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House Republicans lambaste colleges' handling of antisemitism
House leaders say that campus antisemitism has extended beyond student encampments to university health-care systems and call on the National Institutes of Health to ensure that institutions receiving grants comply with federal law and provide a safe environment for all, particularly individuals of Jewish ancestry.
AI-authored abstracts "more authentic" than human-written ones
Higher ratings for AI-authored abstracts should not obscure the need for engaging prose with a “human touch,” says study co-author. Journal abstracts written with the help of artificial intelligence are perceived as more authentic, clear and compelling than those created solely by academics, a study suggests.
The hypocrisy of community-engaged research (opinion)
Evelyn Vázquez writes that white saviorism often drives community-engaged research in the neoliberal university—and offers suggestions for how to change this. Any critique about the neoliberal university ought to confront and acknowledge its colonial roots. Victoria Reyes, in her book Academic Outsider (Stanford University Press, 2022), highlights that higher education was never designed for the global majority, particularly people of color from low-income backgrounds.
College holiday videos feature mascots, movie references
From ice skating with a mascot to going on a Christmas heist with a community college math teacher, holiday videos bring levity at the end of another year. It’s been another challenging year in higher ed, and colleges are unsure what 2025 could bring, especially with the Biden administration coming to an end and former president Trump returning to the White House. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing for them to celebrate this holiday season, whether it's increased enrollment, new awards and recognitions, a close-knit campus community—or just the fact that there are students on campus willing to star in a silly holiday video.
Roundup of select spring university press titles (opinion)
Scott McLemee looks ahead to select spring 2025 university press releases. More catalogs from university presses started arriving almost immediately after the last roundup of spring titles appeared—and in going through them, a couple of topical clusters of books struck me as notable. Here is a quick overview. Quoted passages come from material provided by the publishers.
Report: Trustees pressed Chapel Hill on student admissions
The chair of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Board of Trustees appeared to pressure employees to admit specific students, according to a report from The Assembly based on more than 100 pages of text messages it received through an open records request.
Early decision is on the rise. Is it just for wealthy students?
Colleges have been criticized for admitting more students through early decision, which benefits wealthier applicants. Without affirmative action, it could be a boon for diversity as well—depending how colleges use it. It’s that time of year again, when students across the country anxiously await the delivery of specially wrapped packages: early admission letters. The institutions that offer early decision—pathways that increase an applicant’s chance of acceptance but usually require them to commit if they get in—are almost exclusively highly selective. They’ve been admitting a growing share of their classes early, and this fall is no exception.
Biden scraps debt relief plans, other regs
The Education Department also withdrew its controversial rule regarding the participation of transgender student athletes in sports that align with their gender identity. The Biden administration’s ambitious plans to provide debt relief for millions of Americans is officially dead along with a number of other proposed regulatory changes.
2,000 fewer pro-Palestinian protests in fall than spring 2024
Campuses saw as few as a third as many pro-Palestinian protests this semester as they did in the spring, when an unprecedented wave of encampments swept the nation. After an unprecedented spring of pro-Palestinian protests on campuses across the United States, the fall semester has been comparatively quiet. The total number of protest actions declined by more than 64 percent, from 3,220 to 1,151, according to data from the Crowd Counting Consortium, a project by Harvard University’s John F.
Splashy hires and messy exits in 2024
Some institutions hired away well-known sitting presidents, while others saw their leaders leave amid difficult and dramatic circumstances. Marked by large-scale campus protests, congressional hearings on antisemitism and waning public trust, 2024 was a hard year for college presidents. As with every year, top leaders came and went. Some garnered more attention than others, either because of who they are or the circumstances surrounding their arrival (or departure). Inside Higher Ed has compiled a list of presidential hires that made a splash, as well as leaders who left amid controversy during the year.
Jill Biden steps down as community college instructor
First Lady Jill Biden announced Monday that she’s taught her last class at Northern Virginia Community College after 15 years, The Washington Post reported. NOVA is an institution local to the Washington, D.C., metro region that Biden joined as a professor in 2009 while serving as second lady. Known to her students as Dr. B, the president’s wife has been an educator for 40 years and a longtime community college advocate.
