Hey, did you know @chronicle.com started a Compact Live Updates page today? www.chronicle.com/article/comp... That said, @cantb.bsky.social's summary below is pretty good. (Just missing USC, also out.)

Aaand more about the meeting today with compact recipients who haven't responded yet + others:

White House officials are meeting this afternoon with representatives from the five remaining original recipients of the higher-ed compact that have not yet responded: www.insidehighered.com/news/governm... Nice scoop by @knottkatherine.bsky.social for Inside Higher Ed.

This is an eye-opening Q&A about being a college president today. We all know it's a tough job. Still, I was surprised by depths of some of the challenges these two faced: www.chronicle.com/article/two-...

In the last two days, Brown, Penn, and USC have joined MIT in declining the Trump administration's compact for higher education. You can see all of @chronicle.com's compact updates here: www.chronicle.com/package/trum...

My latest with @mzahneis.bsky.social: Dartmouth is close to saying "no" to the current compact, I learned. The decision comes as gov. officials are circulating that the compact is open to all, in what higher-ed advocates call a test of the sector's collective will: www.chronicle.com/article/dart...

Unrelated to breaking news: I appreciate that of my recent stories, I've gotten the most feedback on this one. All the emails are from alumni of various nerd camps. I should say that not all CTY alumni who have messaged me support the test-based admissions criterion, but all loved the experience.

Breaking: Trump's higher-ed compact is open to all, I confirmed for @chronicle.com: www.chronicle.com/blogs/the-tr... “We welcome any institution that wants to adopt these principles to sign the compact,” a source told me.

Want something fun (I hope) to read that's not about huge government interventions in higher ed? I wrote about nerd camp! The story has some higher-ed connections, I promise, and it was a pleasure to report: www.chronicle.com/article/what...

My colleagues broke down in detail the contents of the "compact" the Trump administration reportedly sent to nine colleges. Hope this helps your discussions: www.chronicle.com/article/the-...

What do teaching, research, and student life look like after a college reaches a deal with the Trump administration? I visited Columbia during the first week of classes to find out: www.chronicle.com/article/life...

So proud of my colleagues' fast and in-depth work covering the killing of Charlie Kirk, and what it means for higher ed: www.chronicle.com/article/maki...

Fab story by @peterelkind.bsky.social and @katiemangan.bsky.social about Leo Terrell, head of the White House antisemitism task force investigating colleges. Terrell's been sued for malpractice, owes almost $400K taxes, yells at coworkers. And that's just the start: www.chronicle.com/article/the-...

In light of this morning's letter from the White House antisemitism task force to Harvard — which found Harvard "in violent violation of Title VI" — here's @franciediep.bsky.social and @erickelderman.bsky.social on what a deal between the parties might mean for #HigherEd. #AcademicSky

Bob Morse, who's led the methodology for U.S. News' college rankings for 37 years, is retiring at the end of this month. Here's my exit interview with him: www.chronicle.com/article/u-s-...

I'm sure it's just convergent evolution. But also ours is better-looking.

Scoop from @franciediep.bsky.social: In Public, Harvard Is Fighting Trump. Quietly, It’s Dismantling a Program the White House Doesn’t Like. www.chronicle.com/article/in-p...

Does it feel like private-equity guys are suddenly everywhere talking about higher ed? Perhaps because they are: A paper out earlier this year found a big rise in the percentage of top-ranked university trustees who are private-equity and hedge-fund managers: www.chronicle.com/article/priv...

Bob Morse is retiring! www.usnews.com/education/bl... Here's my take on Morse's place in higher ed, from 2022: www.chronicle.com/article/wher... More to come soon, I hope!

Information is a product and you get what you pay for

I noticed a new trend: The Trump administration has been highlighting less prestigious colleges in its higher-ed reform efforts. One thing that points to is that officials seem to be choosing where to focus based on viral news. www.chronicle.com/article/the-...

What really happened behind the scenes in fall 2023, as Liz Magill, Penn's president, faced calls from big donors to resign? A new book, from the chair of Penn's board at the time, offers an inside look: www.chronicle.com/article/how-... Very interesting to see how some big donors operate.

