College Matters from The Chronicle

It’s been a pivotal year for higher education, and that’s particularly true for college professors. The ubiquity of artificial intelligence, the enormity of political pressure, and the severity of financial constraints on many college campuses have conspired to create learning environments of profound unease and uncertainty. At the same time, many faculty members look at 2025 as a year when the promise of new technologies became more clear, and the strength of collegial communities became more crucial. Can a year like this be summed up in a single word? We’ll find out.   Related Reading:  Sign up to receive The Chronicle’s Teaching newsletter AI Has Joined the Faculty (The Chronicle)  How to Restore Joy in the Classroom (The Chronicle)   Grading is Broken (The Chronicle)  Guest:  Beth McMurtrie, senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education Beckie Supiano, senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education  For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

Nearly three years after ChatGPT first came on the scene, college students are using generative AI to help with myriad tasks. Outlining and brainstorming are a breeze. A tough concept, skimmed over by a professor during a lecture, can probably be explained succinctly by a chatbot. This kind of AI use is happening on college campuses across the country, and much of it wouldn’t be considered unethical. But the line between efficiency and academic dishonesty is blurry, and some experts are concerned that an AI-infused education could essentially rewire students’ brains. So, how do colleges weigh the promise of AI against its much-discussed perils?Related Reading: These Students Use AI a Lot — but Not to Cheat (The Chronicle)   The Cheating Vibe Shift (College Matters: Apple / Spotify)  Should College Graduates Be AI Literate? (The Chronicle)  Guest:Beth McMurtrie, senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher  Education For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

One university president has resigned. Another is on the ropes. A new governor is heading into office, flipping party control to the Democrats. It’s all happening in Virginia, which has become a key battleground in a larger political war over higher education. This past summer, Jim Ryan resigned as president of the University of Virginia, hoping to stave off federal investigations of the university's diversity efforts. Now, Gregory Washington, president of George Mason University, is under fire for similar issues and fighting to keep his job. In tumultuous fashion, the commonwealth of Virginia has become a tinderbox of state and federal political fury — and there’s no clear end in sight.Related ReadingHouse Republicans Say George Mason Leader Broke the Law. His Lawyer Sees ‘a Political Lynching.’ (The Chronicle) Virginia Democrats Block College Board Appointees, Leaving George Mason’s Without a Quorum. (The Chronicle) The U. of Virginia’s President Was Targeted Over DEI. Now He’s Resigning. (The Chronicle)GuestJasper Smith, staff reporter at The Chronicle of Higher Education For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

One of the nation’s most selective institutions is sounding the alarm about grade inflation. According to a new report, A’s account for about 60 percent of all grades awarded in 2025 at Harvard College, which houses the university’s undergraduate program. That’s a big jump from 2005, when less than a quarter of grades were A’s. The report has provoked a frenzied response, validating for critics the notion that “elite” colleges aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, and that Gen Z students are delicate snowflakes who can’t handle tough grading. The truth, of course, is more complicated. But the report provides a fascinating portrait of how Harvard views its own role as a sorter of talent, and it shines a light on universal debates over grading that extend far beyond Cambridge, Mass.Related Reading What’s Up With Grade Inflation? (College Matters podcast)   The Great Campus Charade: Students Are Learning and Studying Less — Yet Grades Go Up (The Review)  Why Does the Trump Compact Talk About Grading? (The Chronicle) GuestBeth McMurtrie, senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

Lately, calls for “intellectual diversity” are all the rage. From President Trump, to right-wing think tanks, to college presidents, arguments abound for adding more conservative voices to the professoriate. But are these arguments being made in good faith? How liberal are faculty, really? And what does a push for a narrowed, classics-driven curriculum mean for the canon-expanding courses that some colleges now offer on subjects as diverse as the Grateful Dead and Taylor Swift?Related Reading:  Higher Education Needs to Embrace a Diversity of Beliefs (Fox News/ Gordon Gee) Viewpoint Diversity is a MAGA Plot (The Review / Lisa Siraganian)  How One State’s 'Intellectual Diversity' Law Has Changed Professors’ Teaching (The Chronicle)  GuestBrock Read, deputy managing editor of The Chronicle of Higher Education For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

