I can’t say how useful having a hypothesis is in shaping your writing and research. It helps you to shape your research proposal, your research plan, your first draft. It may be that your hypothesis is wrong, that’s fine. It’s easier to fix a wrong hypothesis than to introduce an argument into a draft that […] … learn more→

Students from the poorest households in England now graduate with the highest levels of debt. On average the poorest 40% of students owe around £57,000 after three years of study, compared with an average of £43,000 for students from the richest third of families. This outcome is due to the way the student finance system is currently set […] … learn more→

For all the tax reform provisions that will take away benefits from borrowers and colleges, there’s one important addition in the House legislation–excluded from the Senate’s version of tax reform that was published over the weekend–that will help vulnerable students and their families: making student loan discharges due to death or disability nontaxable income. Currently, […] … learn more→

The academic fraud at UNC was intergenerational: it went on long enough that a participant in the early days of the fraud could see his child grow up, come to this university, and also participate in the fraud. In one exchange, regarding a basketball player, Crowder asked Boxill if a “D will do.” “I’m only […] … learn more→

Swirling around the debates over the high sticker price of higher education is a deeper conversation about the broken financial model that most colleges and universities continue to use to pay their bills. While the largest universities have more options based on the scale of their endowment, fundraising prowess, and research support, most public and […] … learn more→

Time and again I’ve heard admin spew the most insane gibberish, things no normal person could believe, or could even imagine. I’ve looked at administrative degree programs, and while they are complete frauds, the issue there is a lack of content or requirements, not that they’re filled with insanity. It’s no secret that our institutions of higher […] … learn more→

In the past few days, I have lost count of the times I’ve heard politicians and others say that sexual comments, coercion or even acts of force were acceptable 15, 20 or 25 years ago, but the “goalposts have moved” and that times have changed. Sexual abuse has never been acceptable. But with many victims silenced, […] … learn more→

A funny thing happened the other day on my way to give a guest lecture. Invited by a fellow historian to speak at her university, I first met with a group of her students and colleagues for a lunchtime chat. It was a fine session: the students were engaging, the historians were engaged, and the […] … learn more→

The story of endemic institutional abuse – and pervasive cover ups masked as “ignorance” – is not new. It is embedded in institutions that have been established by the privileged and elite. Underpinning the success of these institutions is power and control: the desire either to acquire or maintain it. The Feudal dynamics are the […] … learn more→

Tucked away in the recently announced GOP tax bill is a small item you may have missed: a new tax on university endowments. As I have spent decades working in higher education, the proposal immediately piqued my interest. Colleges create endowments by raising funds from alumni, companies and other donors, invest the money in stocks, bonds and other […] … learn more→