Looking back on 40 years in universities as I retire next week, I recall being witness to many brilliant advances in human knowledge. But my career has also spanned a gradual undermining of the research university ideal. The modern research university arose out of a vision of students learning through their own empirical observations. Its […] … learn more→

When Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was asked to give this year’s commencement address at Harvard, he asked for advice from Bill Gates. Zuckerberg said, “They know we didn’t actually graduate, right?” To which Gates replied, “Oh, that is the best part! They actually give you a degree!” This recent exchange between two famous Harvard dropouts […] … learn more→

Everyone knows that money plays a major role in students’ college enrollment decisions. How big a role? According to a recent study by Royall & Co., the enrollment management and alumni fundraising arm of EAB, “almost one-fifth of students who were admitted to their top choice of college or university in 2016 but decided not […] … learn more→

Earlier this month, Republican Sen. Rob Portman (OH) and Democratic Sen. Mark Warner (VA) joined forces to introduce a bill that would allow high school students to enroll in college coursework using Pell Grant funds. But while such a move could increase access to advanced coursework–and there’s rigorous evidence to suggest longer-term benefits in earning […] … learn more→

“I’m getting a new bong.” –when I was at a fake school, I overheard a student boasting what he was going to do with his Pell Grant “refund.” When a student, or someone posing as a student, goes to college, he can easily qualify for Federally guaranteed student loan money. Over half the country can’t […] … learn more→

The sign on the public car park in the tiny Tasmanian town of Wynyard reads, Egress from this carpark is to be via the access lane in the rear. “Egress?” I wondered. As my 21-year-old son quipped, perhaps the council had called in the local duke to write its signs. Or at least the local […] … learn more→

Whether it is art, science or a little bit of magic, choosing the ‘right’ phd supervisor is one of the most important decisions you will make. There is no doubt that a little bit of luck (or magic) is involved, and both students and supervisors sometimes wish they had a crystal ball that would enable […] … learn more→

Now more than ever, the issue of truth, integrity and value are paramount to postsecondary education. With the current debate surrounding facts and alternate facts, academia must do all it can to hold the line and ensure it instills a code of practice that serves to protect and support knowledge development, rather than draw into […] … learn more→

At the end of 2016, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed that close to two-thirds of all Australians had completed a degree or apprenticeship. The growth in the number of people attending a university or TAFE has risen out of a cyclical demand-driven system called “academic inflation”. Think supply and demand. If an employer […] … learn more→

Yes, universities now promote the practice of doctoral researchers writing with their supervisors, but their advice and support for those involved lags well behind their encouragement. Most universities sign on to the Vancouver protocol, developed by medical researchers, which clarifies publication standards and delineates who ought to be counted as an author. The ICMJA – […] … learn more→