Nerd News: 2 Op-Eds About Higher Education

There is a tide in the affairs of nerds, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures ... 

Lately a LOT of people, different people, have been talking about the state of higher education.  Opinions vary wildly, but the common denominator is that everyone seems to think there's something wrong with the status quo.  Here, read two new op-eds about the state of nerddom:

• Thing the First: a professor writes about academia's "unprecedented financial crisis" and the need for reform.  Notable quote: "Universities should be looking for new ways to provide high-quality education to more students at a lower price."  
• Thing the Second:  It is entirely possible that you'll get a better education in at a school that's not a Big Name School.  Still, here is a grim caveat from a new study: "both public and private universities are failing to ensure that students cover the important subjects, notably economics and U.S. government or history."  (Oh, you are preaching to the choir.)