Merced College Professor of Philosophy Keith Law has a long history of questioning conventional wisdom and popular opinion. Below, he takes on recent trends in higher education. Ed. “The key to my success is a very simple and time-honored tradition, hard work for teacher and student alike.” Jaime Escalante Readers of this editorial may recall the story of Jaime Escalante (1930 – 2010) from the 1988 film, Stand and Deliver. In the […]
Education
How Governor Brown and California’s Democratic Leadership are Destroying our Community Colleges
Merced College Professor of Philosophy Keith Law has always taken seriously the philosopher’s duty to ask difficult questions and question conventional wisdom. Below, he offers a critique of recent proposals for change in California’s Community College system. According to the California Community College Chancellor’s website, ours is the largest system of higher education in the nation, with 2.1 million students attending 114 colleges. Since opening the first community college in […]
Merced College’s Keith Law Sounds Off on “15 to Finish”
For almost thirty years, Merced College’s Keith Law has been a persistent gadfly, contrarian, and thorn in the side of anyone advancing a proposal that hasn’t been subjected to rigorous academic scrutiny. Law teaches philosophy, and has always been willing to model himself after Socrates and other great philosophers who took their discipline and reasoning into the real world, concerned more with truth and justice than popular approval. Below, in […]
Higher One: Busted Again?
On November 6, Inside Higher Education reported that Higher One, the provider of debit cards on hundreds of college campuses, including Modesto Junior College and Merced College, is in trouble again. As we reported here, Higher One paid $11 million last year as part of deal with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to provide restitution to students who were wrongfully charged for overdraft fees. Now Higher One is in trouble […]
Higher One: Setting the Record Straight?
After The Valley Citizen published two articles about local colleges outsourcing financial aid disbursements to Higher One, we received a letter from Higher One’s Lauren Perry saying that Higher One wished to “set the record straight so students know the truth.” The Valley Citizen is pleased to publish the letter in its entirety. Incidentally, a recent report from Bloomberg claims Higher One is for sale. Does that mean Higher One […]
Higher One: Just Another Corporate Tentacle in Higher Education
When Fresno State student Jeremiah Henry received his Higher One card back in 2012, he tried to activate it immediately. He then got embroiled in a bureaucratic nightmare that lasted days. It was while trying to activate the Higher One card that Henry began wondering how Fresno State had come to the decision to outsource financial aid to a company that was at that time involved in a class action […]