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This post is from Professor Chad Goldberg. In his April 29 statement on Palermo's Pizza, Interim Chancellor David Ward wrote: "On November 29, 2012, NLRB Regional Director  Irving Gottschalk issued a decision that found the majority of the alleged labor law violations against Palermo’s lacked merit.  The NLRB findings were appealed by representatives of the workers. Earlier today [April 29, 2013] the appeal was denied based o n insufficient evidence. Throughout this process, we stated that we would weigh findings by the NLRB as we considered additional  action…. We are encouraging Palermo’s, the workers and the NLRB to reach an agreement on rehiring the remaining workers who are  not covered by today’s appeal decision. While we acknowledge the viewpoints represented by UW-Madison students and the Workers’ Rights Consortium, we believe that cutting ties with Palermo’s at this time is not warranted based on the facts." [ http://www.news.wisc.edu/21728 ] Others on campu...

UW-Madison has a rich history of activism among its students, and that history evolves today as students stand in solidarity with the workers of Palermo's pizza and the good folks of Voces de la Frontera.  What will outgoing Interim Chancellor David Ward do? Why not act, given widespread public support and his short remaining tenure?   Here's what you need to know: (1) UW-Madison's students have always been ahead of the curve when it comes to standing up for the rights of underdogs throughout the world.  It's no surprise they're ahead of the NLRB on this one. (2) UW-Madison's code of ethics is independent from the rulings of the NLRB or any other entity and is supposed to reflect our values, not those of others. (3) It is abundantly clear that moral leadership is lacking on both the so-called Left and the Right in Wisconsin, especially when it comes to standing up to corporate interests seeking to keep wages low and profits high.  It is far harder to battle t...

Once in awhile people ask me how I can continue to call myself an education optimist when the "new normal" is so grim.  They ask, "why do you continue tilting at windmills instead of being pragmatic and accepting the situation?" The answer is simple: acceptance is unnecessary and defeat is not an option.  I challenge the status quo for the sake of students. Today, I want to say Take that, windmill! The University of Wisconsin System just ceded to the demands of students across the State and agreed to cap a tuition increase at no more than 2% for the coming year and eliminate the waiting list for the Wisconsin Higher Education Grant.  This is a stunning reversal, as President Kevin Reilly had been lobbying against students, insisting that no cap was necessary. What happened?  Well, as I have long insisted, the issue is not entirely about a lack of state funding being provided to higher education but how administrators are spending   it.   When the ...

I had the privilege of serving alongside a representative from U.S. PIRG during Senate testimony yesterday, and so today, in support of the hard work they are doing on behalf of students everywhere, I want to weigh in on the situation here in Wisconsin. UW-Madison Interim Chancellor David Ward recently released his decision on the Associated Students of Madison (ASM)'s approved segregated university fee budget following months of student decision-making. One focus of his decision was removing a majority of the budget for WISPIRG, a statewide, student-directed and funded public interest group and registered student organization, despite student approval.   The issue of WISPIRG’s funding has received much attention lately, from students, the Associated Students of Madison, the Chancellor, and the media. And now in light of Chancellor Ward’s decision, ASM is preparing an appeal to the Regents.  WISPIRG was founded by Madison students in 1989 in order to tackle public inte...

Sometimes public problems deserve massive public solutions. This is one of those times.   As I explained in my testimony to the U.S. Senate HELP committee this morning , student loans have been a requirement  for college attendance in the United States.  It is no longer possible for the vast majority of American families to afford college without taking on debt.  It isn't a "choice." While we can disagree about whether or not the personal benefits of that debt are "worthwhile," the policy question is whether the social consequences are tenable. I argue that they are not.  While the average student loan debt under income-based repayment plans may be "manageable" under current financial industry standards (meaning it represents no more than 10% of annual income) that does not mean it has no negative impacts. (The evidence is far from clear that the debt will in fact be manageable-- the Australians are reportedly amazed that we think lessons from their ex...

This morning, I testified before the United State's Senate HELP committee on the topic of college affordability. My written testimony can be found here .  The text of my oral testimony follows, and I have added a q&a to respond to several questions I expect to receive.  I welcome your feedback. TESTIMONY Good morning, Chairman Harkin, Senator Alexander, and Members of the Committee. Thank you all for this opportunity. There’s never been a more important time to address the issue of college affordability.  College is now the main road to a stable, secure life, and in this age of global knowledge markets, it is college-educated workers who will be the main driver of the U.S.’s prosperity. But the research evidence is clear:  most families and students find the high cost of college attendance unbearable, and it’s affecting their choices about whether to attend college, where to go, and even whether or not to finish the degrees and certificates they start. As access ...

It will be an incredible honor and immense responsibility to appear this Tuesday morning before the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions for a hearing about college affordability. I am especially happy that the focus of this hearing is on the perspectives of students and families, since they view policy as enacted, not policy as intended. The hearing will be webcast here beginning at 9 am Central/ 10 am Eastern.  My written testimony has been submitted and will be posted on the website following the hearing-- it is substantially longer and more detailed than my oral testimony, since I only get 5 minutes for that. This committee is chaired by Senator Tom Harkin, and (be still my heart!) includes both Senator Tammy Baldwin and  Senator Elizabeth Warren. I'm told they will both be present, and that Senator Baldwin will deliver my introduction. I will be joined by a representative from the U.S. PIRG and two students. I look forward to this imp...

This guest post is authored by R. Thomas, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Grading might not be the most exciting aspect of a teacher’s career but it might be one of the best sources of job security - particularly in light of proposed online courses with automated grading that aim to put professors out of work or into unappealing, low-wage, jobs. Of course we’ve heard a lot about online education, MOOCs, merit badges, and competency assessments. As Clayton Christiansen describes it, universities save money with online education simply because there is a glut of PhDs. For years graduate schools have been over producing the amount of PhDs. Consequently talented instructors are more than willing to teach courses at low wages, with no benefits, and with essentially no job security. As he writes in The Innovative University , “Adjunct instructors give the online educators two advantages. Rather than receiving an annual salary, as full-time faculty at traditional un...

This post is authored by Maria K. Giannopoulos,   Vice Chair of the Associated Students of Madison at the  University of Wisconsin-Madison. She can be reached at  mgiannopoulo@wisc.edu  In an article  published by the Chronicle of Higher Education earlier this week, Anil Wadhwani of Northwestern and Jonathan Green of Cambridge describe how the Northwestern University administration is giving students a voice in the college budget process. To some, giving students a voice regarding the use of their fees may be a no-brainer, but at many institutions administrators and staff unilaterally decide the distribution of fees and ideas for student services. The authors cite "shortsighted vision" and high student turnover as possible reasons to limit student engagement in the fee process. But at Northwestern, administration finally realized that despite these potential issues, student input was valuable and attainable. In Wisconsin, our conception of stud...

About a month ago I began writing about the MOOC Industrial Complex .  As expected, it's growing rapidly.  Today's NY Times tells us that soon computers will be grading essays at the college level . Not only will those brainy professors be replaced by technology, but heck even better, the computer will give you a "retake" so you can try and improve your grade! Gee, how lovely.  The creator even emphasizes the importance of that immediate feedback and instant gratification, since (oh my goodness!) students currently have to wait days-- or even weeks!!-- for their essays to be graded. It won't be long now, we're told, as the system is "nearing the capability of human graders." Watch out you graduate students and professor-- the machines are coming... Just wait, as one of my favorite Twitterers Siva Vaidhyanathan writes, for the students to line up at the computers' office hours (??) to protest and renegotiate their grades.