Free Republic

Conservatives interested in higher-education reform often ask themselves where things went wrong. Answers usually range from the radicalism of the 1960s to the rise of social media or the triumph of critical theories in various departments and then the university as a whole. True, but the problem lies deeper, as well. Few are willing to trace today’s ills to the rise of the Progressive University or, what is the same thing, the making of higher education in the image of the modern research university. The modern research university is a source of pride among modern peoples. Commercials for universities during...

Lane Kiffin's contract with LSU includes the unique clause that he will receive a payment equal to the amount he would have earned for coaching Ole Miss in the upcoming College Football Playoff, according to a term sheet obtained by ESPN on Monday. Kiffin, who agreed to a seven-year contract with LSU on Sunday that will pay him $13 million annually, will receive the same CFP bonus from LSU that he would have if he had remained with Ole Miss through this postseason. That begins at $150,000 for the Rebels' participation in a first-round CFP game, increases to $250,000 for...

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley's son Nalin Haley on Monday accused Republicans of failing to acknowledge disillusioned Gen Z voters' struggles with unemployment and affordability. The first step our leaders need to do is admit that we have a problem. And right now I haven't heard any Republican leaders talk about the issues that young people are facing," Haley told "Fox & Friends."

Higher education is suffering from many woes, and the federal government (and sometimes Donald Trump in particular) often gets much of the blame for them. But one factor that, in my judgment, is ultimately responsible for much contemporary collegiate angst probably cannot be primarily blamed on the feds: the effects of grade inflation. I would submit that this affliction is the predominant single factor in the precipitous decline in student learning in American colleges and universities. Combined with long-term rising fees for college attendance, grade inflation has made universities an increasingly dubious value proposition: Attendees, their parents, and the public...

Americans have grown sour on one of the longtime key ingredients of the American dream. Almost two-thirds of registered voters say that a four-year college degree isn’t worth the cost, according to a new NBC News poll, a dramatic decline over the last decade. Just 33% agree a four-year college degree is “worth the cost because people have a better chance to get a good job and earn more money over their lifetime,” while 63% agree more with the concept that it’s “not worth the cost because people often graduate without specific job skills and with a large amount of...

Since its founding in 1923, Hillel has become the most important Jewish campus organization in America and abroad, with a presence on more than 800 campuses across the world. Its programs and leadership are central to campus Jewish life and, looked at a certain way, reflect the broader failure of colleges to educate students these days. Hillel was established on the premise that Jews themselves need to take responsibility for Jewish prospering by participating in cultural events and social programs and by being intellectually challenged in in-depth classes and seminars. The organization also sought to respond to campus antisemitism and...

A University of Texas freshman took his own life after months of 'demeaning and cruel hazing' which saw him burned with cigarettes and beaten, a lawsuit claims. Sawyer Lee Updike was allegedly 'speared with a fishhook' during an alcohol-fueled event and had his hip pierced with a staple gun, according to the filing from his parents. The lawsuit also alleges that he was forced to take cocaine. Updike, 18, died alone in a convenience-store parking lot just months after joining UT Austin's Sigma Chi's Alpha Nu.

Two football players from the University of Alabama at Birmingham were allegedly stabbed by another player at the team’s training center ahead of their game Saturday against South Florida, a university official confirmed to Fox News Digital. The two players were attacked Saturday morning at the Football Operations Center, the training site for the Blazers’ football program.

BYU made the Big 12's conference championship scenarios pretty straightforward on Saturday night. A loss by the No. 11 Cougars at Cincinnati could have led to a four-way tie for second in the conference behind Texas Tech. Instead, just three teams remain alive for the conference title heading into the last weekend of the season as BYU won 26-14.

OPINION/ANALYSIS The Battalion student newspaper at Texas A&M university does not seem to be a fan of conservative student thought. An analysis of the 60 opinion pieces focused on politics published since November 2024 found that nearly all of them — 50 — leaned liberal (35), left-leaning (5), far-left (5), and liberal satire (5). Only 7 of the opinion political pieces were moderate or neutral, and a total of three were conservative, or a ratio of almost 17 to 1 liberal to conservative. The research was conducted by student Justino Russell, who was inspired to dig into the analysis after...

At many of the country’s most prestigious universities, an “A” has become a default instead of a distinction. It used to be a mark that indicated academic excellence and proficiency, yet lately it seems like almost everyone is “exceptional.” Now, Harvard’s much-remarked-upon grade-inflation report, released late last month, confirms what many have suspected for years: Grades at elite colleges have lost their meaning. According to the report, in 2005 “A’s” accounted for 24 percent of all grades given at Harvard College. In 2025, that number jumped to over 60 percent. Even the cutoff mark for summa cum laude status has...