The pro-Palestinian protests that erupted on many college campuses in the spring of 2024 gave rise to a surge of complaints about antisemitism at colleges across the United States. Under pressure to respond, Columbia and Harvard Universities have both in the past year adopted into policy a common definition of antisemitism, using the text as a guide in discrimination investigations. But defining the line between legitimate criticism of Israeli policy and antisemitism has long bedeviled scholars, and refereeing such cases invites concerns about free speech and academic freedom. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition of antisemitism, upon which Columbia and Harvard now rely, wasn’t ever intended to be a speech code and shouldn’t be used as such, says Kenneth Stern, who helped to draft the text about two decades ago. But how, then, should colleges respond to concerns about hatred and prejudice aimed at Jewish people? Colleges Use His Antisemitism Definition to Censor. He Calls It a ‘Travesty.’ (The Chronicle) The Great Antisemitism Debate (The Chronicle)  Why Anti-Jewish Discrimination on Campuses Might Not Violate Title VI (The Chronicle)  UC Berkeley Hands Over 160 Names to the Federal Government for ‘Potential Connection’ to Antisemitism. (The Chronicle)   GuestKenneth S. Stern, director of the Center for the Study of Hate at Bard College. For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

Barack Obama wants university leaders to stick to their guns. Appearing on the final episode of Marc Maron’s long-running WTF podcast, the former U.S. president urged college presidents to guard their academic independence, even if it means losing some federal money. Obama’s message comes at a pivotal moment, as the Trump administration pressures colleges to get on board with its sweeping higher-education agenda. The administration's “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” proposed this month, would require colleges to accept restrictions on admissions, hiring, and speech in exchange for preferred access to federal money. But what would passing Obama’s leadership test mean in practice? And who might be willing to risk standing up to Trump?Related Reading Episode 1686: Barack Obama (WTF with Marc Maron) Trump’s ‘Compact’ is Freaking People Out (College Matters from The Chronicle) Obama’s Legacy: An Unlikely Hawk on Higher Ed (The Chronicle) GuestAndy Thomason, assistant managing editor of The Chronicle of Higher Education For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

After months of skirmishes with colleges, the Trump administration has proposed a treaty of sorts with nine high-profile institutions. By signing the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” participating colleges would essentially co-sign the president’s sprawling higher-education agenda. Under a draft agreement, signatories would explicitly ban considerations of race in admissions or in the awarding of scholarships, abolish departments that “belittle” conservative views, and strictly limit the percentage of international students enrolled in undergraduate programs. Many higher-education associations and analysts rushed to blast the proposal, which has been described as “horrifying” and reminiscent of a Mafia-style ultimatum. But what does this compact say about the historic relationship between the federal government and higher education, and how might that relationship be changing no matter what?Related Reading Trump’s Proposed ‘Compact’ Asks Colleges to Show They’re ‘Pursuing Federal Priorities’ (The Chronicle) Trump Says Signing a New ‘Compact’ Will Benefit Colleges’ Finances. It Could Also Do the Opposite. (The Chronicle) Trump’s Imperfect Compact Is a Perfect Opportunity (The Chronicle Review) A Deal That Would End Universities’ Independence (The Atlantic) GuestSarah Brown, senior editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education

As president of Princeton University, Christopher Eisgruber is among the highest-profile college leaders to publicly criticize the Trump administration for its attacks on higher education. He is a defender of the sector, arguing that colleges are far better at upholding free speech and more welcoming of diverse viewpoints than critics would suggest. The recent killing of Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist, has energized a national debate about the state of free speech on college campuses — both for conservatives like Kirk, and for faculty who have been sanctioned for speaking ill of Kirk in the wake of his death. None of this, though, changes Eisgruber’s fundamental view that colleges, for the most part, are actually quite good at facilitating tough conversations at a particularly polarized moment. It’s an argument Eisgruber lays out methodically in a new book, Terms of Respect: How Colleges Get Free Speech Right.Related Reading Terms of Respect: How Colleges Get Free Speech Right, by Christopher Eisgruber (Basic Books) With Charlie Kirk’s Killing, a New Chapter of the Campus Speech Wars Has Begun (The Chronicle) The Elite-University Presidents Who Despise One Another (The Atlantic) At Yale, Painful Rifts Emerge Over Diversity and Free Speech (The Chronicle)

