Years ago, in my book, I wrote how a state university had an unwritten policy for faculty to pass 85% of their students. To clarify, any faculty who did not meet this “standard” would find his career cut short. I’ll double down on this by noting the university also allowed students to register for the […] … learn more→

I set set up the Facebook group Parents Who Study with Rebekah Farrell at the beginning of this year after we “met” on Instagram and discovered that we were both parents who were completing PhDs. Even though we were on opposite ends of the world, we found that we were experiencing the same isolation and […] … learn more→

Anyone who teaches or advises writers has experienced the infuriating déjà vu of reading a student’s paper or dissertation chapter and thinking, “I know I responded to this in the last draft, but here it is again…unchanged.” In my teaching capacity, this moment has traditionally generated something I call ‘reader rage’ (basically road rage on […] … learn more→

A couple of weeks ago I was asked if I had any advice for someone who struggled to let go of their writing – they wrote but then it was really difficult to send the writing off to their supervisor. And clearly, this was an issue. Sending the stuff off is part and parcel of […] … learn more→

One of the great things about being on sabbatical is that you actually get a little time to hide away and do something that professors generally have very little opportunity to do – read books. As a result, I have spent the last couple of months gorging myself on the scholarly fruits that have been […] … learn more→

I wrote this post in response to a comment on a previous post called Why you are not the star student (and how to become one). The gist of the article was that to be a ‘star’, you needed to extend yourself beyond your research and make connections. A comment was made that ‘academia: just another […] … learn more→

Introducing more skilled employees into the economy is an important path to development for many middle income countries. That’s why increased and improved training at the top end of the education level – PhDs – is considered so vital. Many countries encourage students to pursue their PhDs abroad in nations with well ranked universities, particularly in […] … learn more→

Universities teach and research, but what impact do they – and should they – have on their local communities? The leaders of Rutgers University – Newark and West Virginia University were asked to explain their take on this issue given the considerable challenges each of their surrounding communities face. Nancy Cantor, Chancellor Rutgers University – […] … learn more→

Getting a professional education — and job in the wake of graduating — is well worth juggling some college debt for some individuals. However, you are ensured to wind up with only laments on the off chance that you have debts yet no degree. Around 45% of individuals who are no longer in college and […] … learn more→

It truly is astonishing how common the racism and sexism is on campus today. Oh, our leaders prattle on about diversity and equality, but it takes little effort to discover they don’t know the meanings of these words. In times past, they did know what the words meant…but being racists and sexists themselves, they made […] … learn more→