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University campuses all over the world remained relatively calm during the first decade of the new century. The lack of student activism prompted comments about the apathy of today’s students compared to the high level of political awareness and commitment of their predecessors in the late 60s and throughout the 70s. By contrast, 2011 saw waves of student protests around the cost of university education in places as diverse as Seoul, London, Berkeley, Bogota and Santiago.

Dean Dad’s Monday blog post, titled “Raising Arizona,” deals with two bills currently being debated in the Arizona legislature that could have chilling effects on higher education. The state is already dealing with at least one issue regarding K-12 education that those of us in higher ed would also do well to pay attention to.

The U.S. Department of Education recently announced its plan to develop and release a “College Score Card” intended to assist families compare college costs and net tuitions prices. If you’re wondering whether information on college tuition is already available, the answer is yes. This College Scorecard, however, is partly intended to help families determine “value.” That is, balancing the cost of attendance at particular institutions against measures like graduation rates, loan repayments percentages, and the likelihood of getting a job after graduation.

Increasingly, industries need individuals with a blend of bth content expertise and business acumen. As market forces become increasingly intertwined in both K-12 and postsecondary education, individuals with both content knowledge and management expertise have much to offer.

I read Itir Toksöz’s post on the merits of scholarly travel in August of last year, just as I was finalizing the details for my most recent trip to Brazil. Toksöz recognizes that traveling too frequently may be costly in terms of neglected “school” work, but argues persuasively in favor of traveling to conferences, in particular, as necessary for academic exchange and networking. I agree; however, scholars who are also parents need to consider the impact their work-related travel can have on their families.

Given how under-preprared our many of our students are, how can we be expected to overcome those deficiencies in one 15-week course?

Given the level of stupidity regularly emanating from Arizona, I’m almost reluctant even to raise the topic. But stupidity has a way of metastasizing if left unchecked.

The content industry has come out barreling after the failure of their pet bills, SOPA and Protect IP. Carey Sherman writes with real feeling in his NYT Op-Ed Column last week, and the movie industry, with its representative Alfred P. Perry, has reached out in a softer mode to legal scholars, many of whom have criticized either, or both, these industries and current U.S. Copyright law.