A large portion of scientific research is publicly funded. So why do only the richest consumers have access to it?
posted by reenum on May 18, 2013 - 50 comments

This past Thursday, Forbes Magazine published a pair of articles: The Most Stressful Jobs of 2013 and The Least Stressful Jobs of 2013, the latter of which began with the sentence: "University professors have a lot less stress than most of us." 300+ outraged comments (and thousands of sarcastic #RealForbesProfessor tweets,) later they've added a retraction, and linked to a blog post that takes A Real Look at Being a Professor in the US. [more inside]
posted by zarq on Jan 5, 2013 - 68 comments

The U.S. National Institute of Heath has urged steps to curb growth in "training" positions in biomedical research (report). [more inside]
posted by jeffburdges on Jun 16, 2012 - 39 comments

"It's the dirty little secret of higher education," says Mr. Williams of the New Faculty Majority. "Many administrators are not aware of the whole extent of the problem. But all it takes is for somebody to run the numbers to see that their faculty is eligible for welfare assistance." [more inside]
posted by Kitty Stardust on May 10, 2012 - 590 comments

An anonymous, tenured, mid-career faculty member at a Tier One law school shares his/her observations on the state of contemporary American legal education.
posted by joe lisboa on Aug 12, 2011 - 82 comments

PhDChallenge.org proposed a challenge: To have the phrase "I smoke crack rocks" included in a peer reviewed academic paper. The winner is Gabriel Parent from Carnegie Mellon, who included it in his paper [PDF].
posted by reenum on Dec 16, 2010 - 54 comments

Using its College Results Online database, The Education Trust has released two reports examining the black-white and Hispanic-white college graduation gap. The worst offenders? Wayne State University in Detroit, where fewer than one in ten African-American students graduate in six years, and CUNY Brooklyn College, where 19% less Hispanic students graduate on-time than whites. [more inside]
posted by l33tpolicywonk on Aug 12, 2010 - 28 comments

"What are the new liberal arts?", asks SnarkMarket, inspired by Jason Kottke's tagline and Edge. The blog post has turned into a pitch for a new collaborative book, with spirited discussions and over 100 suggestions including photography, design, relationships, mythology, intuitive thinking, synthesis, knowledge mastery, search, archiving, play, and home economics.
posted by divabat on Feb 4, 2009 - 44 comments

Some people make courses available; some talk about opening up learning using the Internet. The Netherlands gives itself a head start by releasing all its research material for free. (Here's links to the repositories.)
posted by bwerdmuller on May 13, 2005 - 16 comments

The Academic Freedom Bill of Rights is slowly making its way through the Florida Senate. This bill would give students the right to sue professors if they feel their beliefs are not being respected during a class.
posted by hex1848 on Mar 24, 2005 - 60 comments

Arkansas Governor's School , one of over 100 "Governor's Schools," starts today. The program is going in to its 24th year despite years of controversy over several mediums.
posted by whoshotwho on Jun 13, 2004 - 17 comments

HR 3077 - "unprecedented federally mandated intrusion into the content and conduct of university-based area studies programmes."

"There is a great deal at stake for American higher education and academic freedom. If HR 3077 becomes law - the Senate will review the bill next - it will create a board that monitors how closely universities reflect government policy. Since the legislation assumes that any flaw lies 'with the experts, not the policy', the government could be given the power to introduce politically sympathetic voices into the academic mainstream and to reshape the boundaries of academic inquiry. Institutional resistance would presumably be punished by the withdrawal of funds, which would be extremely damaging to Middle East centres especially."

you didn't have reason to call your congressperson tomorrow? you do now. frightening.

via the excellent openbrackets.com
posted by specialk420 on Apr 16, 2004 - 67 comments

Teacher sues over limits on history curriculum. "A seventh-grade social studies teacher in Presque Isle [Maine] who said he was barred from teaching about non-Christian civilizations has sued his school district, claiming it violated his First Amendment right of free expression."
posted by sarajflemming on Dec 4, 2003 - 35 comments

College Cost Crisis (pdf alert) Tuition at universities continue to mount. This recent Congressional report chronicles this increase- but places the blame squarely on the Universities. Do you buy it?
posted by SandeepKrishnamurthy on Sep 18, 2003 - 43 comments

Forget scholarships and pell grants, there's a new way to pay for college. For all the nubile college co-eds out there wondering how they are going to pay for their schooling with student aid being under-funded and costs increasing, strip clubs in Windsor, Ontario and in Detroit, Michigan are paying the way. The clubs will pay $1,500 to $2,000 in educational expenses per year to women or men who work three or four seven-hour shifts in their clubs. The money is on top of the $10 an hour that dancers are paid; in addition to cash they get from tips and private dances.

There's a catch though. In addition to jiggling more than their required class work, the dancers must also maintain a healthy, robust and voluptuous B average to receive the financial aid. Obviously this program is sexist in more ways than one, but Robert Katzman, owner of the clubs offering the program feels that "A girl who wants to better herself, who wants to progress, makes for a higher level entertainer."
posted by DragonBoy on Sep 17, 2003 - 39 comments

Sex Week at Yale
posted by semmi on Feb 26, 2003 - 13 comments

If being a student wasn't hard enough, now they want us to sit in a pub/bar, day and night, and all in the name of an education. Its a hard life, but someone has to do it!!!
posted by delboy_trotter on Nov 4, 2002 - 17 comments

warning! too much testing is hazardous to your health! is it just me, or is this silly?
posted by fuzzygeek on Apr 26, 2001 - 30 comments

Why can't I get a job like this?
posted by Steven Den Beste on Jun 14, 2000 - 10 comments

The Supreme Court ruled today that university student fees may go to controversial groups in order to create a "marketplace of ideas". As a member of a university student funding board (and as a member of "controversial" student groups, i.e. GLBT groups), I've been eagerly awaiting this ruling all semester. The case began in 1996 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where three students challenged the use of mandatory student fees to fund campus organizations that they had politically and idealogically objections to. For the full text of the Supremem Court decision, visit campusspeech.org.
posted by hit-or-miss on Mar 22, 2000 - 1 comment