In The Communist Manifesto of 1848, Marx and Engels claimed that capitalism has got itself into an unlikely fix. It was in the midst of “an epidemic that, in all earlier epochs, would have seemed an absurdity – the epidemic of overproduction”. Nearly two centuries on, the affliction has spread all the way from the […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
How to survive in the era of academic overproduction
Keen IT students can improve their marks when given a chance to learn from their mistakes
From a very young age, we are conditioned to learn to succeed by avoiding failures or mistakes. Our traditional education system is built largely on examination that marks down students for their mistakes in any assessed work. Students don’t often get a chance to have those mistakes highlighted early on so they can correct them before […] … learn more→
Michigan State U: Don’t say “I apologize,” It’s a trigger
Our campuses are bloated with administrators, so many that not only is it a puzzle to those who work on campus what these people actually do, it’s a puzzle to the administrators themselves. They mostly work very hard to justify their jobs, and their efforts manifest in a variety of ways. One way is to […] … learn more→
University of Alaska going bankrupt…like many State schools
By the financial measurement standards of the Obama administration, Trump’s presidency has seen an incredible boom in the American economy. Of course, those old standards are rubbish, and many of our states are running huge deficits because the economic numbers, no matter how you manipulate them, can’t change the reality of our failing economy (even […] … learn more→
Parcoursup, a GPS post-ferry orientation not so easy to handle
These words, the under-20s may not know them. But like Francis Cabrel sang in a 1981 title, bachelors who do not yet have a post in higher education for the fall of 2019 seek to take “their place in the traffic” … And this before the Parcoursup site , whose complementary phase opened on June 25, will close on September 11th. This countdown […] … learn more→
7 tips on how to take better notes
In a graduate-level educational psychology course at Florida State University, my professor didn’t allow students to take notes. He reasoned that taking notes prevented students from reflecting on the lesson. Yet, the professor also thought students needed a good set of notes to review later for exams. So he provided students with complete notes following […] … learn more→
On finishing early
Engaging with #phdchat on Twitter and other platforms is equal parts terrifying and hilarious for a new PhD candidate (see @legogradstudent and @GameofAcademics as evidence). The internet can quickly become a vortex of stories of bad supervision, huge writing deadlines and long journeys through the Valley of Shit. It seems that stories of happy, early completion […] … learn more→
Cops skip class, still get A’s. Any questions?
One aspect of fraud in higher education I seldom touch on is the credential fraud of graduate school. To clarify, to advance in a position, often a worker needs to have some sort of a graduate degree. Trouble is, if you have a job, you really don’t have time to go to grad school…but if […] … learn more→
How to address college dropout
The publication of the updated edition of the U-Ranking Report , carried out by the BBVA Foundation and the Valencian Institute of Economic Research, has once again focused on the university system, apart from the accurate analysis established on the basis of objective indicators , has included in this occasion data on a complex and worrying phenomenon, […] … learn more→
5 things to consider before taking out a student loan
16.9 million. That’s how many students are going to college at the undergraduate level this fall. Of that number, roughly half – 46% – will take out federal student loans. It’s a decision that could bring certain rewards – not the least of which is a well-paying job – but it can also come with serious economic […] … learn more→
