Young people in the United States today are much more likely to be involved in volunteer work of an apolitical sort than in politics. As part of a study on political engagement, the author and other colleagues surveyed students at a diversity of colleges and universities and asked them why they and many of their peers are so much more likely to…

In considering the challenges of basic skills education, Shulman returns to the advice of one of his mentors, Benjamin Bloom. The reason students fail, according to Bloom, is that they need more time to succeed, and time is what educators fail to give them. According to Bloom, nearly anybody can learn nearly anything given enough time. The…

The authors propose an alternative course for faculty and campus leaders to navigate through the politicized Academic Bill of Rights debate. Liberal education and the values of the academy are about the need to seek and consider alternative conceptions, stances, and views and to consider them respectfully. If a campus is to commit itself to open…

Prompted by a student comment that college lacked intellectual challenge, the author and colleagues sat in on an English class described as "a brain dump." The teacher had assigned students to write parodies of "The Road Not Taken," knowing that to do the assignment well, they would have to read and understand Frost's poem. The instructor was…

Like summer football rankings, the college rankings tell something about the potential impact that a college or university may have on a student, based on the resources of campuses on the one hand and their reputations on the other. When a student and that student's parents are looking for "the right campus," resources should be important. What…

Jason Stephens traces the growth of cheating over three decades, noting a disconnect between expressed shock and research that has shown over and over that most students do cheat, at least some of the time. Some students cheat for simple, pragmatic reasons: to get high grades and because they do not have time to do the work carefully. However, the…