The Smith College investigation marks the first time the Trump administration is considering whether trans students should gain admission to certain schools. theconversation.com/federal-inve...

Justttt as I was drafting an email to get ahead of it, we get this alert like we do for weather related or campus closure alerts

Speaking individually as a college access and financial aid expert, I’ll use a technical term to describe this headline: complete bullshit.

Grateful to @us.theconversation.com for inviting me to write about the federal investigation into Smith College and what it means for women’s colleges, transgender students, and the evolving mission of women’s education. theconversation.com/federal-inve...

Taught what will probably be my last in-person masters class of my career this afternoon. As our residential student affairs program comes to an end, I thought I felt all the things to feel. Nuh-uh said the universe!

Having @mollyhm.bsky.social as both a friend and colleague has so many benefits, one being she’ll do a budget simulation that helps students synthesize their learning across the semester (and makes them feisty 🤣).

What a story. What a blessing she was to the fight. "At that first meeting, Dr. Long realized that the activists needed a guide who was fluent in science to help them expedite the approval of drugs to treat AIDS & the H.I.V. virus that causes it. “She was their scientific North Star." #GiftLink 🎁

Registered! ✅

Quite excited for this event. Will really have to hold myself back from asking about Lee's thoughts on original rhony. There's a livestream in case you can't attend in person but want to watch!

This Yale report on reforming higher ed is going to get a lot of attention, but what is happening at broad-access institutions matters much more for improving the public perception of higher ed. My sweet little girl likes the Chronicle graphic, though. It's cute.

I have a new article out in The Review of Higher Education examining the economic returns to newly established master's degree programs. Overall, these new programs generate similar or somewhat better outcomes than existing programs, showing they're not just potential cash cows for universities.

📣New Article Alert📣 How is gender and sexuality institutionalized in higher education? Using longitudinal data collected on a national probability sample, this study examines whether and when HEIs establish LGBTQ resource centers and studies programs. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... #SOE

Woohoo, here's my essay with my fav co-author on 30,000 fellowship wins across the Guggenheim, Stanford CASBS, NAEd, National Humanities Center, RSF visiting scholar, and Harvard Radcliffe. Spoiler: it's the people working at prestigious universities www.publicbooks.org/who-gets-gug...

I wrote a chapter for the @aefplivehandbook.bsky.social on college closures. It's a part of a great--and free--resource designed to support practitioners and policymakers in education.

Gonna go out on a limb here and assume these tech fellas haven't considered state authorization as a thing they need to do once they start claiming to offer a postsecondary degree

It may be a result of a very specific sample, and it’s been fascinating talking with research participants about AI this semester. These are undergrads who have been universally opposed to it.

*inserts into class-relevant screencap folder*

Finally got a moment to catch up on some news and @bakerdphd.bsky.social's newest column is once again a must-read. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...

This is the type of thing I keep trying to talk to people about for higher ed. Not conference rooms where I "listen to diverse perspectives" but actually doing work to imagine what strengthening the US higher education system in furtherance of a democracy would look like.

From Stanford to Gallup, nearly every organization that produces good information about anything of importance is in one way or another beholden to federal contracts. They are also deeply connected to elite political and economic networks thorough interlocking directorates and affiliations.

*insert Brigitte Nielsen laughing in disbelief gif* www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...

Small win today: a positive R&R that included reviewers affirming the work in kind ways, good suggestions on where to revise, *and* places to cut to make the suggestions happen!

No excuses

I shared some context with the Washington Post (whose education team survived the mass layoffs) on the Trump administration's efforts to go after the National Student Clearinghouse and NSLVE. I expect red-state publics to drop out of what used to be a bipartisan effort.

Consider the suite of “reforms” for public higher education in Iowa. This is a sweeping package that would dismantle public universities. The justification? Public money should go only to training people for high demand jobs. In the Postliberal University we call this a “neoliberal Trojan Horse”

Cool workshop in DC in June for higher ed policy academics with less than 10 years of research experience. Deadline to apply is March 1. www.peer-center.org/research/sum...

Julia is a tireless supporter of student loan borrowers who worked to ensure that companies, and the federal government, did not take advantage of people. She is exactly the type of person we want looking out for people.

I am not being snarky. I need my colleagues who wrote on covid school lockdowns to engage with this. To be as loud as they have been about prior "learning loss." Hell, you can cite Tom & Mark's AERJ paper so you feel better that there's some econ somewhere in your argument.

Through all the horrors, my little corner of happiness is for Delroy Lindo’s Oscar nom today

the oscars are not my thing but No Other Choice should have got nominations

Boards, Bills and the Boot: Virginia Dems Move Fast to Reshape Higher Ed www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

The Kansas Board of Regents passed a workload policy that expects faculty at research universities to teach at least two classes per semester and those at comprehensive universities to teach four classes.

In addition to pushing out board members at UVA, Virginia's new governor has fired the lead attorneys at VMI and George Mason. Things are happening quickly as political control fully flips to Democrats.

That Baker lady is way less optimistic and thinks some real Truth and Reconciliation moves will be necessary

On the Friday afternoon before a three-day weekend, the Department of Education announces that borrowers will not have their wages or tax refunds garnished for being in default on their student loans. This could be driven by political considerations or difficulties in actually collecting funds.

You know what you get from @bakerdphd.bsky.social always? Incisive analysis with clear stakes and pop culture references! Finally got to sit down and take this brilliance in. Looking forward to what comes from this great new column in IHE!

Everyone set your radio dials to make sure you get @bakerdphd.bsky.social's new EPIC @insidehighered.com column series!!

Harper's Letter folks are being kind of shy lately about free speech issues. Maybe they are writing an extra long letter this time.

It would appear I am now a columnist at Inside Higher Ed. My first piece focuses on McCarthyism, censorship, and our current moment in higher education. This is an essay I started nearly 6 months ago so I'm glad to finally share it with y'all. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...

I just—

Last week, we received a single email announcing the provost’s departure, a new associate provost appointment, an interim provost, and an interim dean. Today, we get this email about the real constraints on institutional finances due to many national and state factors that would require a ~9% cut.

Within me, there are two wolves. One despises how much I revise my courses. The other goes “oooo that’s such a good change” as I make my Canvas shell.

In a slow labor market, it's not surprising that employers are limiting where they recruit on college campuses to elite institutions and ones close to home. It's also why I expect to see degree requirements tightened--it's an easy and legal way to screen applicants.

Twice

Not *the* clip but sorry to the students in my classes as I will be using this to discuss: * institutions making first-order changes only * deflections from developmental growth * shared governance * the hilarious things I saw this break

I *need* the clip of them pushing the stage back off the field 😂

I have *many* a Miami fan in my family (cause duh) and I’m very excited for them and the way this coach actively describes his desire for his team to be “violent” is…something.