In an update to the case of SUNY-Cobleskill and the (possible) whistleblower dean, George Leef argued yesterday in the conservative John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy’s Clarion Call that lowering academic standards was nothing new in higher education: SUNY-Cobleskill wouldn’t be the first college to lower its standards and make it easier for […]
Daniel Luzer
Daniel Luzer is the news editor at Governing Magazine and former web editor of the Washington Monthly. Find him on Twitter: @Daniel_Luzer
Prison College
From the Oregonian comes news that an anonymous donor recently decided to give money to the Oregon prison system so that inmates could complete college: “At a time when public agencies and Oregonians are reeling from the effects of the current economic environment,” [Max Williams, director of the Oregon Department of Corrections] said, “it is […]
And Sleep When You’re Dead
Part of the appeal of online courses is that students can take them when they have free time. This is part of the appeal of for-profit colleges. “Your degree. On your terms,” is the slogan of the University of Phoenix; the school emphasizes that it has “course schedules that fit your life.” Online schools generally […]
The Rare, Homeless Student
The Washington Post has an interesting piece about homeless college students in DC: Lots of college students have special tricks to help them get through these next few weeks of finals. Red Bull, coffee amped up with espresso shots, secret study spots . . . Ronnell Wilson has learned that this is the time to […]
Student Loans and the Economy
Historically, most people, no matter their income, graduated from college with no debt. This was the reason a college degree used to be such a prime mover in terms of social mobility. You graduated from college, you got a job, you made money. But now people so often assume debt to go to college that […]
Education Rate in U.S. Declines
Virtually everywhere in the world people tend to be more educated than their parents. This is no longer true in the United States. A report by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities indicates that the U.S. is one of only two nations on Earth in which people aged 25 to 34 have lower […]
Working Your Way Out of College
According to an article in Folsom, California’s News Blaze, community college students spend too much time working to earn money, leaving them with little time for academics and ruining their chances of successfully completing school. This conclusion came from a report about college students and work done by California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG). The […]
How to Know if Financial Aid Is Actually Useful
Does financial aid work? This is not a question about whether or not financial aid helps students afford college. The question is about whether or not financial aid improves academic achievement. Does it actually make students work harder and earn better grades? Despite a vast increase in the amount of financial aid offered in recent […]
Rhode Island Community College President Now His Own Boss
Raymond M. Di Pasquale, the president of the Community College of Rhode Island, has accepted a position as acting commissioner of the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education. The Board of Governors runs three Rhode Island institutions: the University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, and, well, the Community College of Rhode Island. […]
“Your Grandmother” on College Completion
In the last twenty years or so the college completion rate in the U.S. has gone down. Some 50.5 percent of 1972 high school graduates finished college; less than 46 percent of the class of 1992 graduated from college. According to Inside Higher Ed, colleges often blame this apparent completion decline on high schools, arguing […]

