Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus, authors of the new-ish book Higher Education?, ?identify and briefly describe on the Washington Post's Political Bookworm blog the ?15 institutions they like.? Theirs is a confusing list. For instance, Florida Gulf Coast University is included solely because it doesn't have a football team, but Notre Dame, which obviously does have a football team, is also invited to the party. Here's some of what the authors ?like? about the Fighting Irish:
Notre Dame puts principles first. Like inviting an Islamic scholar, whose visit the Bush administration banned. Or hosting Barack Obama, whose views on reproductive rights are well-known.
So Hacker and Dreifus think Notre Dame is swell because its administration has recently made some controversial decisions (no mention of whether those decisions were logical or defensible), but, of course, lots of schools' administrations make controversial decisions. Here's some of what the authors ?like? about Evergreen State College:
While Evergreen isn't for everyone, it comes close to being a model college. Students work hard; but not for grades, since none are given.
Lots of colleges don't give grades. And why is that a ?model?? Here's the University of Mississippi:
Yes, it took federal troops to integrate Ole Miss. And now it's a multi-racial campus, which we especially liked for putting undergraduates first. Among its well-kept secrets is an internal ?honors college,? with small classes and a cadre of dedicated professors. An Amherst education at state school prices.
A well-kept secret? Why is?the honors college?a secret? Of course, lots of schools have an ?internal ?honors college' with small classes??nothing unique about that.?And Ole Miss is not offering an Amherst education.
?Liam Julian