The Issue at a Glance

Fragmenting the Curriculum (10.1007/s12129-019-09803-7)

Daniel Bonevac, University of Texas-Austin.

For the first entry in our “Incapacity: Enfeebling Higher Education” feature, Daniel Bonevac documents the disappearance of Western Civilization and other broad interdisciplinary humanities courses, along with the dwindling of traditional survey courses. The result is that college graduates emerge with little knowledge of subjects beyond their majors, and only narrow slices of that to boot.

Good Grieve! America’s Grade Inflation Culture (10.1007/s12129-019-09810-8)

Craig Evan Klafter, American University in Myanmar

The American culture of grade inflation is a primary abettor of the “pay to play” college admissions scandals recently in the news. If a student can manage to gain admission to a school that is academically out of reach, there’s a good chance he will pass his courses. The political history and institutional causes of college grade inflation might surprise you.