My apologies to those of you who await the blog roundup with bated breath…
(crickets)
Last Monday I was going to do a regular roundup but when I stumbled on that list of higher ed earmarks, I couldn’t pass up the chance to indulge in a little snark. I was anxious to see who’d write in passionately defending their odd program of choice. The winner was actually over on Digg, championing the U of Maine Lobster Institute and the “developmental carbon-based nanotube something something something.”
Anyways, on to the roundup! (more…)
I’m thinking about education and accessibility in the physical sense. Back in the day (about ten years ago, really =), you had to physically go somewhere to get an education. This often involved leaving home for a new place, and many people found that aspect very appealing, including myself. But stop thinking as an American (because you probably are one if you’re reading this), and think as someone where there aren’t thousands of colleges and universities. In many regions of the world, education isn’t accessible because (more…)
Finding the money to get into college is usually a big obstacle for most people. The Federal government’s Department of Education says that it will be providing over $83 billion dollars of aid for college students. But that money gets used up fast, so let’s go over a few tips to make sure that you get a little piece of that cash to up your living status beyond the regular consumption of Ramen.
Tip #1: (more…)
The Chronicle of Higher Education has just released a report on higher-education earmarks from 2007 (in other words, which members of Congress are buying the local scholar vote, and with what). You, busy web surfer, don’t have time to go through all 2,600 of them to find the funny ones. But I do!
- Auburn University: $439,899 for the Tri-State Joint Peanut Research Project.
- Auburn, again: $431,000 to research the catfish genome. Is there a gene marker for “delicious when deep-fried?” (If so, I think nearly every food has it.)
- Central Washington University: $191,593 for a wine quality education program. Sign me up.
- Iowa State University: $195,621 to study strategies to reduce poultry and swine odor emission. I wonder if it all went to purchasing those little taxicab pine tree thingies.
(more…)
One of the interesting parts of the Web is how it’s dissolving the boundaries between people, such as between teacher and student. For instance, a number of professors are creating accounts on Facebook and other social networking sites as a means to reaching out to their students. A lot of this is also happening as a way for professors to tell their “side” of the story. The RateMyProfessor.com effect encouraged many academics to become part of the online conversation and not be (more…)
March 19, 2008, marked the five-year anniversary of our country’s most recent military venture in Iraq. And though it’s been a bumpy ride to say the least–with enlistment and desertion rates rising and falling faster than the stock market–it’s clear that Americans have taken increased interest in matters of state. Al-Qaeda, nuclear weapons, Osama bin Laden, and ’surge’ have all become buzzwords for anyone who scours The New York Times on a daily basis. But what about education? Have our military endeavors affected how people learn and what people study?
Though engineering, accounting, and business take top honors as the fastest-growing fields in academia, college students across the nation are flocking to disciplines more ‘international’ in nature. Here are four such academic fields on the rise: (more…)
It’s time for a little common sense talk. Yep that’s right. Just you, me, and the pixels between us. College isn’t for everyone. There, I said it. Maybe you’re a little surprised given that this is a college blog, but it’s the truth. Not everyone really needs to go spend four years reading about Nietzsche or learning all those symbols on the Periodic Table. It’s just not necessary for a lot of people.
But education? Education in general is a different story. Because education is about learning. And adapting to the changing demands of life is about learning, so essentially, your life is an ongoing education. In a way, you’re always in the classroom. (more…)
I love Ireland as much as the next girl, but I will pass on wishing you a happy St. Paddy’s, as it basically celebrates the end of indigenous pagan religion in Ireland (”driving out the snakes” = “driving out/converting the pagans”). I will, however, wish you a happy Bacchanalia, a much older festival that may be one of the reasons that people use gallons of beer to celebrate this religious holiday.
On to the roundup! (more…)
We’ve discussed a number of important topics over the last few months, from tuition costs and liberal arts to paying students and going green. And rightly so. These issues stand firm at the forefront of higher ed as we know it. But has anything changed since we touched on these subjects the first time?
Yes! Let’s take a quick look at the highlights. (more…)
I’ve been commenting on the Higher Education Act (H.R. 4137) for the last couple of posts. Government bills always seem to be a buffet of different agendas. If you pay much attention to politics, you can see how so many politicians can end up voting for things that they might normally oppose. For instance, a Senator may really want to pass a transportation bill to get road construction for his or her home state. But the Senator opposes wildlife refuges in general, for whatever reason. Here comes a bill with the expansion of a wildlife refuge and expansion of freeways in his or her home state. Sure, this issue is a no-brainer for most of us, but it’s an example of how lawmakers get stuck voting for something they don’t support to get something that they do support.
Which is a long intro to an add-on to the Higher Education Act about illegal peer-to-peer downloading. (more…)
