The University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point is experiencing a budget shortfall to the tune of $7.9 million. A year ago they cut $12 million from their budget. But with enrollment continuing to fall, six liberal arts majors are now on the chopping block. Including history. Students in these majors would be allowed to complete their programs. Many of the faculty would stay to teach liberal arts courses to students in other disciplines. But some layoffs are expected. The proposal has caused alarm. In 2015, Governor Walker supposedly tried to remove the phrase “search for truth” from the … [Read more...] about Is Specialization Hurting the Liberal Arts?
Culture
More Students Seeking Help for Anxiety & Depression
Katie Reilly, for Time magazine, writes that "Record Numbers of College Students Are Seeking Treatment for Depression and Anxiety — But Schools Can't Keep Up." An excerpt: "Between 2009 and 2015, the number of students visiting counseling centers increased by about 30% on average, while enrollment grew by less than 6%, the Center for Collegiate Mental Health found in a 2015 report. Students seeking help are increasingly likely to have attempted suicide or engaged in self-harm, the center found. In spring 2017, nearly 40% of college students said they had felt so depressed in the prior year … [Read more...] about More Students Seeking Help for Anxiety & Depression
Interview with Tommy McGregor (The Transmission)
Tommy McGregor works with The Transmission, a ministry geared at helping parents and students with the transition to life after high school. It was a pleasure to speak with him this morning about how students can prepare to thrive at college. The Skype interview was part of a Senior Summit project that The Transmission will be releasing in a few weeks. Update: The Senior Summit, an online video summit about the transition to the challenges of college life, is now available as a free resource. … [Read more...] about Interview with Tommy McGregor (The Transmission)
Ben Sasse – The Vanishing American Adult
Do we really need another book about entitled millennials? Or about the helicopter parents who raise these precious darlings? Senator Ben Sasse’s The Vanishing American Adult: Our Coming-of-Age Crisis — and How to Rebuild a Culture of Self-Reliance exceeds expectations. It challenges both parents and our culture, offering compelling and timely solutions. The Problem Sasse has no issue with adolescence. The problem is one of perpetual adolescence — an indefinite period in which youth are passive and aimless. Why is this so common? In part because teens today are used to an unprecedented … [Read more...] about Ben Sasse – The Vanishing American Adult
Must all Graduates Wander Aimlessly in Their Twenties?
Until recently, a bachelor’s degree was a sure ticket to social mobility and a promising career. But today’s graduates face unprecedented headwinds in the form of declining wages, ballooning student debt, and greater competition for fewer jobs. That’s the case journalist Jeff Selingo makes in an insightful new book, There is Life After College (HarperCollins). “The plight of today’s young adults,” writes Selingo, “is a result of a longer-term shift in the global workforce that is having an outsized impact on people in their twenties who have little work experience.” Selingo presents his … [Read more...] about Must all Graduates Wander Aimlessly in Their Twenties?
Only 11% of employers think graduating students have the skills that their businesses need
How can employers be simultaneously unhappy with the quality of recent graduates and more desirous of hiring people with greater amounts of formal education? Ryan Craig, founding Managing Director of University Ventures, writes: What we’re seeing from employers—the ultimate consumers of higher education—is the result of dissatisfaction with the current level of talent being produced by colleges and universities. Employers are dissatisfied and are flailing about for answers. For many employers, this means credential inflation—requiring certain degrees for jobs that previously didn’t require … [Read more...] about Only 11% of employers think graduating students have the skills that their businesses need