The Trump administration is hitting universities where it hurts, terminating thousands of research grants in areas it deems wasteful or ideologically driven. Many scientists who study vaccine hesitancy, gender identity, and climate change, have either lost grant money or been put on notice that their federal funding could soon disappear. What does this mean for the U.S. academic-research enterprise, which seeks to cure diseases, understand societal problems, and even save the planet? And how might a highly politicized approach to doling out federal research money change the nature of science itself? Related Reading: The Scientists Who Got Ghosted by the NIH (The Chronicle)  An NIH Grant Is Restored, With a Catch: Cut a Study on Trans Youth (The Chronicle)  The NIH is Requiring Grantees to Follow Trump’s Anti-Trans Executive Order (The Chronicle)  Their NIH Grants are Back. But Nothing is Back to Normal. (The Chronicle)  Guest Stephanie M. Lee, senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education.  For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

Christopher F. Rufo, a conservative activist, is on what he might call a winning streak. Long before it was fashionable to do so, Rufo, a senior fellow at the right-leaning Manhattan Institute, was leading the charge against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs on college campuses. Now, many universities — by law or by choice — are ditching DEI programs as fast as they can. Beyond that, Rufo has waged numerous online pressure campaigns against college leaders, leading to the resignations or scuttled appointments of those who’ve extolled the virtues of DEI. His airing of plagiarism allegations against Claudine Gay, the former president of Harvard University, contributed to her leadership downfall in 2024. But what is really behind Rufo’s philosophy? What would the “colorblind equality” he prescribes for colleges actually look like in practice? And how far does he think President Trump should go to upend higher education? 00:00 - 7:40: Rufo’s path to conservatism7:40 - 14:51: Politics of DEI14:51 - 19:48 : Race and admissions20:03 - 24:51: ‘Meritocracy’24:51 - 31:02: Do you think race matters?31:01 - 32:58: The Manhattan Institute32:58 - 35:25: Harvard’s Claudine Gay35:25 - 46:26: Sinking Santa Ono at U. of Florida46:26 - 50:32: Rufo’s influence / George Mason U.50:32 - 53:19: Calling in the troops Related Reading:   They Have a Common Criticism of Higher Ed. And They’re Arguing. (The Chronicle) How a Conservative Activist Invented the Conflict Over Critical Race Theory (The New Yorker)  An Inside Job at George Mason? (The Chronicle/ProPublica)   Santa Ono Wanted a College Presidency. He Became a Pariah. (The Chronicle)  Guest:Christopher F. Rufo, a senior fellow and director of the initiative on critical race theory at the Manhattan Institute For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication

The fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, whose political movement targeted liberal faculty and pushed the boundaries of free speech, immediately took on powerful symbolic resonance as a pivotal event in higher education’s long-running culture wars. Kirk, who founded Turning Point USA, a provocative right-leaning group popular on college campuses, was killed on Wednesday during a campus speaking engagement at Utah Valley University. His death shocked the country, lending a dark gravity to already-contentious debates about political polarization, intolerance, and free expression on college campuses.Related Reading Making of a Martyr: Charlie Kirk’s Killing Silences a Conservative Voice. His Movement Could Grow Louder. (The Chronicle)  Inside a Stealth Plan for Political Influence (The Chronicle)  Was an Instructor's Firing a Violation Academic Freedom? Or an Example of 'Academic Responsibility' (The Chronicle) Charlie Kirk Was Practicing Politics the Right Way (The New York Times)  GuestNell Gluckman, senior reporter at The Chronicle of Higher Education For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

Higher education is at the center of the biggest stories in the country today, and College Matters is back to make sense of it all. Tune in for new weekly episodes starting on September 11. Catch up on previous popular episodes: Is Reading Over for Gen Z Students? Why Faculty Hate Teaching Evaluations Mr. Varsity Blues Claps Back For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters.

