A Reconsideration of the Three-Year Degree
by Dr. Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scientist In this morning’s InsideHigherEd.com, Emma Whitford writes about “A New Push to Create a 3-Year Degree Option.” In it, she quotes work by Penn Research Bob Zemsky and University of Minnesota researcher Lori Carrell on work they are doing on this issue. As Zemsky is quoted, “We did not ask people to commit to doing a three-year … Continue reading A Reconsideration of the Three-Year Degree
Bloodsport: Recruiting for Public Universities
by Dr. Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scientist Interesting piece in InsideHigherEd.com this morning by Scott Jaschik about the recruitment activities of public universities. A recent study out of UCLA suggests that many public universities spend more time recruiting out-of-state compared to in state. The study authors suggest that much of this is because our devolved higher education system requires students to search out … Continue reading Bloodsport: Recruiting for Public Universities
The Constitution: Shackles to Progress?
by Dr. Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scientist Throughout the 350+ years since the Revolutionary War and the establishment of the United States of America, the Constitution, drafted a decade later, established a map for the values and principles upon which this nation was founded. In the intervening years, only 27 amendments have been made to the Constitution, although more than 11,000 amendments have … Continue reading The Constitution: Shackles to Progress?
Does Money Trump Academics? No.
by Dr. Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scientist I received an email from EAB this morning that proclaimed “Financial pressure is the top reason that students leave college,” complete with a link to how technology can help. Then I paused. I’m not going to say that EAB is wrong on this. Financial pressures, let alone ability to pay, are significant barriers to postsecondary access … Continue reading Does Money Trump Academics? No.
Equating an Education with the Cost of an Automobile
by Dr. Watson Scott Swail, President & Senior Research Scientist Today’s InsideHigherEd.com article, “Promoting Financial Transparency for Students,” focused on new legislation in Congress to make the cost of higher education more transparent and simpler to understand. The article quoted Laura Keane of uAspire, a non-profit, saying that “When you buy a car, you walk up to a car and you see a window sticker that … Continue reading Equating an Education with the Cost of an Automobile
The Swail Letter on Higher Education 