Higher Education Observer

LINK TO PAPERBACK LINK TO KINDLE You'll enjoy this brisk read about family secrets, Southern weddings, and murder. 

https://www.rowan.edu/hotsauce/?utm_campaign=FY18_Rowan_National&utm_medium=Banner&utm_source=InsideHigherEd&utm_content=Cross_ArticlePage_ROS_&utm_term=160x600#page-top Apparently, yes.  It's legit. 

Link to article interviewing Robert Kelchen on Higher Education Accountability Helpful article on nuts and bolts of this issue, which isn't sexy but matters to those of us in administrative positions.  Quotation: "Whether this is fair or not, I think that tougher accountability policies are the only way that public funding for higher education doesn’t get cut. Policy makers have many other ways to use taxpayer dollars, and higher education isn’t necessarily in the good graces of all legislators at this point. Colleges have to demonstrate their value in order to get more money -- or at least to avoid cuts. The higher education community should work to make sure that accountability policies come with potential rewards as well as penalties and that colleges with fewer resources get assistance in developing capacity to meet their performance goals."

Good article for discussion: https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2018/02/09/teaching-evaluations-are-often-used-confirm-worst-stereotypes-about-women-faculty?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=8d9385c100-DNU20180111&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-8d9385c100-198482621&mc_cid=8d9385c100&mc_eid=ab27a3f05f As usual, the comments are as good as the article. My position is that SETs should have objective questions about teaching behavior and minimize opportunities for students to comment on anything extraneous (like looks or tastes in clothes); should be used as formative assessment primarily (instructor can address concerns in annual evaluations and be expected to improve in specific areas); should never be used as primary evidence in tenure and promotion unless clearly problematic. In the last, if using a 5-point scale and the instructor never gets above 4, that is problematic.  But if an instructor routinely gets 4.3 and the mean  for the...

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/02/09/instructor-suspended-using-n-word-class?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=8d9385c100-DNU20180111&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-8d9385c100-198482621&mc_cid=8d9385c100&mc_eid=ab27a3f05f Link here is to article about an instructor uttering the "n" word in class because he lets students bring songs to class to play and they sing along and this song had the racial slur.  He is being disciplined. 1.  I would question the policy of letting them bring songs to class to play in the first place.  Is that of value to the class, or just pandering to the students? 2.  An instructor must maintain control in a class.  The students shouldn't be allowed to play songs with objectionable material. 3.  The instructor should not sing along. 4.  As to the word, well, I'm not going there.  I made the error of using that word in my first novel as an example of racism, said by a blac...

Thoughtful article by an instructor on the autism spectrum.  I've been saying for years that academia has to start dealing with this condition. https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/gradhacker/disabled-grad-school-how-do-i-tell-my-students?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=18a9ccaf02-DNU20180111&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-18a9ccaf02-198482621&mc_cid=18a9ccaf02&mc_eid=ab27a3f05f

My husband likes to watch the reruns of the TV show Monk .  In fact, they are on quite frequently at our house. The Randy Newman theme song is deeply imprinted on my soul.  It was clever and they are a good way to waste an hour after a debilitating day at work. However, I have a lot of problems with Mr. Monk (or the writers) and you people are going to hear about them.  (to quote Mr. Costanza on Festivus day). The main issue is the portrayal of his mental illness, which seems to be extreme OCD and anxiety.  First, he is called the "defective detective," which is about as insulting to people with mental illness as you can get. Second, the illness is played for laughs and scorn, not for compassion.  His friends have compassion, most of the time (OCD people can be frustrating) but the audience is given permission to laugh.  Third, his OCD is selective and only shows up when it helps the plot. Fourth, he doesn't take medication, because it chan...