A new study by Richard Stettersten of Oregon State University and Barbara Ray of Hired Pen, Inc., entitled What's Going on with Young People Today?: The Long and Twisting Path to Adulthood, reports that young adults in 2005—including those with a college education—were not doing as well as their baby-boomer parents who reached adulthood in the 1960's and 1970's. In fact, the study suggests that in their pathway toward establishing independence, today's young people more closely resemble their grandparents and great-grandparents than their prosperous boomer parents who enjoyed high-paying and secure jobs during the period of strong economic growth following World War II.  Like young adults of the early 1900's, today's young adults are slow to leave their family homes and start families of their own, although in the 1900's the lingering child was likely to participate in supporting his...

My recent post about the new guidance regarding Title IX compliance stirred up some comments and criticisms that I'd like to address. I will admit that my comments about aging feminists were inappropriately snarky and irrelevant to the topic. I will be forever scarred by my middle-school gym teacher, whose image kept popping into my head while I was writing my post. Nonetheless, my snarkiness took the focus away from my real concern, which is that the new guidance has serious shortcomings. This is an important topic, especially since the new guidance will be burdensome for colleges to follow and, even worse, may widen the gap between what students want and what colleges provide.

I agree with "victorl" that surveys should be sent to all students on campus, and not just female students. Athletic opportunities should be proportionate to student interest, which can be accurately determined ...

When will yesterday's generation of aging feminists take their rightful place in history and allow this generation of young women to speak for themselves and articulate their own wishes and desires?  The White House announcement of the Department of Education's change in policy regarding Title IX compliance marks a sad day in our nation's history and serves as yet another example of the infantilization of college students, the disrespect of today's young women, and the growth of the college nanny state.  Apparently gender advocates just don't think that young women are smart enough or articulate enough or capable enough to complete a survey, accurately tell college officials what sports they would like to play, and stand up to defend their interests. 

So, today the White House (you know, the one that takes the boys to the basketball court but brings the girls together for an after-work ...

I read with great interest the series of articles in this week's Chronicle about the death of the humanities. It would be a tragedy if the humanities were to die, and if we as a people no longer cared about literature, the arts, history, and philosophy. I don't, however, see signs that such is the case.

Quite to the contrary, I see signs that more people than ever before—and not just the privileged elite—are exploring the humanities in new ways and with renewed intensity. Distance learning, Web-based instructional materials, neighborhood and workplace book clubs, YouTube videos, "there's an app for that," museums and libraries all provide opportunities for those with an interest in the arts, literature, religion, and philosophy to explore and learn. So I don't think the humanities are dying.

Instead, I think the message to be gleaned from the series of articles posted this week is ...

Slug lines never cease to amaze me. For the unacquainted, slug lines are a not-so-recent phenomenon in major cities like Washington, DC, in which those who wish to be driven to and from work hitch a ride with a driver who wishes to add occupants so that he or she can drive in the faster-moving High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes. If you've never driven in this city, just imagine what it would be like if your 15 mile highway commute took up to an hour, and that's on a good day. The commuting time between DC and Northern Virginia can be cut in half - or more - for a driver who can legitimately navigate the HOV driving lanes. I'm sure other major cities have slug lines, too, but the DC slug lines are the ones I know best, so they are the ones I'll talk about here.

The way it works is this: there are certain locations in the city - unmarked but well known to slugs and others - where...

The American Association of University Women recently released its new report, Why So Few?, which aims to identify the causes of the gender gap in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, graduate programs and careers.  The report highlights the progress that has been made in closing the gap in some fields, yet expresses concern that in other fields, most notably engineering and computer science, the gap remains pronounced. 

Not only do fewer women than men make it to the upper echelons of academic STEM careers, but a higher percentage of women than men leave the field by midcareer (although I would guess that men with children and professional wives may leave the field at a rate that approaches that of women with children, as opposed to men who have children and stay-at-home wives).

What are the reasons for this persistent gap?  According to the report, social and...

In response to my recent blog about the conversion to an all DL program, Kevin Carey, a person I admire and respect deeply (and with whom I almost always agree) countered with a compilation of his, Ben Miller's and Jason Delisle's thoughts. Since Jason and Ben are former colleagues, I appreciate that they both chimed in since I know that together they have spent a great deal of time and energy thinking about student loan issues.  This is precisely the kind of dialogue that the higher education policy world needs since people with deep knowledge of the topic and a similar appreciation for the benefits of higher education can have different opinions and thoughts about how to solve some of the great challenges we face.  Through this sort of dialogue, we might be able to rise above political posturing and actually come to some good solutions. 

The truth of the matter is that I agree with...

Paul Basken's article, "Complexities Grow for the Student Loan Bill as Senate Action Finally Draws Near," provides an insightful update on the challenges that the Administration will face in eliminating the bank-based Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program and converting to the government-run Direct Loan (DL) program. The ironies associated with this effort are numerous. As Paul points out, on one hand the Administration is trying to garner support for another jobs bill, yet on the other, it wants to eliminate an entire industry. On one hand, the Department of Education is complaining about the horrible behavior of FFEL lenders, yet on the other, they will hire a few of them to be the contractual servicers of the loans issued by the Department under the DL program. On one hand, the president is telling all young people that they should complete at least a year of college, but...

To use a phrase out of President Obama's own dazzling speaker repertoire, adding a few amendments to a fundamentally flawed health-insurance reform bill is like putting lipstick on a pig.  Sure, it might look a little prettier, but it's still a pig and you might not want to kiss it. Improving access to insurance is only one part of the health-care reform equation. Reducing costs is another, and this bill looks only at reducing Medicare costs to the government, not at reducing the health-care costs that individuals and families will pay. Beyond that, it does nothing to improve the delivery of care. 

Simply providing increased access to insurance will not "bend the curve" of overall health care spending, although it may push those costs away from government and on to individuals and families (through higher taxes and higher prices on premiums, procedures, prescriptions, and devices). In...

I am delighted to learn from this week's Chronicle that, despite the increasing focus on vocational training in higher education, some institutions have gone back to basics by emphasizing the power of a liberal-arts curriculum. I am not against vocational training, but we should be honest about the fact that vocational training, even if it takes place on a college campus, is not the same thing as a higher education. A solid foundation in the liberal arts—including in the physical and natural sciences, mathematics, history, literature, art, music, and philosophy—is critical to ensuring the future value of the higher education for which today's students pay so dearly. 

Despite what some would have us believe, though, simply attaching the words "critical thinking and real-world problem solving" to the curriculum does not mean that students are gaining the knowledge and skills that are...