Two years ago, the accountancy firm EY made an announcement that no doubt sent a shiver down many lecturers’ spines. After failing to find any published evidence that graduates with good degree results made for better employees, a trawl through its own data, the company revealed, similarly found “no evidence to conclude that previous success in […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
Do critical thinking skills give graduates the edge?
That bleeding thesis…
No. I’m not cussing. Let me explain why. My colleague Brigitte Nerlich sent me an email the other day. She said: I was talking to a PhD student (not one of mine) and this student repeatedly used a metaphor which I found quite interesting – that of the ‘bleeding document’. This was not a swear […] … learn more→
College requirements just empty calories
A college degree, at least in theory, takes 4 years to complete, no matter the major. It’s puzzling how there are few questions about why it takes exactly as long to train a hotel manager as an accountant as a kindergarten teacher…it’s one of many questions about higher education that needs asking, but today I […] … learn more→
Sex matters: Male bias in the lab is bad science
When I first started doing experimental biology, I noticed that we only looked at males. I was in a fly lab — a very good one — and we could have looked at males or females, or both, but we didn’t. We collected female flies to mate, of course (flies need males and females to […] … learn more→
The academic handmaiden’s tale
Yesterday we got a damning report on sexual harrassment and assault in Australian universities. It’s truly harrowing reading. I’m not going to recap the report, you should read it for yourself, but one thing is clear: the research workplace is no different to many others. Sexual violence happens here. Yesterday was a difficult day around […] … learn more→
Universities have a problem with sexual assault and harassment: here’s how to fix it
Universities in Australia have a serious problem with sexual assault and sexual harassment. The Australian Human Rights Commission’s survey, to be released today, documents that large numbers of students have experienced sexual assault and harassment. This is no surprise. National and international studies have already established that the risks of sexual and dating violence are […] … learn more→
4 reasons degrees becoming worthless…and why
Hey, it’s no secret we’ve got a serious problem in higher education right now. Our kids, trained from birth that they should go to college after high school, are doing their supposed duty by going to college…and getting destroyed. Many of them leave higher education with lives crushed by debt, and gaining nothing from their […] … learn more→
I love my administrators! And there should be no ‘conflict’ with academics
A recent blog by Michael Edwards, entitled “I quit! Why I am Leaving UK Academia”, cited administrators as one of the core reasons behind his move to Germany, in a bid to escape the “hell in a handcart” that UK academia was described as becoming. I wish him well in Germany. A German colleague did ask […] … learn more→
Remove tenure by changing name of School…seriously?
In the Communist takeovers of the 20th century, the shapers of public opinion were targeted for either control or elimination. This is understandable, as socialist ideas generally can’t stand up to any intelligent challenge…getting rid of people with an opposing point of view, particularly those who can express that view to the public, is thus […] … learn more→
Three prejudices I had about distance learning before getting my MA online
Several years ago, like most of the BA graduates I’ve faced the problem of combining full-time work and studying. On the one hand, I wanted to continue my education further, on the other, I have a student loan to pay off and some other family responsibilities requiring me to work. So finally I’ve decided not […] … learn more→
