In the realm of state higher-education reform, Texas and Florida are often in the spotlight. But North Carolina’s slow, thoughtful reforms have led to important and lasting changes for Tar Heel students and citizens.

Reform across four key areas began more than a decade ago. It continues as North Carolina’s legislature, universities, and community colleges make increme...

In C.S. Lewis’s Till We Have Faces, Queen Orual writes the story of her life to indict the gods. “Being, for all these reasons, free from fear, I will write in this book what no one who has happiness would dare to write. I accuse the gods, especially the god who lives on the Grey Mountain.” The gods have been unjust, Orual believes; the story of her life is her complai...

American college and university campuses are at risk of becoming echo chambers.

Many students are afraid to express their opinions because it’s unclear how their professors and peers will receive them. As one student expressed, “It’s safer to stay silent” when students perceive ideological homogeneity among their professors. Data from the Foundation for Individual Righ...

Late last year, the Martin Center debuted a major new resource for readers seeking state-by-state higher-education analysis and policy coverage. The project is a small part of the Martin Center’s growing focus on state policy outside of North Carolina.

Our Analysis b...

For more than a century, the traditional academic semester—typically lasting 15 or 16 weeks—has been the dominant calendar in American higher education. Yet this format is increasingly being reconsidered. A growing number of institutions, particularly community colleges, are