After writing for years about the benefits of certificates and short-term credential programs, especially for working learners, I had begun to feel inauthentic, like a self-help guru who doesn’t take her own advice. So I finally enrolled in one this spring: Google’s “career certificate” program in data analytics, available online through Coursera for $39 a […]
College Guide
Posted inSeptember/October 2023
When Colleges Apply to Students
An emerging university admissions system is helping underprivileged applicants by reversing the traditional process.
Posted inSeptember/October 2023
America’s Best Bang for the Buck Colleges
Our one-of-a-kind list of schools that help non-wealthy students attain marketable degrees at affordable prices.
Posted inSeptember/October 2023
A Note on Methodology: 4-year Colleges and Universities
To establish the set of colleges included in the rankings, we started with the 1,586 colleges in the 50 states that are listed in the U.S. Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and have a 2021 Carnegie basic classification of doctoral, master’s, and baccalaureate colleges, are not exclusively graduate colleges, participate in […]
Posted inCollege Guide
Which College Boards Look Like Their Students?
Board/student diversity alignment for a sample of 100 institutions drawn from the top, middle, and bottom of the Washington Monthly’s 2022 College Rankings.
Posted inCollege Guide
Introduction: A Different Kind of College Ranking
America needs a new definition of higher education excellence, one that measures what colleges do for their country, instead of for themselves.
Posted inCollege Guide
When Gown Embraces Town
It’s time to judge colleges by their contribution to the economic and civic life of their communities. Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, passes the test brilliantly.
Posted inCollege Guide
The (Student) Paper of Record
The Ball State Daily News has filled a local journalism gap.
Posted inCollege Guide
The Invisible College Barrier
Admissions requirements for popular majors are robbing underprivileged students of future income—and their dreams.
