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I live in Massachusetts, went to graduate school here, and teach entrepreneurship part-time at Harvard Business School. So, with my backyard in mind, I take a close look in this blog at the college scene in the Commonwealth.   What I lay out here might surprise you. Pockets of Abysmal Graduation Rates.  Graduation rates are shockingly Concerning Commonwealth Colleges … READ MORE

I do not believe that a typical American college can really change.  For a college to truly change, it inevitably needs to reconfigure its resources (its people, its assets, its time) in substantial, internally unpopular, and permanent ways. Doing that — really shaking things up, let’s say — is not an option in most incumbent Colleges Cannot Change … READ MORE

As I write this, DC waves a final good-bye to another round of public subsidies for community colleges. In its major parts, President Biden’s “free community college” proposal is not to be. Below, I explain why I am relieved that the proposal stalled. I also argue for what I think should come next in public New and Better (not Just Cheaper) Community Colleges … READ MORE

Community colleges have been in the news a lot lately, mainly because they were contenders for a slot in Biden’s large spending bill. Debates about community colleges — both this time around and in general — are often disconnected from important facts about them, in my opinion. With that in mind, below I work up 10 Crucial Facts about Community College … READ MORE

Below is an amazing chart on college selectivity. It groups 4-year colleges into 10 buckets by how selective they are, and it shows how many students (of various backgrounds) are in each bucket of college selectivity. Take a close look. What do you see? Below, I give you my 5 take-aways. 1: Highly Selective Colleges The Irrelevance of Highly Selective Colleges … READ MORE