College, Inc.: Research


Posted at 11:34 AM ET, 06/04/2012

Why assessment is good for colleges: A rebuttal
By Daniel de Vise
Without standardized assessments, colleges will continue to operate as isolated silos, the guest blogger opines.

By Daniel de Vise  |  11:34 AM ET, 06/04/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Pedagogy, Research | Tags:  college assessment, no child left behind, academic accountability

Posted at 09:29 AM ET, 05/22/2012

Five colleges where students study
By Daniel de Vise
These campuses all rate among the top 10 percent of colleges for average weekly study time.

By Daniel de Vise  |  09:29 AM ET, 05/22/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Liberal Arts, Pedagogy, Research | Tags:  University of Wisconsin, Washington and Lee University

Posted at 09:55 AM ET, 05/09/2012

University of Michigan creates model for instant research funding
By Daniel de Vise
Researchers can tap $60,000 in start-up funds immediately rather than wait months for an exploratory research grant to develop an idea.

By Daniel de Vise  |  09:55 AM ET, 05/09/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Finance, Research | Tags:  R&D, University of Michigan

Posted at 01:14 PM ET, 05/08/2012

No College Left Behind: A guest post
By Daniel de Vise
Looking for a ‘Holy Grail’ in the quest to measure student learning? Go see a Monty Python movie, our guest blogger opines.

By Daniel de Vise  |  01:14 PM ET, 05/08/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Administration, Research, Pedagogy, Public policy

Posted at 11:17 AM ET, 03/27/2012

Six colleges dominate in research stature
By Daniel de Vise
Harvard, Stanford, Cambridge, Oxford, MIT and Berkeley are cited twice as often as any other university as best in various academic fields.

By Daniel de Vise  |  11:17 AM ET, 03/27/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Pedagogy, Rankings, Research

Posted at 10:43 AM ET, 03/23/2012

Hispanics are crucial to college completion goals
By Daniel de Vise
Hispanics have made huge gains in college attainment, but there’s still a wide gap between completion rates for Hispanics and whites.

By Daniel de Vise  |  10:43 AM ET, 03/23/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Access, Attainment, Public policy, Research | Tags:  Hispanics, college attainment

Posted at 11:39 AM ET, 03/16/2012

College learning tests might not be the answer
By Daniel de Vise
The academic accountability movement is creeping into higher education. But there are better ways than high-stakes tests to measure learning, our guest blogger argues.

By Daniel de Vise  |  11:39 AM ET, 03/16/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Liberal Arts, Pedagogy, Research | Tags:  higher education, learning assessments, Academically Adrift

Posted at 02:14 PM ET, 03/05/2012

Cheetah robot breaks robo-speed record at 18 mph
By Daniel de Vise
Scary-sounding military “chase-and-evade” robot clocks in at 18 mph.

By Daniel de Vise  |  02:14 PM ET, 03/05/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Research | Tags:  robotics, scientific research

Posted at 11:53 AM ET, 03/02/2012

U-Md. collaboration blueprint released
By Daniel de Vise
After rejecting a merger, state regents roll out a series of initiatives to foster more collaboration between College Park, Baltimore campuses.

By Daniel de Vise  |  11:53 AM ET, 03/02/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Administration, Research | Tags:  University of Maryland, University System of Maryland

Posted at 06:22 PM ET, 02/28/2012

Many students could skip remedial classes, studies find
By Daniel de Vise
Two new reports suggest some students might be better off without catch-up coursework.

By Daniel de Vise  |  06:22 PM ET, 02/28/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Research, Community Colleges | Tags:  community college, remedial education, Montgomery College, Northern Virginia Community College

Posted at 05:48 PM ET, 02/02/2012

Guest post: Higher education’s $64,000 question
By Daniel de Vise
The academic community should spend more time mulling whether students are learning, the guest writer opines.

By Daniel de Vise  |  05:48 PM ET, 02/02/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Attainment, Pedagogy, Research

Posted at 10:46 AM ET, 01/31/2012

Report faults Va. colleges for spiraling tuition
By Daniel de Vise
Tuition and fees at 17 private institutions now exceed two-fifths of median household income in the commonwealth.

