College Rankings – College Admissions News

27May

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College Rankings

13 Tips to Prepare for Law School

Do you want to be a lawyer? In the United States, you need to graduate from a 4-year college and then go to law school if you want to practice law. What is the best way to prepare for law school? What should you be doing in your undergraduate years to make yourself the most competitive applicant? In this article, we'll tell you about the best pre-law majors and explain what you need to do to get into the law school of your dreams. What Does Pre-Law Mean? The term "pre-law" refers to any course of study by an undergraduate college student to prepare for law school. A few colleges have a specific pre-law major for those students who intend to go to law school, but you can major in any subject and still enter law school, as long as you successfully complete college and get a bachelo...

17Jun

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FIRE urges transparency in Nikole Hannah-Jones tenure denial at University of North Carolina

FIRE urges transparency in Nikole Hannah-Jones tenure denial at University of North CarolinaFallout continues at my alma mater, the University of North Carolina, where news broke last month that the board of trustees refused to approve the faculty’s recommendation to offer tenure to award-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of The New York Times’ 1619 Project. The controversy has dragged the campus community into a bitter dispute, pitting many faculty and administrators who side with Hannah-Jones against multiple trustees and at least one high-profile donor who have expressed objections to Hannah-Jones’ candidacy.Last week, FIRE sent a letter to the board detailing our understanding of the facts and expressing concern that it appears to have deviated from its normal tenure appo...

A Fading Coal County Bets on Schools, but There’s One Big Hitch

15Jun

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A Fading Coal County Bets on Schools, but There’s One Big Hitch

A Fading Coal County Bets on Schools, but There’s One Big Hitch“I hear it from kids all the time: I want to get out of here,” said Kristin Johnson, a 24-year-old middle school teacher at Mount View who lives in Princeton, W.Va., about an hour’s drive away, and is itching for a teacher job to open there. “Those who do get an education know they can make more money somewhere else.” Ms. Keys returned, in part, out of loyalty. “When I was in high school, we started losing a lot of teachers,” she said. “People feared there would be nobody there to take those jobs.” But a stable teaching job, as well as free housing at her grandmother’s old house, played into her calculations. This may not be enough to hold her, though. Even dating locally is complicated. Her boyfriend lives over an hour away, o...

Millions of Students Are Still Without WiFi and Tech—Why Haven’t Policymakers Stepped Up?

13Jun

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Millions of Students Are Still Without WiFi and Tech—Why Haven’t Policymakers Stepped Up?

Millions of Students Are Still Without WiFi and Tech—Why Haven’t Policymakers Stepped Up?From the moment schools shut down at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it became clear that many districts were ill-equipped to support their students from afar. They just weren’t ready for distance learning, and a big part of that was that too many students lacked adequate WiFi access to get to virtual class. Cases like 2020’s Cayla J. v. California Department of Education, which charges that schools in the state are violating the constitutional rights of children of color by not providing adequate distance education, called out state Departments of Education for failing to provide better WiFi options than visiting a local Taco Bell. It’s time for states to step up and realize that proper technology...

Verda Tetteh Won a $40,000 Scholarship. Then She Gave It Away.

13Jun

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Verda Tetteh Won a $40,000 Scholarship. Then She Gave It Away.

Verda Tetteh Won a $40,000 Scholarship. Then She Gave It Away. For weeks, Verda Tetteh felt qualms about applying for the $40,000 merit scholarship her high school in Fitchburg, Mass., offered graduating students. She was bound for Harvard, which had agreed to pay her tuition and room and board. Her 4.9 G.P.A. had qualified her for other scholarships that would cover college expenses. Still, her guidance counselor urged her to go for it, telling her she had worked hard and deserved the award known as “The General Excellence Prize.” Ms. Tetteh, 17, applied, figuring that the scholarship, which every year goes to one male and one female student selected by a committee of teachers, administrators and guidance counselors, would probably go to someone else. Then, during her graduation cerem...

Will Fabulous Prizes Entice Students to Come On Down and Get Vaccinated?

12Jun

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Will Fabulous Prizes Entice Students to Come On Down and Get Vaccinated?

Will Fabulous Prizes Entice Students to Come On Down and Get Vaccinated?Million-dollar giveaways. Vacation packages. And yes, even free marijuana. States are getting creative, to say the least, when it comes to enticing adults to get a COVID-19 vaccine. For the under-18 crowd, the incentives are more PG but no less potentially life-changing. They’re getting a shot at thousands of dollars in scholarships. States are trying to buoy interest in vaccinations with an eye on economic recovery and a return to normalcy, including for school reopenings in the fall. But children 12 to 17 have some catching up to do when it comes to COVID-19 vaccination rates. Colorado is hoping to get more youngsters vaccinated by opening a drawing for 25 scholarships worth $50,000 each. In his announcement of the f...

11Jun

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First Amendment News 300.1: Tribute to a great judge and a great man — Robert A. Katzmann (1953-2021)

First Amendment News 300.1: Tribute to a great judge and a great man — Robert A. Katzmann (1953-2021)We’ve lost Robert Katzmann (68), a great judge and scholar. . . but most of all Bob was a wonderful human being. Bob was the definition of a mensch. Anyone who knew him realized that Bob devoted his life to helping others, whether it be in working to improve the plight of immigrants or in investing in the future of some person with great promise but little clout. When you spoke to him he would constantly move the conversation away from himself and back to you, or to some terrible thing that happened and needed fixing. That his death took us all by surprise should not be surprising at all — he was humble to his end. In a world rife with vanity, his humility was exceptionable, especially give...

