I'm In Love With the Cronk of Higher Ed, Our Very Own Onion!

Post-acers, why haven't you told me about The Cronk of Higher Ed?!! This is post-academic recovery gold!! The Cronk is our very own Onion, skewering higher ed practices and issues and I'm in LOVE with it. At HTLA we firmly believe that satire and humor that pokes fun at and reveal the flaws in higher education are crucial to our academic recovery. Laughter is the best medicine!

Here are a few Cronk highlights to get your started, but you should subscribe to their twitter feed and like them on facebook for a regular dose of reminders as to why you're OUT. After that, check out our other satire and schadenfreude resources for post-ac folks in the category links above.

MOOCS apply open philosophy to faculty recruitment. "Learn Today! Recruited Melanie Drake to teach advanced literature. “We discovered her ‘Twilight’ fan fiction blog and knew our students would love her,” said Pembers."

Small college steals and markets it's overworked adjuncts' home remedies for stress and exhaustion. "The remedies, grouped together under the moniker “Little Black Bag,” promises to revolutionize the floundering college’s fiscal health — and maybe its physical health as well. As adjuncts sign away their rights to privacy and intellectual property when they are hired, the college’s claim to intellectual property rights to 'Little Black Bag' felt consistent."

University requires adjuncts to wear ankle bracelets to keep their hours under 30 and thus avoid insurance requirements. “I put in over 50 hours on campus last week but really only worked about 23, according to my anklet,” said one instructor. “I’ve eliminated class discussions and I don’t call on students with raised hands anymore. The Provost says that I’m a model instructor and may even recommend me for another course next semester. If I keep this up, I might earn enough to cover gas money for my commute.”

Check it out!