Higher Education Blogs | Blog U

Although he gets a solid twelve hours a night (!), on some school mornings, TB really, really doesn't want to wake up. As the school year is winding to a close, it's getting worse.We've had to resort to drastic measures.Last week, when more traditional measures had failed, I resorted to the following, of which I am not proud:“Get up or I'll start singing Anne Murray songs, and nobody wants that!”(nothing)(In my best Peter-Brady-voice-changing delivery) “SPREAD YOUR TINY WINGS AND FLY AWAY...”(TB grunts, chuckles, and climbs out of bed.)

In order to halt growing criticism (covered by Inside Higher Ed and the New York Times) of their ranking of the reputations of American colleges and universities, U.S.News & World Report will no longer poll those not associated with a school for their opinion of that school. Instead, U.S.

A newly-chosen department chair writes (obfuscated for anonymity):------

Many of us find it challenging to explain the American higher education system to non-academic audiences (and sometimes to academic audiences as well). The remarkable complexity and range of institutional types, organizations, financing, and governance often defy simple explanations, and global generalizations rarely convey much useful information. If we try to be comprehensive and thorough, people's eyes glaze over quickly. Fortunately, the ACE publishes A Brief Guide to U.S. Higher Education, a very useful item now available in its 2007 edition.