A Query About Queries
By Matt Reed. I have amazing readers. I’m hoping some of you can help me with this one.
If you were trying to help a community college improve its students’ success rates, what statistics would you find the most helpful. More...
“Evicted”
By Matt Reed. When a low-income parent gets evicted, what happens?
Matthew Desmond’s new book, Evicted, looks closely at what happens to a series of low-income people, mostly parents, in Milwaukee. It should be required reading for anyone who works at a community college or a public school in a low-income area. More...
Mobility Looks Different From Here
By Matt Reed. Apparently, the University of California system has commissioned an “exit survey” to identify why faculty leave. The idea is to help reduce unwanted departures and the various costs of attrition. More...
Becoming More Themselves
By Matt Reed. “What SXSWedu needs is probably needs is more skeptical faculty to attend.”
I’ve never been to SXSWedu, but this line from Josh Kim’s dispatch made a lot of sense to me. More...
Friday Fragments - March 10, 2016
By Matt Reed. Although the data uses sticker prices, and refers only to public four-year colleges, Jeff Selingo’s chart showing tuition as a percentage of family income is striking. Check it out, if you haven’t already. More...
True in Both Directions
By Matt Reed. I wasn't surprised to read that a majority of college presidents say that people from outside of higher education are less likely to be successful at leading colleges. Flip the question around and nobody would argue. Would a lifetime academic be likely to be better at running a Fortune 500 company than someone from within the industry. More...
Ask the Administrator: Returning Under a Cloud?
By Matt Reed. Having said that, though, “it’s not about you” cuts two ways. I often implore my wise and worldly readers on the faculty side not to personalize it when administrators have to manage austerity. It’s part of the job. Fair is fair; I have to implore my fellow administrators not to personalize it when retirees assert their legal rights. In both cases, it’s really nothing personal. More...
Dissertations
By Matt Reed. Katie Shives’ piece in IHE on dissertations is well worth the read. It’s an attempt to bring the dissertation down to earth, so folks in the midst of writing them don’t lose perspective. More...
Friday Fragments - March 3, 2016
By Matt Reed. I was sorry to hear that the budget standoff in Illinois, which has already kneecapped state universities, is starting to hit community colleges. Apparently John A. Logan college just approved laying off 55 people, including 38 percent of the college’s instructors. More...