Doug Lederman says farewell to Inside Higher Ed: The Key
The editor and co-founder of IHE looks back on four decades of higher education journalism. In his final days in the Inside Higher Ed newsroom, editor and co-founder Doug Lederman sits down with editor in chief Sara Custer to reflect on a 40-year career in higher education in a new episode of The Key, Inside Higher Ed’s news and analysis podcast. Lederman talks about what kept him up at night in the early years of Inside Higher Ed and what big breaks came along to help establish it as a trusted news source for universities and colleges across the country.
Ouster of U of Michigan DEI official raises questions
The New York Times reported that Rachel Dawson was fired after allegedly saying that Jews didn’t need her office’s diversity services. After that article, the university added that she misbehaved at a protest. The firing of a University of Michigan official has raised questions about who was involved in the decision as well as why exactly the diversity, equity and inclusion leader was shown the door.
How will AI influence higher ed in 2025?
No one knows for sure, but Inside Higher Ed asked seven experts for their predictions. Two years after generative AI became part of the mainstream lexicon, higher education institutions are still grappling with how to integrate it into their educational missions and campus operations.
Idaho State Board of Education passes anti-DEI resolution
After some back-and-forth among board members and university leaders, the Idaho State Board of Education voted unanimously in favor of a resolution to prohibit “central offices, policies, procedures, or initiatives … dedicated to DEI ideology” at the state’s public universities.
Six ways to give the virtual classroom a human touch
Professors looking to build more supportive online learning environments can focus on connection cultivation, trust, personalized communication and community building. Over half (53 percent) of U.S. college students were enrolled in at least one online course during the 2022–23 academic year—a decline from the prior pandemic years but still above pre-pandemic levels (35 percent in 2018–19), according to National Center for Education Statistics data released in January 2024.
Idaho State Board prepares to vote on anti-DEI resolution
The state’s Board of Education is expected to ban campus offices, centers and policies “dedicated to DEI ideologies.” Some students and faculty are outraged. The Idaho State Board of Education is slated to vote today on a resolution cutting back diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at public four-year colleges and universities. If university leaders’ actions are any indication, the resolution is expected to pass.
Semester without end: An idea resurrected
More than two decades ago, I advocated enabling students to follow the evolving developments and topics in the classes I taught through news blogs. I called the concept “semester without end.” Now, OpenAI is suggesting that custom GPTs be created to accompany classes, facilitating learning during the semester, extending learning on the topic “and let[ting] people engage with the content in a lifelong manner.”
Colleges ask for a third gainful employment extension
The leading lobbying group for colleges says the upcoming change in administration necessitates relief from the Jan. 15 due date. So far, the department isn’t budging. Colleges and universities are once again urging the Department of Education to give them more time to comply with the reporting requirements in President Biden’s new gainful employment and financial value transparency rule. It’s the third time institutions have sought an extension over the past year.
Survey: Americans value trade colleges over Ivies
A new survey finds that while most likely voters question higher ed’s price, they view some types of institutions more favorably than others. Most American voters view technical and community colleges as more valuable than the Ivy League, according to a recent survey.
Featured gig: Executive director for strategic initiatives, global higher ed, Duke
A fantastic opportunity at the intersection of learning, technology and organizational change. Noah Pickus, an associate provost at Duke University (and fellow social scientist), shared an opportunity on LinkedIn for a new executive director for strategic initiatives and global higher education. I connected with Noah to learn more about the role.
Bucknell U students help optimize finals schedule
A new tool at Bucknell University helps the registrar’s office develop an exam timetable that both accommodates faculty and reduces inconvenient timing for students. The final week of the academic term is often stressful for students as they submit their last assignments and prepare for exams. While finals themselves can be taxing, the schedule of exams can further exhaust students’ academic and emotional capacities.