Two years after conservatives took over the New College of Florida, what does campus life look like? Emma Pettit's story is thorough, thought-provoking (How might this translate to other colleges should the administration succeed in its crusade?), and an easy read: www.chronicle.com/article/the-...

More details: This is for a report I'm working on about college reputation-building. I'm not looking for moral reasons to keep to a local mission. I'm seeking someone who would argue it can be good for a college's rep and finances.

Reporting request: Do you know of someone who advocates for and counsels colleges to double down on a local, teaching, open-access, student-success-oriented mission — rather than chasing traditional markers of prestige, like rankings? Bonus if you know they're good at writing!

I had missed that the Ed Dept's "Dear Colleague" anti-DEI letter talks about colleges' SAT policies. This is a smart story on the issue by @liamknox.bsky.social: www.insidehighered.com/news/admissi... Extremely on-brand quotes in there, from John Friedman and @bakerdphd.bsky.social

If you work in higher ed and haven't had a pay raise in many years, I'd love to talk to you for a story. Please reach out here or [email protected] Thank you! 🙏

So excited @alexmwalters.bsky.social got @chronicle.com's Miller scholarship this year, honoring an outstanding intern. Check out his stories linked here: www.chronicle.com/article/mich... It was a tough choice, @brownepoints.bsky.social reports. We're lucky to get such skilled, smart interns.

I'm sold! Can't wait to read this paper. bsky.app/profile/jele...

The new Carnegie research classifications are out today! Look up your institution here: www.chronicle.com/article/the-... The list includes some historic additions. Read @jasperjsmith.bsky.social's great reporting on Howard's return to R1 status here: www.chronicle.com/article/howa...

@dwillis.bsky.social thanks for the follow! Send this to your students: jobs.dayforcehcm.com/en-US/thechr.... Even local students can get their hotel night covered, so they can easily attend morning sessions during the workshop.

This student journalist will be a Chronicle intern this coming fall!! Come follow his work at chronicle.com and/or keep an eye on our job portal for our internships, which run 3X/year: jobs.dayforcehcm.com/en-US/thechr...

Super interesting story by our fellow Jasper Smith about why Howard University's leadership has not said anything about Kamala Harris becoming the presumed Democratic nominee for president: www.chronicle.com/article/why-...

The ABA does Standard 509 disclosures, which is data collected from programs. US News uses that. www.abarequireddisclosures.org/Disclosure50...

Quick caveat to this post: I just checked the spreadsheet U.S. News sent journalists for its 2024 law-school rankings. Looks like 25 of the top 100 law schools didn't submit data, more than med schools. Maybe U.S. News is less dependent on school-supplied data for law than med.

U.S. News & World Report's "Best Medical Schools" lists are out, with a surprise. They're in tiers, not ordinal rankings, because so many medical schools (20 percent of last year's top 100) didn't return data to U.S. News: www.chronicle.com/article/u-s-...

friendly reminder i will NEVER apologize for a post

PR Pitches I Have Gotten from Companies that Advise Wealthy Families on Getting Their Kids into Selective Schools/Colleges

NEWS: Jonathan Holloway, president of Rutgers University, just said during the Congressional hearing that he is not in the running for the Yale presidency, as he has been rumored to be

The presidents of Northwestern, Rutgers & UCLA are testifying right now before Congress about their choices re: pro-Palestinian protestors. What do students and professors on the ground think of the campus climate? I took a snapshot of Rutgers: www.chronicle.com/article/jona...

My colleague did a great job capturing the scene at the Columbia U. protests this weekend: www.chronicle.com/article/i-ha...

A scientist at UC San Diego didn't turn in required reports for two NIH grants. Now NIH and two other agencies are withholding awards to the entire university, according to a message sent Tuesday. I got the details: www.chronicle.com/article/one-...

The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education announced its new rules for "R1" status today! (Rules don't got into effect until 2025.) I wrote about it: www.chronicle.com/article/carn... And... everybody's been polite, but I am now also getting the calls about it.