry gives students a chance to learn more about their sector and get real life experience. Placements also allow students time to make contacts and network and prove themselves in a working […] … learn more→
Professor of the academic dark arts – part one
Professor of the dark academic arts. It’s a job. Yes, really. No, you never see this position advertised. But it exists. And not just in J K Rowling’s world. In real life. Professors of academic dark arts magick away other people’s work and get away with it. They cast spells which do in their competition. […] … learn more→
Top quick wins to boost your scholarship chances
Are you a hard-working student with the highest grades in class? Are you constantly involved in social activities such as volunteering? Or maybe you are the head of the student council? Do you think all that is enough to get you a scholarship? While one cannot deny the fact the all the factors listed above […] … learn more→
Everything you need to know about productivity in writing
Writing is not such a difficult to skill to obtain as long as you know how to read and write in your language at an average level. Yes, it is easy to write a piece, but writing a good one; that is a whole other story. Writing involves time, dedication and effort. It is important […] … learn more→
Attention NFL: Learn from Mizzou
The whole country is a’twitter (see what I did there!) about players kneeling in protest of the national anthem. It’s amazing how quickly people forget…do we not remember Tim Tebow? Actually, it’s quite understandable that we’ve forgotten Tebow, since the mainstream media, for some reason, won’t remind us. Anyway, wayyyyyy back in history past, around […] … learn more→
The power and politics of knowledge: what African universities need to do
The idea that knowledge is infused with power and politics may sound abstract, so let me offer an example from my own life to illustrate. I was invited to a dinner proceeding a conference in an African capital city. I had expected to meet all the other speakers. But it turned out to be only […] … learn more→
A Star is born: The College Scorecard’s latest feature is great news for students
Though the Department of Education released the College Scorecard update this morning with little fanfare, users who went to the site were pleasantly surprised by a new feature: a comparison tool that allows prospective students to compare up to 10 different colleges across a whole host of data measures. Here’s how it works, in three […] … learn more→
Want to be a successful academic? It’s all about getting published
Whether we like it or not, published research remains one of the significant benchmarks by which academics are measured. So from the perspective of science and the social sciences, how does the postdoctoral researcher (or temporary lecturer) go about achieving this? I want to focus on three linked areas that are based around work, publication […] … learn more→