Why Professors Should Ask Students For Feedback Long Before the Semester Is Over

11Jun

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Why Professors Should Ask Students For Feedback Long Before the Semester Is Over

Why Professors Should Ask Students For Feedback Long Before the Semester Is OverAbout a month into each semester, Gayle Golden sets aside a little time to ask her students about their learning. The journalism instructor at the University of Minnesota keeps the process simple, with brief questions similar to these: What should keep happening in this class? What should we start doing in this class? What should we stop doing in this class? Golden collects the results, which students give anonymously, then studies the feedback and makes a list of all the information she’s received. During the next class period, she discusses the findings with her students. She tells them which suggestions she plans to put into practice, which recommendations she can’t act on, and why. “If they told me somethin...

Amy Chua Controversy Exposes Divisions at Yale Law

8Jun

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Amy Chua Controversy Exposes Divisions at Yale Law

Amy Chua Controversy Exposes Divisions at Yale LawAt the law school, the episode has exposed bitter divisions in a top-ranked institution struggling to adapt at a moment of roiling social change. Students regularly attack their professors, and one another, for their scholarship, professional choices and perceived political views. In a place awash in rumor and anonymous accusations, almost no one would speak on the record. A feature of this difficult year has been increased demands from student groups. Against this backdrop, Ms. Gerken’s critics in the faculty worry that she acted too hastily in the Chua matter, prioritizing students’ concerns over a professor’s rights. Particularly problematic, several professors said in interviews, was her reliance on the text-message dossier, prepared by...

School District Agrees to Pay $3 Million After a Bullied Boy, 8, Killed Himself

6Jun

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School District Agrees to Pay $3 Million After a Bullied Boy, 8, Killed Himself

School District Agrees to Pay $3 Million After a Bullied Boy, 8, Killed HimselfGabriel, who tried to avoid fighting and talked eagerly about learning, was not known as a “cool kid,” according to a teacher, the complaint said. At first, he excelled academically at Carson, which starts at pre-K and goes to the sixth grade. In the first and second grade, Gabriel came home from school with injuries, including two loose teeth. School officials told the boy’s mother, Cornelia Reynolds, that he had an accident on the playground. But in the third grade, Gabriel’s grades began to drop and the injuries got worse. Ms. Reynolds, a nurse, began to suspect that her son was being bullied. He would come home with a scraped knee, a bruised elbow or wrist, or a twisted ankle. School officials rarely told Ms...

3Jun

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June 2021 Speech Code of the Month: Cornell University

June 2021 Speech Code of the Month: Cornell UniversityAs COVID-19 vaccination rates rise across the country and the public health risk of holding large gatherings decreases, colleges will likely be reviewing their events policies for necessary changes over the summer. One school that is past due revisiting its policy is Cornell University, FIRE’s Speech Code of the Month for June.[embedded content] Cornell’s policy on “Elevated Risk & High-Risk Events,” which was around long before the pandemic hit, lists various reasons students must file an “Event Registration Form” with the university in advance. There are some legitimate reasons why an event organizer might need to give a university notice about a particular event, like when they are planning a march on a street, and traffic will ...

3Jun

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Annual FIRE Student Network Summer Conference to take place July 16–18 in Philadelphia

Annual FIRE Student Network Summer Conference to take place July 16–18 in PhiladelphiaAttention students everywhere: Gather ‘round the FIRE.With COVID shutdowns now coming to a close, FIRE is once again inviting students to join us to discuss how to “ignite” your rights on campus, and to assert and defend everyone’s civil liberties. Our weekend-long conference brings together college students of every background and every stripe, joined by a passion for free speech, due process, and the essential qualities of liberty. It’s free — and it’s open to current students at U.S. colleges and universities (including incoming first-years and graduate students). We’ll provide meals, and a travel and lodging reimbursement of up to $500 to help you get here and join us in Philadelphia. For more informa...

Predictive Models for Academic Resourcing

2Jun

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Predictive Models for Academic Resourcing

Predictive Models for Academic Resourcing University leaders are seriously planning for the post-COVID world. This world will differ significantly from the old, familiar one. The possibilities for restructuring academic activities are increasing dramatically as graduate employment patterns shift and faculty and students accept new modes of digitally mediated instruction. Bob Atkins’ recent blog, “Higher Education: Are You Ready for the Economic Boom?“ speaks to the opportunities available to institutions that are prepared to launch “different types of programs.” But launching different types of programs brings its own disruptions and uncertainties. Bob focused on demand and competition, but the university’s internal operations also face significant challenges. My own recent blog, “...

26May

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College Rankings

Faculty Network interview: April Bleske-Rechek, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

Faculty Network interview: April Bleske-Rechek, University of Wisconsin-Eau ClaireIn this occasional feature, FIRE interviews members of our Faculty Network to discuss their research, teaching, and advocacy on free expression at their institutions. This month, we talked with April Bleske-Rechek, professor of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. She has received several awards for her teaching and mentoring of undergraduate scholars, including her university’s Excellence in Teaching (2010) and Excellence in Mentoring (2016) awards, the Council of Undergraduate Research Mid-Career Mentoring Award (2020), and the UWEC College of Arts & Sciences Career Excellence in Teaching Award (2021).Interviews are conducted via email and are lightly edited for length and clarity. Fir...

Does Character Education Add Value to Your Child’s Academic Growth?

25May

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Does Character Education Add Value to Your Child’s Academic Growth?

Does Character Education Add Value to Your Child’s Academic Growth?Nothing is of more importance for the public weal, than to form and train up youth in wisdom and virtue. — Benjamin Franklin Character can be defined as the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. Before anything else, what does education constitute in layman terms? You must have guessed world-class academic coaching with some extra-curricular activities that could assist the former. It’s a bummer that we take character education which is ideally meant to be on top of our priority list for granted. Even now, if you’re questioning the importance of character education, we can delve right into details of Why is character education important? Research shows that the students who have been exposed to charact...