Today’s typical college students often juggle work, children and bills with coursework. From the WashPost.

That idea of a college student spending four luxurious, carefree years studying is passe. Of the more than 20 million students enrolled at thousands of two- and four-year colleges and universities across the nation, only about one-third fit that traditional description.

About 40 percent of all college students are older than 25, according to U.S. Education Department data. More than a third attend classes part-time. Nearly 20 percent work full-time. About 60 percent enroll at four-year public and private schools, while the rest mostly attend community colleges or enroll at for-profit colleges. Very few attend the well-known universities topping the U.S. News and World Report rankings.

More.

Recognize these Colleagues from Hell?

Slimey Sam: I can’t believe I was stupid enough to go to your presentation on “My Porn Addiction Revealed as Research on Hamster Art” It’s great to finally be able to understand why you spend all those hours huddled in front of your pc in your darkened office. Thanks for not sharing the pictures.

Lazy Lisa: Every year you co-lead projects on Teaching and Learning about Hamsters and appear to be doing ALL the work, while your co-leader appears to be doing nothing. Guess what? We’re all smart enough to know you ALWAYS take credit for your co-leader’s work so that’s why every year you need a new co-leader because everyone knows you are the laziest person on the planet.

Idiot Ian: Hey I saw you grilling my gradflake in the hallway, trying to find out what my current research is all about. Go for it. You don’t know how to do research and you won’t be able to publish from my work, even if I gave you a file with all my data in it.

Jeebus.

Oh, sarcastic joy!  My online class has arrived at our World Hamster Comparative Religions unit. At the beginning of this unit each semester, I check my bank account to make sure the university's check has cleared.  Those sweet, sweet digits are all that get me through the existential terror that always results from viewing a week's worth of incorrigible religious ignorance and provincialism.

The assignment, of course, has nothing to do with personal religious beliefs.  It asks the students to analyze the emergence of some major world religions in their historical contexts.

This year I've had to read the following.