Tuition continues to skyrocket, and always this is justified because the schools need more money to educate students. For most schools, the lie here is transparent for a variety of reasons: If the student base is increasing, economies of scale should drive overhead per student down…but it does not. If the school has been around […] … learn more→

On US students’ college-prep checklist, nothing looms larger than college admission tests. That’s why recently announced changes to the ACT might seem like a windfall to students who are concerned that a single test score could determine their whole futures. Starting next fall, students will be able to retake any of the ACT’s five sections […] … learn more→

When I started my PhD, I was full of enthusiasm, excited by this new opportunity and period of growth. I read a  blog by Jodie Trembath about having a PhD symbol (she originally called it a PhD totem but changed this on the request of several First Nations scholars in the US). I bought an Asian bamboo […] … learn more→

Our institutions of higher learning are massively oversized. While in general I disagree with the levels of growth which allowed this to happen there is one benefit to a large institution: resistance to change. Back when our institutions were merely huge, this benefit occurred quite often as the universities tended to not fall into fad […] … learn more→

Marlene was one of the brightest and most conscientious doctoral students I’ve ever served in my academic coaching and editing practice. An older student, she had returned for her doctorate after three of her four kids were grown and out. Marlene held down a full-time job in medical billing, and her youngest was now in […] … learn more→

It’s easy to look at a degree printed on a sheet of paper and say “that’s all crap,” and one degree (of many, to be sure) that often receives such scorn is the Gender Studies (or Women’s Studies) degree. Does it deserve this treatment? Well, Arizona State University, noted for turning higher ed into a […] … learn more→

When it comes to getting into a selective university, high school GPA and test scores typically play the most important role. But in a recent study, we show another way to attend a selective university: transfer from a community college. This alternative option is important for students who are minority, low-income, and underprepared academically for higher education. Students from these particular […] … learn more→

There are two specific ways I was positioned as a minority during my PhD: being an Asian woman and being a medieval scholar. Being a medieval scholar was the more difficult of the two! I was one of the few women postgraduates working regularly – or even occasionally – in the postgraduate room where I […] … learn more→

When it comes to university choices for both students and academics, it might seem like everyone wants to study and work in the institutions that top the league tables and the world rankings – but research seems to indicate this isn’t the case. As part of the background analysis for my new book Experiences of Academics from a […] … learn more→

Basic physics I’ll admit that my knowledge of physics is largely confined to the theme song of The Big Bang Theory. Increasingly, however, I find myself staring into the electronic time suck that is my email inbox and thinking about Einstein’s theory of general relativity. I wonder, in particular, if he was thinking of academia […] … learn more→