With yesterday’s news I dropped off watching Uncommon Knowledge’s five-part interview with Thomas Sowell, but former Townhall columnist Jennifer Biddison writes to inform me that the last two have been about higher ed. As usual, Sowell is worth watching, though to longtime Sowell devotees such as myself, it’s largely points he’s made before.
One of the more interesting observations regards how self-interest affects faculty decisions. Because so many professors want to hold classes between 10 and 2, campuses have more buildings than they really need; they’re packed in those hours, but go empty most of the rest of the time. Also, grade inflation is in the best interest of teachers even without student evaluations – give everyone an A, and no one bothers you during office hours.