By Daniel de Vise  |  10:46 AM ET, 01/31/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Aid, Attainment, Finance, Public policy, Research | Tags:  College of William and Mary, University of Virginia, University of Richmond, Washington and Lee University, George Mason University

Posted at 11:31 AM ET, 12/12/2011

Study: Two-fifths of high school graduates are unprepared for college or the workforce
By Daniel de Vise
Fully 40 percent of graduates are ready for neither college nor the workforce, according to the authors of a new study.

By Daniel de Vise  |  11:31 AM ET, 12/12/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Access, Attainment, Community Colleges, For-profit colleges, Pedagogy, Research | Tags:  Johns Hopkins University

Posted at 10:04 AM ET, 12/02/2011

Guest post: In defense of a liberal education
By Daniel de Vise
The president of St. John’s College argues that the liberal arts are the best preparation for life’s unpredictable course.

By Daniel de Vise  |  10:04 AM ET, 12/02/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Liberal Arts, Pedagogy, Research | Tags:  St. John's College

Posted at 11:18 AM ET, 11/18/2011

UT Austin: A model of waste, or efficiency?
By Daniel de Vise
The university wrote a point-by-point rebuttal to a critical analysis by a higher-education think tank. Suffice it to say, they reached opposite conclusions.

By Daniel de Vise  |  11:18 AM ET, 11/18/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Administration, Finance, Labor, Pedagogy, Research, Publics

Posted at 06:38 PM ET, 11/16/2011

U-Md. Baltimore President Jay Perman takes on childhood obesity
By Daniel de Vise
Jay Perman, a pediatrician by training, says childhood obesity may be “our No. 1 public health problem,” and he’s trying to something about it.

By Daniel de Vise  |  06:38 PM ET, 11/16/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Research | Tags:  University of Maryland, Baltimore

Posted at 11:48 AM ET, 11/02/2011

Guest post: Four ways to teach students to write
By Daniel de Vise
Colleges too often blame the K-12 system, when they should be working on improving their own remedial education effort, today’s guest bloggers say.

By Daniel de Vise  |  11:48 AM ET, 11/02/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Attainment, Community Colleges, Public policy, Research

Posted at 01:06 PM ET, 10/28/2011

Want to earn more money? Study STEM.
By Daniel de Vise
A Georgetown economist offers further evidence that science and tech graduates earn more than everybody else, even with a “lesser” degree.

By Daniel de Vise  |  01:06 PM ET, 10/28/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Attainment, Research | Tags:  Georgetown University

Posted at 12:54 PM ET, 10/21/2011

Study: Later classes = lower grades
By Daniel de Vise
Students who avoid early-morning classes tend to sleep more - - and to drink more. They wind up with lower grades.

By Daniel de Vise  |  12:54 PM ET, 10/21/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Research, Students

Posted at 07:00 PM ET, 10/05/2011

Harvard falls from top spot in global college rankings
By Daniel de Vise
CalTech is now regarded as the world’s top university in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, an influential annual list

By Daniel de Vise  |  07:00 PM ET, 10/05/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Rankings, Publics, Research

Posted at 09:44 AM ET, 09/27/2011

Report exposes hidden failure of part-time students
By Daniel de Vise
They make up two-fifths of the college population, aren’t counted by the government and take much longer to finish college.

By Daniel de Vise  |  09:44 AM ET, 09/27/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Access, Attainment, Community Colleges, Public policy, Research

Posted at 10:45 AM ET, 08/30/2011

Three-fifths of colleges get C or worse in general education
By Daniel de Vise
Trustee group finds that more than 60 percent of colleges surveyed require three or fewer of seven core general-education courses.

By Daniel de Vise  |  10:45 AM ET, 08/30/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Liberal Arts, Pedagogy, Research | Tags:  St. John's College, University of Maryland, University of Virginia, George Mason University, James Madison University, Johns Hopkins University

Posted at 12:45 PM ET, 08/25/2011

Study: Hispanics now outnumber blacks in college
By Daniel de Vise
Hispanic enrollment surged 24 percent in a single year, Pew study finds.

By Daniel de Vise  |  12:45 PM ET, 08/25/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Access, Attainment, Community Colleges, Research

Posted at 09:22 AM ET, 08/18/2011

Women enjoy college more than men, survey says
By Daniel de Vise
They already outnumber men in college attendance, attainment.

