top of page


US needs mechanics and nurses, but kids want to be influencers
Most young people don't know what jobs are available, what they pay or how to qualify.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 63 min read


AI put 40,000 Kenyan essay-writers out of business
Africans can't compete with AI for the college essay cheating business.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 51 min read


Let students use AI to write their papers, says Harvard dean
College students are using AI to write papers. A Harvard dean says it's OK. MIT is not so sure.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 42 min read


Icebergs ahead! NY adopts no-test 'portrait' diploma
New York is headed for disaster: Fuzzy graduation standards -- with no tests -- will set students up to fail.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 22 min read


$400K for AI Cheaters Luxury Camp: How many colleges will survive?
Non-Ivy universities are charging $100,000 a year. Will parents pay?

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 13 min read


Permeable pathways: Will students go for work-first, college-later options?
Young people want career and college preparation. But it's hard to do well.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 312 min read


Streamlined degrees -- 3 years, no electives -- save time, money
I don't need "underwater basket weaving" to teach English, says 42-year-old completing a three-year bachelor's degree.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 302 min read


Do 'influencers' need a college degree?
Arizona State hopes would-be influencers will enroll for a bachelor's degree in "content creation."

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 292 min read


Forget yourself: Learn new things and seek something greater
"Read books that have no interest in your identity" and "wrestle with facts that don't care how they make you feel," says University of Austin president Carlos Carvalho.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 271 min read


Lonely on campus: Students are partying less, networking more
Today's college students are more likely to say they're isolated and lonely.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 222 min read


Parents pay for laundry, maids and meal kits for college kids
"There are better things to do with your time in college" than clean, cook or do laundry, says Dorm Mom.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 162 min read


Oops: The post-credibility university
DEI drove Tyler Austin Harper out of academia: He realized he'd been hired to be "visibly black first and a scholar second." Or not at all.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 134 min read


How Viet refugees rose: 'They work harder'
Vietnamese "boat people" raised their American children to work hard in school and go to college.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 72 min read


Career paths for all: Work experience is valuable, but hard to provide
In Delaware, 70% of students are in a career pathway, but most end up doing something else.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 52 min read


Does college pay for B- students? Probably, yes
College seems to pay for not-very-prepared students, even though many won't complete a degree.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 51 min read


Unprepared: SF high helps grads get into Berkeley, but many fail
It's "cruel" to admit students to colleges where they're likely to fail, says UC professor.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 43 min read


AP scores are up, but why?
Has the AP exam been "dumbed down" -- or are scores now a better match with college expectations?

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 293 min read


We can read hard things -- if we put away the phones and try
Read the whole book.

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 242 min read


SUNY redesigns math, English to cut failure rate: Tutoring is mandatory
Failure rates are up for new students at New York's state universities and community colleges. Fewer students start with the basics -- or study skills.

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 212 min read


Job 1: Restore the high school diploma's credibility
Careers are built on a solid academic foundation. "Passenger" students don't have that.

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 202 min read
bottom of page