Blogs

Why the decline of tenure and tenure-track faculty has lead to other problems and conflicts in higher education.

This past weekend I went bowling, and I lost. 3 games to nil. My opponent - a 13 year old middle-schooler.

Grad school is a unique experience, especially in an increasingly digital world. Often the study skills that helped us excel in undergrad no longer suffice at this higher level. The relationships with professors also changes drastically as we find ourselves in limbo between student and colleague. Grad school is an extended period of transition moving from student to teacher, from taking classes to doing independent research, and from being the novice to the expert. Given how unique this experience is, and the fact that the majority of people don’t go to grad school, making the transition can be difficult.

Data from Google show what types of degrees and programs people are searching for.

In response to yesterday’s piece about the lack of generational turnover in college leadership, a particularly thoughtful comment deserved a post in itself. "Shannon" wrote:

I have this hypothesis that edtech companies are overly worried about sharing their future product roadmaps, and that they would in fact benefit from being more transparent and inclusive in the development and sharing of future plans.

When I first started working in academia as full-time staff, I was 24 years old, and had graduated only 18 months earlier. I envisioned myself still a student, and technically, since I was enrolled in a part-time graduate program, I was. My friends were still students, some undergraduate, some had moved on to graduate programs. I thought I was able to offer the “older” staff relevant opinions on what students would or would not like, which I hope was partly true.

I had a terrific experience as a doctoral student. The courses, the faculty, the other students all made for a wonderful educational journey.