Jeff Selingo

img-book

College (Un)bound

College (Un)Bound asks the burning question on every prospective student, parent, and new grad’s mind. Student-loan debt in the United States crossed the $1 trillion mark in 2011. To say that the cost of a four-year college education is inflated on many campuses would be an understatement—and that education bubble is about to burst. Learn More...

Buy from Amazon.com Buy from Barnes and Noble

Recent Press for College (Un)Bound

Washington Post

"The book also offers a primer to innovations transforming colleges as they scramble to adapt to a new market after the 2008 financial crisis."


Wall Street Journal

"Bachelor's degrees may not be worth it, but community college can bring a strong return."


NPR

"Selingo joins NPR's David Greene to talk about palatial dorms, online courses and why colleges are no longer an equalizing force."


Brian Leyrer Show - WNYC

"Jeffrey Selingo, editor at large of the Chronicle of Higher Education, and author of College (Un)Bound: The Future of Higher Education and What It Means for Students, assesses the value of a college education."


The Dish with Andrew Sullivan

"College (Un)bound also tackles the luxury amenities that schools increasingly offer students."


Washington Monthly Review

"Online learning will transform the nature of college for everybody—except the affluent."


Huffington Post Review

"Since the 1970s, Jeffrey Selingo, editor at large for the Chronicle of Higher Education, acknowledges, plenty of people have predicted the end of colleges and universities as we know them. Now, however, Selingo thinks they may be right."



Graduation Rates: Flawed as a Measure of Colleges, but Still Useful

The much-debated graduation rate should remain an important measure for students to consider in the college-search process, writes Jeff Selingo.


Colleges Face a Reality Check From Powerful New Tools in Applicants’ Hands

A new Web site helps parents and students sort through factors to consider when choosing a college. Higher-education officials had better get used to such tools to judge them, writes Jeff Selingo.


Let’s Improve the Job Prospects of This Year’s College Grads

College commencement season is upon us, and in just a few weeks, the Class of 2013 will begin their post-college life. Those entering the job market seem to be hedging their bets: 1 in 3 soon-to-be graduates report applying for more than 40 jobs, according to one survey. For them, the news continues to be [...]


What Is College?

My 3 1/2 year-old daughter recently saw me wearing a sweatshirt from my undergraduate alma mater (Ithaca College) and asked me what it spelled. When I told her, she replied: What is college? A profound question from a 3 1/2 year-old and one being asked by college leaders and students alike these days as tuition [...]


The Second Internet Wave Comes to Higher Education

At a conference this week in Arizona, Steve Case, the AOL founder, offered colleges three key lessons from the changes sweeping the sector, writes Jeff Selingo.


Colleges Must Prepare for a Buyer’s Market

College professors increasingly complain about the consumer mentality of their students: In exchange for shelling out ever greater amounts of tuition dollars, students expect to be treated to easy A’s and maximum flexibility in assignments and class attendance. Students should be savvy consumers of higher education—but not in the classroom. Instead, they, and their parents, [...]


Wanted at Work: Take More Risks in College

Innovation needs risk-taking as its fuel, but according to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, workers are increasingly afraid to take chances on the job: “After years of high employment and scared from rounds of company cost-cutting and layoffs, managers say their workers seem to have become allergic to risk.” A college campus [...]


Breaking the Tyranny of the Academic Calendar

The Education Department’s clarification on “competency-based” programs has potentially far-reaching consequences that could allow colleges to reimagine the entire academic calendar and provide much-needed flexibility for students, writes Jeff Selingo.


What’s the Value of a College Degree?

When my parents bought their first house in the early 1960s, they focused on buying a place to live in and raise their children. By the time I purchased my first house early last decade, buying a house was as much about the “investment” as it was about buying something in order to put a [...]


Let’s Kill the Prestige Race Before It Kills Higher Ed

By focusing on rankings and emulation, the prestige race doesn’t reward experimentation or differentiation, leaving most colleges unready for the challenges of the future, writes Jeff Selingo.