"Rage bait” was the word of the year, according to Oxford University Press. And there was certainly some of that around higher ed in 2025. But “uncertainty” is a more apt word—at least according to findings from our annual surveys of campus leaders + students: www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

Consensus Reached on Workforce Pell, Earnings Test Looms The committee will now move on to how to hold all programs accountable, and ED officials say they plan to create a level playing field, hinting at an overhaul of gainful employment. https://bit.ly/44q7MKO #EDUSky #HigherEd #AcademicSky

The affordability conversation is shifting. How does your institution fare on cost of attendance accuracy and transparency? Come hang Wednesday: www.insidehighered.com/reports/2025...

One in 10 college students say they don't know where to find postgraduation outcomes information, per @insidehighered.com data. ED is making that a little easier, by labeling some colleges as "low earnings" www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

Researchers are reporting that some journals like several high-impact titles owned by Elsevier, Wiley and Springer—are charging authors anywhere from $2,000 to more than $10,000 in article processing charges (APCs) to make their work immediately accessible. www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...

Moody’s Projects a Negative Outlook for Higher Education Moody’s Ratings projects a difficult year ahead for the sector due to a mix of challenges driven by federal policy risks, rising costs, regulatory changes and lost grant funding. https://bit.ly/4pzLFtt #EDUSky #AcademicSky #HigherEd

“Obviously, it raises questions about academic freedom and the applicability of an executive order to a journal." @kathrynpalmer.bsky.social www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...

? @ryanequinn.bsky.social www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-t...

www.insidehighered.com/news/governm... Turns out, his version of events differs...

Couldn't have imagined this 13 years ago when I started at IHE on the faculty beat. Now it's system policy. Lots of practical implications, not to mention the more philosophical: www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...

Enrollment up 2% compared to fall 2024. Biggest gains came from students studying for short-term credentials, while the number of students enrolled in associate and bachelor’s degree programs rose 3.1% and 1.2%. Grad enrollment stagnant. More: www.insidehighered.com/news/admissi...

Dr. Mordecai Brownlee good luck on your 71-mile walking journey for CC of Aurora's student emergency fund! Read about some of the why here: www.insidehighered.com/news/student... www.coloradogives.org/story/eoh21f

For the AI literacy is a life skill file: Within 45 mins, "ChatGPT provided advice on getting drunk, hiding eating habits from loved ones or mixing pills for an overdose." www.insidehighered.com/news/student...

💸 Just 27 percent of students have a clear understanding of the full cost of attendance, and this rate is lower still among students who have seriously considered stopping out. More from Student Voice: www.insidehighered.com/news/student...

The U.S Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights announced Monday that it's moving to cut off Harvard University’s eligibility to receive federal funding. www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-t...

According to the lawsuit, the BOT behind closed doors “engaged in a sweeping policy discussion about tenure’s institutional value and global costs,” and later communicated through Signal. UNC leadership allegedly asked Clemens to step down shortly thereafter. www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

Hey #AcademicSky, got parking woes? I want to hear about them. Tell me about your university's return-to-office plans, parking policies and any petty (or not petty) complaints about spot availability. Reach me here or on Signal: @ emmawhitford.96

How the Education Dept. Wants to Advance ‘Patriotic Education’ Professional historians say the department’s plan is part of the Trump administration’s broader attempt to create an Orwellian “truth ministry” and omit the more troubling aspects of the nation’s past. https://bit.ly/4nfvvVl

This week's Friday surprise... We'll have a story, and I defer to my IHE colleagues in making sense of this step—but we got a few buttons closer to Nuclear: www.ed.gov/about/news/p...

Judge Dismisses Trump’s Lawsuit Against The New York Times www.nytimes.com/2025/09/19/b...

That strange space in which faculty members defend a president who fired a professor and unseated two administrators over an academic freedom dispute but/and he steps down under intense political pressure anyway... www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

Breaking: www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

Is AI tanking college's value in students' eyes? No. They're definitely interacting with the technology but most often in ways that can augment their learning. And they have mixed views on faculty of use of AI for teaching... This and more from our new Student Voice: Amplified survey.

"If I were advising a college president wondering what to make of this, I’d tell them to pair affordability with strong career-pathway programs and invest in faculty development to reinforce the classroom behaviors that matter most to students.” —Richard Roman, founder of Trusted Arc Labs

"I’ve worked with institutions where students are literally walking past shuttered buildings on campus tours, or sweating through admitted-student events due to outdated HVAC systems.” www.insidehighered.com/news/institu...

“This highlights that every practice of colleges is under scrutiny, even ones that have been viewed as politically safe for years (such as top ten percent plans or even TRIO programs)." www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

Stephanie Moore on rejecting the binary between online and in-person learning, plus engagement, what T&L practices are disruptable in the age of GenAI and which aren't, and more. It's a treat. www.insidehighered.com/podcasts/key...

"I think the administration wants to weaken that accountability function that can be played by universities because it undermines, ultimately, their ability to exercise power in the service of that larger vision of what they believe America should be." www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

Recent history offers one comparison to the current financial uncertainty for higher ed—the early days of the pandemic. But the federal government at that time “quickly stepped in to provide support." Now, the federal government “is causing the uncertainty.” www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

ICYMI: Seeing the new higher ed provisions “run smoothly may be a little too much to hope for,” said Jon Fansmith of ACE. “Hopefully they don’t implode. That’s our guiding principle right now.” www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

Ostensibly increasing access to publicly funded science while cutting science research funding... www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

Full table/deets here, via @insidehighered.com table czar @knottkatherine.bsky.social and team: www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

A Simple Tool Aims to Clarify College Cost Economist Phil Levine developed his price calculator to help families understand the cost of a degree without deciphering complex aid formulas. Colleges are queuing up to use it. www.insidehighered.com/news/admissi...

“Unfortunately, something is going to change,” said Barbara Snyder, president of the Association of American Universities. “Either we will be part of it or it will be imposed upon us … Significant division in the research community is going to kill us.” www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

Higher ed drinking game word: Uncertainty. This time, around construction, per Josh Moody: www.insidehighered.com/news/busines...

Only about 12 percent of nondegree credentials offered graduates significant wage gains of 10 percent or more that they wouldn’t have gotten otherwise compared to similar workers. www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-in...

Hollis Robbins and @saracuster.insidehighered.com close out #THEDigitalUS w/Hollis's "last mile." Reminder: "The future belongs not only to those who can build better algorithms, but also 2 those who can master that crucial space where algorithms end and human judgment begins." @insidehighered.com

Our new deep dive report on older learners—those 35 and up—finds they’re an increasingly significant population to higher education. #olderlearners #generationnow Check it out: www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-t...

“Only the governing board of an institution of higher education may establish a faculty council or senate.” www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty... by @ryanequinn.bsky.social

More essential reading by @insidehighered.com's Josh Moody: www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

While the reconciliation bill promises to dole out about $10.5B over three years to the Pell program, addressing a $2.7B shortfall, it also limits eligibility, dealing a blow to PT students, who make up 2/3+ of community college enrollees nationwide. www.insidehighered.com/news/institu...

via Kathryn Palmer: “To forget that education research itself is vital to improving the system that our research enterprise depends on is very nearsighted.” www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

ICYMI: ICYMI: www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-t...

“There is almost no precedent for them to change a list of finalists sent by a host country,” said Curt Rice, director of the Fulbright Commission of Norway. www.insidehighered.com/news/global/...