Newsom outlines plan to help non–degree holders access jobs
California governor Gavin Newsom on Monday unveiled his California Master Plan for Career Education, a new framework for creating well-paying jobs for Californians—especially those without a degree, the Los Angeles Times reported. About 37.5 percent of Californians have a bachelor’s degree or higher. The plan’s core strategies include:
Q&A with Virginia Foxx, Congress’s head higher ed honcho
The departing chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee discusses the year that shook higher ed, abolishing the Education Department and ushering in a new era for federal oversight of colleges. It’s Virginia Foxx’s last week as chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and she’s feeling reflective.
Harvard and UNC enrolled fewer Black law students this year
A year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled affirmative action in college admissions unconstitutional, the law schools at both universities named as defendants—Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill—admitted fewer Black students this fall than in years past.
What three ratings agencies project for higher ed in 2025
Recent reports from Moody’s Ratings, S&P Global and Fitch Ratings—taken together—offer a mixed outlook for the sector, particularly small, cash-strapped institutions. What will 2025 bring for higher education? With a new year on the horizon, a trio of financial organizations has released outlooks for the higher education sector that provide a varied view for 2025, ranging from stable to mixed—to deteriorating. Recent reports from Moody’s Ratings, S&P Global and Fitch Ratings all note similar pressures on the sector, particularly enrollment challenges and political uncertainty following the presidential election.
How to save your marcomm team
Addressing burnout among campus communicators is critical to preserving your institution’s mission and message. Whenever I ask friends in higher ed marcomm how they’re doing, the most optimistic response I get is a resigned “hanging in there.” More often, though, they tell me they’re “exhausted,” “overwhelmed” or, worst of all, “burned out.”
Study on nudges shows effectiveness for certain tasks
Nudges from a chat bot helped Georgia State students complete their FAFSA verifications, register for classes, sign up for academic coaching and more. “Hi [name]. My friends in Financial Aid indicate that you still have a balance to your account for fall term. The payment deadline is Friday. To avoid any disruption in your enrollment, you can pay your balance at [link]. If you need help in covering your bill, please reach out to [link].”
Does careerism have to ruin college? (opinion)
Jocelyn Frelier asks how faculty and staff can push back against careerist expectations while supporting students in their professional exploration. Earlier this fall, Isabella Glassman wrote a compelling opinion piece for The New York Times entitled “Careerism Is Ruining College.” Glassman, a 2023 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, defined pre-professional pressure as “a prevailing culture that convinces many of us [undergraduate students] that only careers in fields such as computer programming, finance and consulting, preferably at blue-chip firms like Goldman Sachs, McKinsey o
Western accreditor decides against dropping DEI language
Following feedback from members and outside organizations, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges’ Senior College and University Commission has decided against removing diversity, equity and inclusion language from its standards, WSCUC announced Monday.
Study links loneliness and poor sleep in college students
A new research study finds a relationship between insomnia, loneliness and time spent using electronic devices, highlighting opportunities to support student wellness. Today’s college students are in a loneliness epidemic, according to U.S. surgeon general Vivek Murthy, and one that could have impacts on their sleep and overall health.
Investing in college student success initiatives that work
A December report from the Brookings Institute identifies three evidence-based strategies that promote student persistence and completion and future considerations for higher education leaders. Across higher education, colleges, universities and other organizations are piloting initiatives to help college students to stay enrolled and ultimately earn a credential or degree. But what does the research say works best?
Looking back at 2024 in higher ed
This year featured high-profile scandals, resignations and protests but also showed the enduring value of colleges and universities. For much of 2024, higher education seemed to lurch from one crisis to another. The year kicked off with the botched launch of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and the disruptions didn’t let up as leaders grappled with increased scrutiny from Washington, D.C., and rising tensions on campus that escalated to encampments and student and faculty arrests.
States awarded 11 percent more financial aid in 2022
States awarded 11 percent more financial aid to students in the 2022–23 academic year than the year before, the largest year-over-year increase in a decade, according to a new survey from the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs.