College Rankings

Faculty Network interview: Daniel Cullen, Rhodes CollegeIn 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 interviewed Daniel Cullen, professor of political philosophy at Rhodes College. He was recently named to the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Academic Leaders Task Force on Campus Free Expression. Interviews are conducted via email and are lightly edited for length and clarity. They will run on FIRE’s Newsdesk about once a month. Most of our Newsdesk readers will be meeting you for the first time, so would you mind briefly discussing your academic background and teaching and research interests? I am a professor of political philosophy and the humanities at Rhod...

How to take advantage of college admission changes during COVID-19No matter when COVID-19 finally disappears, the college admission practices that changed due to the pandemic, will not completely disappear. In a recent webinar, I discussed how the pandemic has impacted college admissions in significant ways and how families can take advantage of these changes going forward. [embedded content] COVID-19 and College Admissions Here are some COVID-19 developments that you should know about: 1.  The vast majority of colleges and universities are now test-optional. That includes more than 90% of all highly selective and elite schools. 2. Because two-year-old tax returns are used when completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and the CSS Profile, many a family’s financial infor...

Seniors: Planning for College Amid a PandemicTwitterFacebookLinkedinemailiStock Editor’s note: A version of this column was first published in The Hardwick Gazette. Change. For members of the class of 2021, change is and will be the action word in your life now and for the next few academic years. You may be thinking: “Oh no! I’m a senior. This is supposed to be my big, happy (after I get into college) last year of high school. It’s supposed to be the time when I figure out where in this whole country I want to apply to and go to college. I’ve been thinking and dreaming of my senior year all through high school.” As have all seniors…so let’s think together of how to work out this pandemic senior year. Chances are very good that a vaccine will be available by the end of your freshman year ...

5 Productivity Practices That Helped Me Finish My DissertationThe last two years of my doctorate, I had a side hobby of researching and experimenting with productivity tools and teaching others to apply them to their own lives via my blog The Tending Year. I started The Tending Year to manifest personal accountability to accomplish big goals; as a result I learned how to focus my labor so I could accomplish my to-do list in less time and with more intention. I have chronic health issues that affect my energy and ability to focus, and I live with chronic pain that requires me to take breaks from sitting, so I was particularly interested in learning how to write my dissertation in short, focused work sessions. Plus, I genuinely loved my dissertation topic, and I wanted to make the process as...

Escaping the Academic Equality QuagmireEscaping the Program Equality Quagmire Academic programs, and the courses that deliver their content, are not of equal importance.  The implications of this came home to me recently when, in a webinar on academic resourcing, a participant objected that provosts and deans should not “put their thumbs on the scale” by considering program importance when deciding admission targets and departmental budgets.  “All programs and courses are of equal importance,” the participant asserted. “Providing their quality is good, all should have equal access to funding.” (more…)