Suppose you’re a controversial left-wing speaker. Who do you think would be more likely to let you voice your opinions on campus: a slightly conservative man or a democratic socialist woman? Now suppose you’re a controversial right-wing speaker. Who do you think would be more likely to let you voice your opinions on campus: a slightly liberal man or a somewhat conservative woman? It may seem obvious that, regardless of gender, someone with a similar ideology would be more tolerant of your views. But recent data gathered by FIRE suggests that’s not always the case. Amazingly, it turns out that...

How many times does an undergraduate economics student hear the name “Hayek” in his or her courses? The answer, in most programs, is close to zero. This is surprising. Friedrich Hayek remains one of the most cited Nobel laureates in economics—second only to Kenneth Arrow in mentions and citations in Nobel lectures, according to research from King’s College London. His ideas on the knowledge problem and the economic calculation debate are fundamental to understanding the limits of central planning and the role of markets. And yet, in most classrooms, Hayek’s name never appears. Why? Because economics education today is not...

A retired Colorado professor angrily branded Turning Point USA supporters 'Nazi's' in an fiery exchange after the university reversed its decision to block a chapter from its campus. On November 7, former Fort Lewis College professor David Kozak was seen on footage calling conservatives 'Nazi's' and 'fascists' and flipping off the camera recording him. The display came after the college reversed its decision to block a Turning Point USA chapter on campus - before eventually approving it at the November 7 meeting. In a clip by Libs of TikTok on X, the video showed Kozak being blocked by a woman...

Of the many controversies currently raging in higher education, few arouse as much passion as the place of politics in universities. For years, the Right denounced the Left’s dominance over campus culture. After Donald Trump’s reelection, it was the Left’s turn to cry political interference. The North Carolina General Assembly has attempted to address this issue by mandating a policy of institutional neutrality in the University of North Carolina System, though even this policy is sometimes viewed with suspicion. Yet, amid this controversy, there has usually been agreement on one point: Overt campaigning on behalf of a candidate or party,...

The largest changes in college enrollment by black students have nothing to do with Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023), which banned affirmative action (“diversity”) in undergraduate admissions. SFFA practically only affects the narrow sliver of elite colleges. For most black students, the question remains the same as it is for all American students: Is it worth going to college at all? Many black students are saying no—because many American students are saying no. Kimberly Wilson writes in Essence (“Where Black Women Come First”) an article about the decision to enroll in college that applies just about word for...

A Colorado professor unleashed a tirade on conservative students, calling them "Nazis" after Fort Lewis College reversed a prior decision and approved a Turning Point USA (TPUSA) chapter on campus. Turning Point chapters have been springing up across the country in the wake of founder Charlie Kirk's Sept. 10 murder. Anthropology professor David Kozak was caught flipping off students during an unhinged meltdown, appearing visibly upset at the Associated Students of Fort Lewis College's (ASFLC) decision to reverse its initial denial of the TPUSA chapter just days earlier, which was triggered by a petition that amassed over 1,000 signatures, according...

Math professors are ringing alarm bells about the rapid and disastrous decline in students' ability to do even basic math. Almost 15% of incoming students cannot perform math at the 1st-grade level, and fewer than one out of five can perform math at the 8th-grade level. These are college students at a fairly prestigious university, many of whom have achieved very good grades in math prior to graduation. They have been awarded good to great grades without being able to do the most basic math. We're not talking about students having trouble dealing with calculus or Algebra II. Many students...

Artificial intelligence has democratized knowledge more than any invention in history. Anyone can now solve a problem in physics, medicine, or Greek literature instantly. Yet the safeguards that once verified a student’s mastery of a subject have been replaced by compliance rituals that only simulate it. [...] What once required thought, practice, and time now takes a single click. That isn’t evolution; it’s a breakthrough, disruptive technology doing what it is meant to do: collapsing the distance between skill and result. In higher education, this transformative technology has created a perfect storm where tools that make cheating effortless have collided...

Socialism beats capitalism among U.S. college students, in a new Axios-Generation Lab poll. 67% of survey respondents say they hold a positive or neutral association with the word "socialism," compared with 40% with the word "capitalism." Why it matters: Days before a nationally watched election that could made democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani New York City's next mayor, the survey reveals Gen Z's growing disillusionment with capitalism — fueled by high inflation, surging healthcare and housing costs, and the rising influence of billionaires in politics, tech and media. It also highlights college students' left-leaning politics — and sharp partisan divides within...