By Daniel de Vise  |  09:22 AM ET, 08/18/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Access, Attainment, Research

Posted at 09:43 AM ET, 08/17/2011

StraighterLine survey shows student satisfaction
By Daniel de Vise
Students reported they were more satisfied with StraighterLine than with any other form of higher education they had attempted.

By Daniel de Vise  |  09:43 AM ET, 08/17/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Finance, Online, Research | Tags:  StraighterLine

Posted at 09:21 AM ET, 08/16/2011

International admissions up in U.S. grad schools
By Daniel de Vise
Surge reaffirms strength of U.S. institutions in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

By Daniel de Vise  |  09:21 AM ET, 08/16/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Admissions, Finance, Graduate education, Public policy, Research

Posted at 12:49 PM ET, 08/09/2011

Possible slave quarters found at William and Mary
By Daniel de Vise
The latest historic find at the nation’s second-oldest college: the foundation of an 18th-century outbuilding that most likely housed slaves.

By Daniel de Vise  |  12:49 PM ET, 08/09/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Research

Posted at 10:57 AM ET, 07/18/2011

Your Internet history: 10 snapshots
By Daniel de Vise
Old Dominion University Professor Michael Nelson takes a trip down a virtual memory lane.

By Daniel de Vise  |  10:57 AM ET, 07/18/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Research

Posted at 06:17 PM ET, 07/14/2011

Easy A: Study finds 43% of grades are A
By Daniel de Vise
Back in 1940, A’s accounted for only 15 percent of class grades. Are we that much smarter than the Greatest Generation?

By Daniel de Vise  |  06:17 PM ET, 07/14/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Pedagogy, Privates, Research

Posted at 05:01 AM ET, 06/29/2011

Will a college savings account inspire college attendance?
By Daniel de Vise
Pilot program gives KIPP students savings accounts; research suggests a kid with college savings is more likely to attend college.

By Daniel de Vise  |  05:01 AM ET, 06/29/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Access, Aid, Attainment, Research

Posted at 01:32 PM ET, 06/24/2011

Report: Only five colleges properly serve needy students
By Daniel de Vise
Report finds only five schools that serve large numbers of low-income students, charge them reasonable prices and graduate more than half their charges.

By Daniel de Vise  |  01:32 PM ET, 06/24/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Access, Aid, Finance, Public policy, Research | Tags:  University of Virginia

Posted at 05:51 PM ET, 06/20/2011

Maryland university goes test-optional on admissions for good
By Daniel de Vise
A Salisbury University experiment found that students who weren’t required to submit SAT scores graduated at a higher rate than those who were.

By Daniel de Vise  |  05:51 PM ET, 06/20/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Admissions, Attainment, Research

Posted at 11:40 AM ET, 06/08/2011

Report: D.C. universities contribute $11.3 billion to local economy
By Daniel de Vise
Local institutions represent nearly 3 percent of the D.C. economy and are the region’s largest private employer.

By Daniel de Vise  |  11:40 AM ET, 06/08/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Finance, Marketing, Public policy, Research

Posted at 11:12 AM ET, 05/23/2011

Tuition discounting hits record high
By Daniel de Vise
The average student now pays 58 cents on the dollar of published college tuition.

By Daniel de Vise  |  11:12 AM ET, 05/23/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Access, Aid, Finance, Research | Tags:  NACUBO, financial aid

Posted at 11:52 AM ET, 05/03/2011

Study: 8 top sites for potential plagiarism
By Daniel de Vise
Students do use ‘cheat’ sites. But they’re more likely to copy text from Wikipedia or Yahoo.

By Daniel de Vise  |  11:52 AM ET, 05/03/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Online, Research, Students | Tags:  plagiarism, cheating

Posted at 02:46 PM ET, 02/27/2011

Fixing higher ed: U-Va. and U-Md. weigh in
By Daniel de Vise
In an article published last week in The Washington Post Magazine, I offered eight suggestions to "fix" higher education. After reading the article, you can rank the ideas in a poll, which you will find farther down on this blog....

