Category: Continuous Development

April 26, 2023

In applying for a position in higher education, the cover letter seems the least important piece of the application materials for many applicants. The curriculum vitae and transcripts provide the core of an application and document an aspiring faculty member’s […]

April 4, 2023

So much has been asked of caregivers, especially those in the process of getting a college degree and balancing home and work responsibilities through the pandemic. According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 4.8 million college students are simultaneously […]

March 15, 2023

Today’s high school graduates are increasingly questioning whether higher education is worth it, and that’s pushing colleges to rethink the value they bring students. This was a key theme I heard at last week’s SXSW EDU conference, where several panels […]

February 22, 2023

Survey after survey confirms teachers feel stressed and burned out. Nearly 75 percent of teachers experience frequent job-related stress, compared to just a third of working adults. More than half of teachers have considered leaving the profession earlier than originally […]

December 29, 2022

University of California graduate student workers voted Friday to approve new contracts with substantial wage increases, ending a strike that started in early November, the Los Angeles Times reported. For academic student employees, the contract will raise minimum pay from […]

December 27, 2022

An overwhelming majority of surveyed students say they believe earning microcredentials or professional certificates will better position them for employment upon graduation, according to new data from Coursera. Coursera surveyed 3,600 students and employers in Australia, India, France, Germany, Mexico, […]

December 27, 2022

Utah follows in the footsteps of other states and private companies that have pivoted away from requiring four-year degrees to fill certain jobs. Maryland, for example, announced in March that it would drop the degree requirement for thousands of jobs […]

November 2, 2022

A small minority of top universities trained most of the faculty at U.S. Ph.D.-granting institutions, essentially dominating the tenure-track hiring process, according to the research. Even when researchers took field of study into account, 80% of faculty members were educated […]

October 10, 2022

My title is, admittedly, intentionally flippant, seeking to grab your attention in this clickbait age. Yet beneath its flippancy is a serious claim: that teaching postdocs can be a high-impact way to address and enhance the job prospects of new […]

August 8, 2022

While U.S. employers say they’re facing a talent crisis that’s threating their business sustainability and growth, the reality is that employers are contributing to the talent crisis with the majority (62 percent) requiring degrees for entry level jobs, and more […]

July 14, 2022

For my last semester of teaching this spring and as a prelude to retirement, I taught a graduate religion seminar. Except for a practicum on teaching higher education in the humanities, I had not taught a graduate class in 10 […]

July 12, 2022

My institution, New College of Florida, is the nation’s top public college for producing undergraduates who go on to earn Ph.D.s. More than 80 percent move on to graduate school within six years of graduation, and I have the distinct […]

April 25, 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic ushered forth dramatic declines in college and university enrollments, widespread unemployment, and it cast a spotlight on the skills gap and the increased demand for upskilling and reskilling in today’s workforce. As more and more surveys reveal […]

March 22, 2022

American teenagers don’t all have money, connections or other advantages. But they all have dreams. Some adolescents are encouraged to follow their dreams. Others grow up hearing that their aspirations are a luxury—nice to have, but hard to afford. This […]

February 8, 2022

As schools become more focused on continuous improvement and the development of growth mindsets, educators continue to evaluate how they can assess their students’ learning to better inform instructional practices. This is foundational to both teachers and their administrators. Danielle […]

February 7, 2022

What do you want to be when you grow up? As we get older, the answer often changes from highly visible and glamorous endeavors, such as being an actor or a rockstar, to something more useful and meaningful to us […]

January 31, 2022

There is abundant literature on the many benefits of promoting student choice (for an accessible overview see, “The key to making improvements: as the students”). Among the positive outcomes associated with giving students authentic choices in what they will learn, […]

January 31, 2022

One of the biggest shifts in education reform in recent years has been widening acknowledgment that the “college for all” mantra was misguided. Almost everyone now admits that college, as traditionally defined, is not going to be for everyone, and […]

January 18, 2022

A group of 15 colleges and universities was selected to receive $10 million in grants as part of an initiative by the Strada Education Network and the Taskforce on Higher Education and Opportunity, a group of campus leaders focused on […]

January 6, 2022

One of the starkest aspects of this COVID-19 crisis has been its impact on collaborative research. Besides moving in-person classes to remote instruction, scientific researchers had to close their labs, research trips and fieldwork had to be put on hold, […]