PROMOTINGAcademic Excellence
FEATURED INITIATIVE WHAT WILL THEY LEARN?

What Will They Learn?

The search for the right college can be overwhelming. Unfortunately, most rankings don’t tell you what matters most: what students are learning. This resource does tell you, by grading colleges and universities on their core requirements in seven areas of knowledge.
THE LATEST

ACTA in the News Costs Behind the vote: why faculty lost confidence in Whitten’s administration
ACTA in the News Costs We asked 6,000 New Englanders: Is a college degree still worth the cost?
Annual Reports 2023 Annual Report
DEFENDINGAcademic Freedom
FEATURED INITIATIVE CAMPUS FREEDOM INITIATIVE

Campus Freedom Initiative™

Free expression is the necessary precondition for the unfettered search for truth on the college campus. Learn how to build a culture of free expression at your institution through ACTA’s Campus Freedom Initiative™.
THE LATEST

Press Releases Free Speech ACTA’s Dr. Steve McGuire to Appear on Panel Examining Growing Threats to Civil Liberties in Higher Education
Videos Free Speech The Wars Against Ukraine and Israel and the Duty of the Jewish People by Bernard-Henri Lévy
Podcasts Freedom of Expression John Bolton: The Long Decline of Free Expression on Campus
ENSURINGAccountability
FEATURED INITIATIVE HOW COLLEGES SPEND MONEY

How Colleges Spend Money

ACTA’s one-of-a-kind higher education financial analysis tool, HowCollegesSpendMoney.com, makes it possible for institutions to evaluate their spending patterns and benchmark themselves against their peers.
THE LATEST

ACTA in the News Trusteeship Public University Trustees Should Serve the Public Good
Statement Freedom of Expression An ACTA Message to College Trustees: Do Not Allow Your Campuses to Become Havens for Antisemitic Violence and Harassment
Videos Institutional Neutrality Antisemitism, Academic Freedom, and Board Leadership
DONATE

intro-innerpages-events-detail

Podcasts | Freedom of Expression

George Will: Restoring the Value of an Academic Degree

February 5, 2024

George Will is a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and political commentator whose twice-weekly column has appeared in the Washington Post since 1974. His works cover subjects ranging from baseball to statecraft. In this episode, he sits down with ACTA President Michael Poliakoff for a sweeping conversation on the state of American higher education. From the fact that American English majors can now graduate without having ever read The Bard, to how the free market is regulating the production of Ph.D.’s and the stark difference between being highly educated and highly credentialed, Will offers biting and erudite remedies on how to bring about a course correction in higher education.

Download a transcript of the podcast HERE.
Note: Please check any quotations against the audio recording. The views expressed by guests on this podcast are their own and may not necessarily reflect those of ACTA.

RELATED
CONTENT

ACTA in the News Grade Inflation

Western Oregon University Adopts New Grading System

Faculty and administrators at Western Oregon University are aiming to increase student retention rates and foster academic equity by changing...

ACTA in the News Donor Intent

The Next Step for Disaffected Donors

Americans’ confidence in our higher education system is at a historic low. According to a Gallup poll this summer, only 36 percent have real...

ACTA in the News Administrative Bloat

Critics say public universities are spending too much outside the classroom

Spending on administrative expenses at U.S. public universities has outpaced spending on academic roles in recent years, leading some students...

RELATED
PRESS MENTIONS

ACTA in the News Governance

Elise Stefanik rips Harvard after school hired ex-board leader and professor’s law firm to probe ousted prez Claudine Gay

A new report to Congress confirms that after The Post reached out to Harvard University about plagiarism allegations against its former...

Podcasts

Jay Bhattacharya: Free Expression and Unsettled Science

Jay Bhattacharya is a professor at Stanford University Medical School, a physician, epidemiologist, health economist, and public health policy...

ACTA in the News Intellectual Diversity

Merit-based hiring needed to improve ‘diversity of thought’ at UMich: higher ed groups

The University of Michigan’s promise to protect “diversity of thought” and “freedom of expression” must include real action, including prioritizing merit...