Confessions of a Community College Dean

This one is particularly for the experienced adjuncts, especially those who frequently teach in multiple settings. What materials do you find the most useful, when you get a class at a new department?

A new correspondent writes: "I'm curious as to how you define 'college ready,' and if you think students come to college really ready or if there are other thing that we could do in the trenches to help them."

People who write freehand have long had plenty of choices, but those of us who compose at the keyboard were long tied to wherever the computer (or typewriter) was. They were appliances, far too cumbersome (and fragile, and expensive) to carry around. In college, I wrote in the campus computer center; in grad school, I wrote in my bedroom. Even into the 2000’s, I wrote in the basement, because that was where the computer was.

My Twitter account got hacked yesterday, so if you follow my feed and got a sketchy-seeming DM from “me,” ignore it. In retrospect, I should have picked a less obvious password than “PaulRyanLooksLikeEddieMunster12.” Live and learn.

Say the word “August” to any experienced administrator, and you’ll see an involuntary shudder. Sometimes it’s followed by a low, guttural moan, or sometimes by an abrupt curl into a fetal position. We’ve even been known to run for the nearest hills, crossing streams to hide the scent. August is the season of shoehorning students into remaining sections.

Cal State is refusing admission to graduate students from California; it’s only taking out-of-staters, citing the need for their sweet, sweet tuition surcharges. It’s ridiculous, but it’s also sane.

An Australian correspondent writes: "I'm a current postgraduate student from Australia in my first year of a two year Master of Philosophy (Masters by research) degree in an evergreen humanities discipline. I'm interested in doing my PhD in the US for reasons that are long and not really logical (though I'm stubbornly set on it). I was wondering if you (or your readers) could assist me in figuring out how competitive PhD (tuition and stipend, preferably) scholarships are over there in the humanities?"

Women’s studies courses were some of the most useful courses I’ve ever taken. Moreover, I can imagine them being incredibly useful for other men in management roles.