Students

When Colleges Use Their Own Students to Catch Drug Dealers

Campus police departments’ use of confidential informants is shrouded in secrecy. The Chronicle obtained records detailing the practice at 100 campuses. Here’s what we found.

Admissions Technology

Colleges Use Facebook Ads to Target Applicants, Parents, and Lawmakers

Colleges are spending millions on the ads. Data from admissions applications are one of their secret weapons. Privacy experts are crying foul.

Research

Professors’ Productivity Declines With Age, Right? Maybe Not.

A study of computer-science professors found that, in 80 percent of cases, their research-output patterns resisted the traditional perception of an early burst of publication followed by a gradual decline.

The Ticker

Bill Would Bar U. of Wisconsin Employees From Working at Planned Parenthood

The measure aims to prevent university employees from performing abortions and training students at clinics where abortions are performed.

‘The Lure of the Lazy River’: Join a Facebook Q&A

The author of “The Lure of the Lazy River,” the cover story in this week’s Chronicle, will take your questions on our Facebook page today at 2:30 p.m., Eastern time. Join us for the chat.

Campus Protests

Does Disruption Violate Free Speech?

The “heckler’s veto” can be as much a threat to rights of free expression as government censorship.

Lingua Franca

The National Anthem and Me

Lucy Ferriss doesn’t celebrate the rockets or the bombs of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Advice

The Missing Campus Map

Let’s just say faculty orientation leaves out a lot.