IN TODAY’S UNPREDICTABLE economy, the future of nearly 1 million student loan borrowers in Massachusetts is particularly precarious. Combined, they owe a whopping $31.7 billion in student loans. Their fate lies in the hands of the nine Supreme Court justices who are expected to rule on President Biden’s student loan cancellation in a few months. […]
Higher Education and Adult Learning
Posted inEducation
Momentum building for removing another barrier for immigrants
THE LEGISLATURE last year approved a new law giving immigrants without legal status the ability to apply for state-issued driver’s licenses. The bill had been kicking around Beacon Hill for nearly two decades, and it finally passed with enough support to override a gubernatorial veto, driven by a coalition of supporters who pressed hard for […]
Posted inOpinion
Don’t take colleges, universities in Mass. for granted
MORE THAN ALMOST any other state in the country, our economy, quality of life, and international reputation are inextricably connected to our colleges and universities. Massachusetts is the world’s healthcare leader because of the university-affiliated medical centers that pioneered anesthesia, infant formula, cardiac surgery and organ transplants. From the beginnings of computer technology to the […]
Posted inOpinion
John Silber, my father, never caved
I WISH JOHN SILBER, my father, could see the new Center for Computer and Data Sciences on the Boston University campus. Some call it the Jenga building; to me it looks like a stack of toppling books. In his Architecture of the Absurd, a perfect gem on the subject of modern architecture, Silber clearly loves […]
Posted inOpinion
As history shows, those educated in arts shape the future
THIS YEAR marks a profound milestone in how Massachusetts became a national symbol of ingenuity and creativity, leading the way in preparing new generations to take on the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly changing economy. In 1871, state leaders had the foresight to make an inspired investment in our Commonwealth’s future. Without the luxury […]
Posted inOpinion
Not all free-tuition community college plans are equal
DESPITE LEADING the nation in practically every educational outcome, there’s one area where Massachusetts lags other states: free community college. While more than half of US states offer some form of free college program, Massachusetts has fallen behind the curve. Given that the soaring cost of college is one of the most significant barriers to […]
Posted inOpinion
Fewer colleges relying on standardized tests
COLLEGE ADMISSION TESTS are becoming a thing of the past. More than 80 percent of US colleges and universities do not require applicants to take standardized tests – like the SAT or the ACT. That proportion of institutions with test-optional policies has more than doubled since the spring of 2020. And for the fall of […]
Posted inOpinion
Dealing with the fallout of sudden college closures
IN 2018, I helped finance a class action lawsuit by a group of former Mount Ida College students who were effectively kicked out of school as a result of the college’s sudden bankruptcy. The students and their families were caught completely off guard, and given little guidance on how to navigate the management of their […]
Posted inOpinion
What Nobelists mean for US, Boston
THE BOSTON AREA is a hotbed of Nobelists. A number of prizewinners over the years have been on the faculties of local universities (e.g., at Harvard, MIT, and Boston University), and countless others have been educated locally or have passed through universities as faculty or postdocs on their way to fame elsewhere. Of the ten […]
Posted inOpinion
The promise of higher ed’s ‘Equity Agenda’
AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY on April 14, 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “The Other America” speech. In it, Dr. King spoke about a bifurcated country: one part “overflowing with the milk of prosperity and the honey of opportunity,” and the other that “transforms the buoyancy of hope into the fatigue of despair.” Even five […]