This article reports on new studies that shed light on whether getting students into the lab earlier makes a difference. The belief that undergraduate research attracts students to careers in science--and makes them better candidates for such work--has gained almost universal acceptance in academe. But until recently, few researchers have studied…

This article reports on a monitoring project commenced by the campus-network officials at Illinois State University that shows that the campus network is a haven for illegal activity. In an effort to bridge the divide between the university and the entertainment industry, Illinois State designed an unorthodox research program to give a detailed…

Many people in higher education think that "values talk" should be reserved for important ceremonial occasions, like commencements and reunions, or for remarks after a major scandal. In their view, values should take a back seat to the pragmatic reality of empirical evidence. But, in reality, every interesting problem of policy or practice depends…

In the past few years, as issues like global warming and soaring energy costs have moved from the back offices of the company environmental adviser to the front office of the chief executive, businesses have joined students in demanding that schools pay closer attention to the issues. This article talks about business schools which have seen an…

According to a paper released by the National Bureau of Economic Research, first-year college students who are assigned roommates with video-game consoles study 40 minutes less per day, on average, than first-year students whose roommates did not bring consoles. And that reduction in study time has a sizable effect on grades: First-year students…

For decades introductory science courses have relied largely on lectures and tests that reward memorization of facts and formulas, an approach that has driven away many talented students. While new teaching models have shown success in engaging and retaining undergraduates, they have yet to be widely adopted in academe. For one thing, the tenure…

As usual, "U.S. News & World Report's" annual college rankings offered a heavy dose of deja vu when they arrived last August. In this article, the author discusses the response rate to the magazine's controversial reputational survey. The overall response rate plunged to its lowest level ever, a possible sign that organized criticism of the…

In this article, the author describes how recorded lectures can be utilized as powerful educational tools. He relates that recorded lectures had been useful to him particularly when he starting a new course for his students. While there are clearly advantages in using recorded lectures, the author also shares some of the disadvantages in using…

Everyone on the tenure track should get tenure. However, not everybody can get tenure everywhere. In fact, one of the main reasons why some educators fail to get tenure is that they are fighting the wrong war on the wrong battlefield, at an institution where they do not quite fit. One can only get tenure if only he or she is realistic in his or…

In this article, the author talks about Classroom Presenter, a computer program that aids in student participation during class discussions and makes boring lectures more interactive. The program was created by Richard J. Anderson, a professor of computer science at the University of Washington, in Seattle. Classroom Presenter is now in use in…

Many professors and administrators express a common complaint about how universities work--that employees and units are often charged fees for work or services they receive from other campus units. This practice, often called "chargebacks," is much misunderstood because it seems counterintuitive: If you are employed by the university, why should…

Publishing research is more critical than ever to a university's mission, but too many institutions fail to recognize and support it adequately, even as their presses struggle to find their footing in a fast-changing online world. That's the message driven home by a report called "University Publishing in a Digital Age," released by "Ithaka", a…

This article reports on the findings of the state panel on the Virginia Tech massacre. A state panel that investigated last spring's massacre at Virginia Tech has issued a harshly worded report that says the university erred in the way it handled a mentally disabled student who became a killer and in how it dealt with the immediate aftermath of…

At North Dakota State University, only 10 of 156 full professors are female. This places the university near the bottom of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP)'s report ranking 1,445 institutions on the basis of what proportion of their tenured faculty members are female. At a time when recruiting women has become a top…

Barack Obama agreed to answer a series of questions submitted via e-mail to his campaign. This article presents excerpts of "The Chronicle"'s exchange with the senator and candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, in which he discussed his policy suggestions for student aid and college access; the appropriate role of the federal…