In 2011, the first edition of Campus Confidential sparked a lively debate about what is really going on inside our colleges and universities. The media and readers alike welcomed this readable, honest book. University authorities didn't. They took the authors to task for spilling the beans. In this second edition, Ken S. Coates and Bill Morrison pick up where they left off, adding new and up-to-date information for students and their parents to consider.

Among the questions they address:

• Why more students should consider the skilled trades
• Whether a BA is ever worth the paper it's printed on
• How roving administrators are undermining universities
• Why we over-produce graduate students
• What's right (and wrong) with what's happening on campuses in Quebec

Now that nearly everyone goes to college or university but only a small percentage of graduates actually find employment in their chosen field, understanding what's really going on in Canadian postsecondary institutions is more important than ever. Readers can count on Ken S. Coates and Bill Morrison for unexpected insights and lots of fresh new ideas and information.

Ken S. Coates was raised in Whitehorse and has a long-standing interest in northern themes. Titles include Canada’s Colonies, The Sinking of the Princess Sophia, The Modern North, North to Alaska (on the building of the Alaska Highway) and many academic books. He has worked on north-centred television documentaries and served as a consultant to northern governments and organizations. He is currently Professor of History and Dean of Arts, University of Waterloo.

Ken S. Coates' profile page

A graduate of McMaster University and the University of Western Ontario, BILL MORRISON worked from 1969 to 2010 as a university professor and administrator in Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia and as a visiting professor in the United States. He has published fourteen books, twelve of them in collaboration with Kenneth Coates.

Bill Morrison's profile page

Thinking about post-secondary education? Bill Morrision [and Ken Coates has just the book for you.

Ladysmith Chronicle

"This is a must read book for all parents and teenagers thinking about university education as well as all high school counsellors."

Wines World

"The entitlement generation is killing the joy of teaching they say, but students aren't the only challenge for universities....The 100 startling things are organized into short chapters with snappy titles..."

Vancouver Sun

"...crisply written"

The Province

"[One of the smartest critics of the system is Ken Coates... Dr. Coatess book, Campus Confidential, is essential reading for students and their parents."

The Globe and Mail

"Heading to university just because Mom, Dad, a guidance counsellor, or society in general think you should can prove to be an extremely expensive mistake."

Charlottetown Guardian

[Coates and Morrisons lively, witty, crystalline text should be required reading for parents, high school counsellors and, most of all, students.

Atlantic Books Today

"According to Coates and Morrison, Canada should rethink its approach to post-secondary schooling, with more students streamed not to university but to technical and practical training. Clearly, there's an enduring demand for IT support staff and healthcare technicians, electricians, plumbers, skilled construction workers, draftsmen and tool and die makers."

Anglican Journal

"[Ken Coates and Bill Morrison's new book, Campus Confidential, is a bracing reality check that should be essential reading for would-be university students, their parents and anyone who thinks higher education holds all the answers."

The Globe and Mail

"...a guide to the mindset of the entitlement generation."

Globe & Mail

"Only once students respect the university experience for what it is -- not what it will get them -- will attitudes change. But with the many challenges facing young people today, Coates and Morrison aren't sure this can even happen."

CBC.CA/books