Goodbye, Chalkboard. Hello, Chat Room.

Free Online Courses, Crowdsourcing, and Big Data Are Transforming the University from a Gatekeeper to a Public Resource

In 2001, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced it was going to put the university’s entire body of course materials online, for free. That meant syllabuses, as well as problem sets and exams—and their solutions. There were even going to be some video lectures online. In 2002, the MIT OpenCourseWare pilot project debuted with 32 courses. Today, according to MIT, 125 million visitors access material from 2,150 classes, including the very popular “Introduction to Computer Science and Programming,” which helps students feel confident about “writing small programs that allow them …

March 16, 2015

When Homework Is a Matter of Life and Death

My Parents Fled Iran Because They Were Forbidden From Getting an Education There. I’ve Spent Over One-Third of My Life on a University Campus.

by Roxana Daneshjou | March 6, 2015

The first hint of sunlight glows off the horizon as I rush toward Stanford Hospital from the parking garage, white coat in hand, stethoscope bouncing against my chest. Every few …

Your Family Tragedy Won’t Get You Into College

I've Spent 13 Years Helping Kids Write Admissions Essays. Here's Where They Go Wrong.

by Allison Deegan | November 20, 2014

November is National College Application Month (yes, there is such a thing), and for millions of students–and their parents–urgent deadlines loom. Applications for University of California and California State University …

Is the University of Pennsylvania Really America’s Top Party School?

My Alma Mater Was Never That Wild—Except Maybe That One Night in 1972 with the Belly Dancers

by Jeffrey M. Rothbard | October 29, 2014

I truly bleed red and blue. From my first day at the University of Pennsylvania in the fall of 1968 to the present, my pride in being a Quaker has …

When Mom Wants You to Go to College But Can’t Help You Get There

Financial Aid Is Hard to Navigate. If Your Parents Don’t Speak English, It Can Feel Impossible.

by Stephanie Lee | June 13, 2014

When I submitted my college applications in the fall of 2009, I thought the hard part was over. But a few weeks later, I found myself hunched over my computer …

Isla Vista’s Never Been a ‘Quiet College Town’

The Site of Elliot Rodger’s Shooting Rampage Has a Boisterous History of Bacchanals and Bank Burning

by Carmen Lodise | June 9, 2014

In reporting on Elliot Rodger’s shooting rampage through Isla Vista, the American news media described the setting for this terrible tragedy as sleepy and peaceful. A “quiet college town,” the …

The University of Everywhere

The End of College

Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad MOOCs?

Online Education May Threaten the Academy’s Livelihood

Here’s How Janet Napolitano Rescues the University of California

First, Debunk the Nonsense. Second, Unleash the Pol.

To Start Talking, Stop Texting

Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age

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