GuildHE’s Post

The School of Social and Cultural Analysis, which will be proposed to the Iowa Board of Regents at its February meeting, would promote interdisciplinary collaboration, enhance faculty support, and increase student opportunities. The school would combine several departments and programs, as well as create a new major. https://bit.ly/3C2debs

California has banned legacy preferences in admissions at all colleges and universities in the state, public or private, affecting elite universities like Stanford University and the University of Southern California. #GreatCollegeAdvice #LegacyAdmissions #CollegeAdmissions

I am pleased to share that the paper I co-authored with Bernhard Streitwieser and Joy Gitter appears as the lead article in the new issue of Current Issues in Comparative Education, published by Teachers College, Columbia University. "Inequities in Public Scholarship during the Pandemic" examines predictions about higher education issued in publicly accessible media. This phenomenon exploded during the height of the pandemic when there was widespread uncertainty about the future of the field. Research shows that op-eds and other forms of public scholarship influence public policy, heightening the significance of predictions. We wanted to know who makes predictions about higher education, in what venues they issue them, on what topics they make predictions, and how accurate they are. Please read to find out. We conclude our paper with suggestions for improving both equitable participation in public scholarship and the accuracy of predictions. https://lnkd.in/e4-XiH6g

California has banned legacy preferences in admissions at all colleges and universities in the state, public or private, affecting elite universities like Stanford University and the University of Southern California. #GreatCollegeAdvice #LegacyAdmissions #CollegeAdmissions

Inside Higher Ed recently released the results of the 2024 Survey of College and University Chief Academic Officers (CAOs). This annual survey is always a highlight for me, particularly the insights on institutional finances. One finding that stood out this year is that 83% of CAOs rate their institutions as very effective or somewhat effective at controlling rising prices for students and their families. This is a significant statistic, but it raises an important question: How do CAOs' perceptions of their effectiveness align with public opinion on the cost of higher education? Understanding this discrepancy—or alignment—could provide valuable insights into the ongoing conversation about affordability and the true impact of institutional cost stewardship strategies on students and their families.

Small Institutions are truly gems. I was lucky to have the support of Averett University as a first-generation college student, and it was a transformative experience for me. Dr. Jason Robertson, Dr. R. Bradley Johnson, Ph.D., and I recently wrote "Significant challenges facing small institutions in America" as part of Wiley's New Directions in Student Services. If you love small institutions and you know the difference they can make, you might enjoy this article. https://lnkd.in/eiK-jSu5

Advocating for Affordable Education 🎓 Our Vice-Chancellor, Distinguished Professor George Williams, has highlighted a crucial issue in his recent Sydney Morning Herald op-ed: while the new HECS relief measures may ease some cost-of-living pressures, they don’t tackle the root problem—an outdated, unfair fee structure that’s holding back students. Catch his insights here on why true reform is needed to make university education more accessible for all. 🔗 🔗 Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/gRFtgQG2

Jeffrey Kennedy and Simon Pek's overview of deliberation and deliberative mini-publics as means to shift higher education away from adversarial debate and towards more thoughtful, collaborative discourse and decision-making is worth reading and thinking about for educational development, workplace learning and community consultation. https://lnkd.in/gx2xtyXu

As some of you may know or not, University of the Arts abruptly announced on Friday that they are shutting down the 150 year old institution. No warning. No disclosures. No notice that things were that bad financially. NOTHING. I am beyond gutted for the students, faculty, staff, alumni and the arts community. I have been involved on the Parents and Family Council for the last 4 years - with the last year serving as the Chair. The PFC members and myself broke our asses to support the school and we “find out” at the 11th hour - right before an article is going to be published. ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️ To the Board, Kerry Walk and whomever else feels themselves responsible: I cannot articulate how deeply I hope you feel the most crushing, inescapable, sense of guilt and failure. You have failed us. Your soul job is to serve the institution, and the job of the institution was to serve the students. And you have failed at your job. Not only that, you have failed at failing – the middle states commission on higher education stated you have failed to make plans for a closure and plans for “teach out.” They are standards and expectations for failing universities to close with Grace. In your selfishness, in your desire to keep things hidden, you have failed to give the people you owe the most (staff, faculty, and students) any sort of grace. It is a selfishness that can only be achieved by those who truly are operating for their own benefit. - @CyanOcittus (UArts 2026) (I did not write this - reposting with permission.)

The federal Department of Education is, in essence, a giant grant making agency, with ideological strings increasingly attached. What to do about it is probably the one question we would have liked to see at the   https://lnkd.in/gbA24eN7