Universities Weblog

A Boston Magazine article has taken aim at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, and the results aren't exactly flattering. Here's how the Chronicle of Higher Education captured it:

Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government faces serious problems, says Richard Blow, former executive editor of "George" magazine.

"The school has always suffered from a fundamental flaw," he writes. "It wants to be taken seriously as an academic enterprise but can't quite convince itself that training bureaucrats—school officials prefer the term 'leaders'—is a distinct and serious field of study. Nor can it convince anyone else."And here's another graph from the article continuing the damning commentary on the Kennedy School:

If the education is so spotty, why would anyone want to attend the Kennedy School? That sense of idealism, sure, but also the practical side. "This is an easy way for someone to get Harvard on their r–sum–," Holden says. Other students point to the nexus of diverse peers, well-connected professors, and visiting VIPs as fertile ground for job-hunting. "Networking—that's what it's about," says one student who asks not to be identified. "I'm getting a master's in schmoozing"Getting the Harvard name on your resume. For some, that's enough. I've seen plenty of resumes featuring "Harvard" front and center even when the extent of that person's Harvard experience was a one-week seminar. Shameless.

Nonetheless, we'll see if Harvard responds to this public criticism.

We're no longer a nation of readers (if we ever were), according to the National Endowment for the Arts. Fewer than half of American adults read literature, an NEA study found; among people aged 18 to 24, reading has declined 28 percent over the past 20 years.

From the NEA Web site:

The study also documents an overall decline of 10 percentage points in literary readers from 1982 to 2002, representing a loss of 20 million potential readers. The rate of decline is increasing and, according to the survey, has nearly tripled in the last decade.[....]

By age, the three youngest groups saw the steepest drops, but literary reading declined among all age groups. The rate of decline for the youngest adults, those aged 18 to 24, was 55 percent greater than that of the total adult population.

Observers blame multimedia and television for the dramatic drop in reading, noting that attention spans have decreased accordingly. NEA Chairman Dana Gioia calls the situation a "national crisis."

It's certainly a puzzling trend. Young adults are attending college in record numbers, yet reading is on the decline. Of course, this study charts the consumption of literature, poetry, plays and short stories. I wonder what the stats on nonfiction would reveal.

For a measly $2,900, you can send your kid to a boot camp for college admissions. Over the course of about two weeks, he'll sharpen his study habits, take mock SATs, perfect his essay-writing skills and hone his interviewing technique. He'll also get to visit a number of colleges in which he's interested. Chalk up another victory for "Capitalists Capitalizing on Parents' Competitive angst."

Says one observer in a Philadelphia Inquirer piece: "Many parents feel there is this grand door that has access to a great future and nobody understands the secrets to unlocking the door. It drives them insane." And they, in turn, drive their children insane.

One admissions dean calls such camps ridiculous, and many feel that students would be better off spending the summer enriching themselves intellectually or culturally. Instead, parents ship them off to boot camp for fear that little Johnnie or Janie won't get into a top school next year. Heaven help them if they don't—their lives will surely be unfulfilling and meaningless.

Hey parents, if name-brand prestige is so important, you can always slap a Harvard sticker on the back window. Who'll know?

Last Sunday's boston globe featured an article on one urban high school and the college aspirations of its students. For many, the high cost of tuition prevented them from attending their first-choice institutions (often private), and many are instead heading to community colleges or state universities. These students and their families, the article made clear, don't understand the complexities of financial aid and the tuition-discounting game.

For families still questioning how they might afford higher education in light of competing financial concerns, here are two great resources:

iCreditCentral is the "borrower's marketplace," offering loads of advice and links, as well as a "Credit School" to answer the most difficult questions.

For those with spotty credit histories, try Bad Credit Alliance. You'll probably find that things aren't as bad as they seem.

Thinking of a career in international business? Want a degree from the top school in that field? No, it's not Harvard or Wharton or Kellogg or Stanford. It's Thunderbird (and I'm not talking about the car).

Thunderbird—the Garvin School of International Management—is consistently ranked number one in international business by U.S. News, Business Week and the Wall Street Journal. It's tops because it focuses exclusively on that specialty. So if international business is your future, here's the place to start.

Students attending Thunderbird come from 60 countries, and its 33,000 alumni represent more than 135 nations. The main campus is in Phoenix, AZ, but the school has satellite campuses on every continent, including Thunderbird Europe in France and the Summer Immersion Program in Guadalajara, Mexico.

You can choose from the following degree options:

– A full-time MBA in International Management, based in Arizona

– Executive MBA programs in the U.S., Brazil, Taiwan and the Czech Republic

– A Global MBA program for Latin America managers

– Various dual-degree and language programs, as well as advanced certificates

Recently the school received a $60 million gift from a 1988 graduate. That money established an endowment to provide scholarships, support faculty and enhance the curriculum. Imagine that—number one and getting stronger.

For more information on Thunderbird, start here:

Are colleges going overboard to impress—possibly bribe—high school guidance counselors? Many institutions, especially those lacking a certain brand cachet, go to great lengths to treat visiting counselors like royalty, hoping they'll in turn remember their experience and recommend that high school students apply. Here, from the New York Times, is a sample of what some colleges do:

When Centre College in Danville, Ky., invites counselors to visit, for example, it puts them up in a bed-and-breakfast and takes them golfing at a country club and to the racetrack. It even gives them a small stake—around $50—so the counselors can gamble on the horses.

The United States Air Force Academy has counselors test their mettle in a flight simulator, though airsickness is a common consequence. Some colleges in vacation areas like the Adirondacks or Vermont invite counselors to bring their families and stay free for a few days in the summer. And the University of Denver used to fly in counselors to ski Vail but ultimately stopped because it cost the university too much.

Ever hear of Slippery Rock University? I bet you have. But what do you know about it other than its memorable name? Probably not much.

With that in mind, officials at the Pennsylvania school have launched a new branding campaign featuring "The Rock" as a visual and thematic motif:

(Source: Slippery Rock University)It's supposed to appeal to a younger crowd, and if enrollment figures are any measure, it seems to be working. If nothing else, it's garnering attention, which is half the battle.

And don't forget that it worked for this guy:

(Source: www.RawisRock.com)

Stuck in a career rut, need a degree to pull you out, but can’t find time to sit through classroom lectures? Fear not. If you can get online (and I know you can because you’re reading this), you can earn a degree or certificate without having to quit your job. Distance learning has made it easy to earn necessary credentials and gain career mobility. Here are a few options to consider:

National American University offers bachelor‘s programs in business, healthcare management and information technology.

Northcentral University features undergraduate and graduate degrees in psychology and business.

Saint Leo University offers programs in business, accounting, criminal justice, and computer information systems.

South University has bachelor’s degree programs in business administration and information technology.

Tulane University offers an MBA certificate program.

Villanova University offers certificate programs in human resources, organizational leadership, finance and accounting, and Six Sigma.