By Daniel de Vise  |  02:46 PM ET, 02/27/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Administration, Aid, Athletics, Attainment, Development, Finance, Labor, Research, Technology | Tags:  UMD fixing higher ed, UVA fixing higher ed, fixing higher education, higher education reform, washington post fixing higher education

Posted at 02:40 PM ET, 01/27/2011

Lumina's Degree Profile: A co-author's view
By Daniel de Vise
Here is a guest post by Carol Geary Schneider, president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, a 1,200-member nonprofit concerned with the quality, vitality and public standing of undergraduate liberal education. Schneider was on a four-person team that...

By Daniel de Vise  |  02:40 PM ET, 01/27/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Research, Research, Research, Research | Tags:  Academically Adrift, Lumina Degree Profile, Lumina report, college completion, college graduation

Posted at 04:08 PM ET, 01/03/2011

Study: Set vague new year's resolutions
By Daniel de Vise
A new study from husband-and-wife marketing professors at the University of Utah suggests that when it comes to new year's resolutions, vaguer is better.

By Daniel de Vise  |  04:08 PM ET, 01/03/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Research | Tags:  New Year's resolution study, Set vague New Year goals, Study finds vague goals better, Utah study New Year resolutions

Posted at 02:42 PM ET, 11/23/2010

Report: GMU scholar plagiarized in climate report
By Daniel de Vise
Update, 11/30: A response from Professor Wegman has been appended toward the bottom of this post. A story in USA Today says a pivotal 2006 congressional report that challenged evidence of global warming was "partly based on material copied from...

By Daniel de Vise  |  02:42 PM ET, 11/23/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Research, Research | Tags:  GMU plagiarism, Global warming, Mason researcher accused of plagiarism, Wegman report, global warming plagiarism

Posted at 01:06 PM ET, 11/10/2010

Study: Recommendation letters can hinder women
By Daniel de Vise
Research from Rice University suggests that a recommendation letter can hinder, rather than help, a woman seeking a job or a promotion. Recommendation letters tend to describe women in social or emotive terms, while they tend to portray men as...

By Daniel de Vise  |  01:06 PM ET, 11/10/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Research, Research, Research | Tags:  Rice study, recommendation letters Rice study, recommendation letters cost women jobs, recommendation letters hurt women, recommendations hinder women

Posted at 04:38 PM ET, 09/30/2010

R&D spending continues to rise
By Daniel de Vise
Research and development spending by universities rose 5.8 percent in fiscal 2009, with private industry chipping in a small but growing share of the money, according to the latest National Science Foundation survey of R&D spending. Johns Hopkins University, with...

By Daniel de Vise  |  04:38 PM ET, 09/30/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Research, Research, Research, Research | Tags:  NSF R&D survey, National Science Foundation survey, R&D spending, research development spending, university R&D

Posted at 12:34 PM ET, 09/28/2010

National Research Council doctoral rankings released
By Daniel de Vise
Universities have waited 15 years for today's release of a report and spreadsheet that rank thousands of doctoral programs in overall quality. The National Research Council report updates a study last completed in 1995. It rates doctoral programs across more...

By Daniel de Vise  |  12:34 PM ET, 09/28/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Research, Research, Research, Research | Tags:  NRC rankings, National Research Council rankings, UMD rankings, UVA rankings, doctoral rankings, phd rankings

Posted at 12:00 AM ET, 09/21/2010

A college degree pays dividends for a lifetime, report finds
By Daniel deVise
Adults with at least a college degree went unemployed at about half the rate of those with only a high school degree during the Great Recession, according to a new report from the nonprofit College Board. Among adults age 25...

By Daniel deVise  |  12:00 AM ET, 09/21/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Research, Research | Tags:  College Board report, Education Pays, earnings college graduates, education and unemployment, unemployment college graduates

Posted at 11:13 AM ET, 09/03/2010

Researchers: Williamsburg colonists buried pets
By Daniel de Vise
A finding from the College of William and Mary may change attitudes about how colonists treated their pets. Laboratory analysis at the college has found that some bone fragments recovered this summer in unmarked graves on campus belonged not to...

By Daniel de Vise  |  11:13 AM ET, 09/03/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Research | Tags:  William Mary dog graves, Williamsburg dog graves, colonial dog graves, colonialists buried dogs in graves, dogs found in graves