After 16 months in a federal prison camp, William (Rick) Singer has had time to reflect on his role as the architect of a college-admissions bribery scheme that became known as Varsity Blues. The college consultant has apologized for concocting a plot that helped wealthy families, including some Hollywood celebrities, secure admission for their children to prestigious universities. But he isn’t slinking into the shadows. Singer says he’s already back in the consulting business. And he has come out of prison swinging, blasting the FBI, the college-admissions system, and anyone who might question the credentials of the students he represented. Related Reading: ‘It’s an Aristocracy’: What the Admissions-Bribery Scandal Has Exposed About Class on Campus (The Chronicle) Higher Ed’s Bribery Scandal Is Decadent and Depraved. Here Are 8 Truly Tasteless Allegations (The Chronicle) We, the Privileged Parents That Matter, Applaud the Netflix College-Admissions Scandal Doc (The Chronicle) Admission Through the ‘Side Door’ (The Chronicle) Guest: William (Rick) Singer, college consultant  For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

More than two years after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis installed a slate of conservative members to its governing board, New College of Florida has seen transformations large and small. In some of the first shots of what became a wider war on “woke” education, New College’s trustees ditched gender studies, endorsed a curriculum focused on the Western canon, and made the Sarasota, Fla. campus inhospitable to some faculty and students. New College is more appealing now to jocks, and it's flush with money appropriated by Florida’s Republican-controlled legislature. But what does all this mean for the quirky institution that had long been known as “Barefoot U.”? Related Reading The College That Conservatives Took Over (The Chronicle)  A Professor at New College Quits in Dramatic Fashion. Here’s Why He Felt He Had to Go. (The Chronicle)  Why I Am Joining the Reconquista: Taking back power from the academic left depends on storming the public institutions, not fleeing from them. (The American Conservative)  Will a Small, Quirky College Become ‘DeSantis U.’? (The Washington Post)  Guest:Emma Pettit, senior reporter at The Chronicle of Higher Education

On paper, student teaching evaluations make a lot of sense. Who is better positioned to say whether a professor did a good job than the students who took the course? But dig a little deeper, and there’s good reason to question whether colleges should be relying on teaching evaluations to inform big decisions about an instructor’s promotion, pay, or even continued employment. So what’s wrong with this system? And why do colleges still cling to it, despite research that shows it’s flawed? Related Reading:  Sign up for The Chronicle’s Teaching Newsletter (The Chronicle)  Teaching Evaluations are Broken. Can They Be Fixed? (The Chronicle) A University Overhauled Its Course Evaluation to Get Better Feedback. Here’s What Changed. (The Chronicle)   Meta-analysis of faculty’s teaching effectiveness: Student evaluation of teaching ratings and student learning are not related. (ScienceDirect) Guest: Beckie Supiano, senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters.

Nothing animates conservative college students today quite like Turning Point USA. Founded by Charlie Kirk, the right-wing provocateur, the group thrives on an “owning the libs” mentality that is often trained on left-leaning professors. But this brand of conservatism, while big on bellicose taunts, is short on the foundational ideas that have made conservatism such a lasting intellectual tradition. At least that’s the view of Jon Shields, a right-leaning professor of American politics at Claremont McKenna College. For conservatism to thrive in the future, Shields argues, professors of all political stripes should help teach the MAGA crowd about Edmund Burke and the other big thinkers who have long provided the conservative movement with meaningful ballast. Related Reading:  These Professors Help Students See Why Others Think Differently (The Chronicle)   Liberal Professors Can Rescue the G.O.P. (The New York Times)  Inside a Stealth Plan for Political Influence (The Chronicle)  The Battle for the Bros (The New Yorker)  Guest: Jon Shields, professor of American politics at Claremont McKenna College For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education, an agency that Republicans say is too wasteful and too woke. Through a series of layoffs and buyouts, the Trump administration has reduced the agency’s work force by roughly half. The broader goal, administration officials say, is to return more power to the states and to cut down on government waste. But the cuts have left many people concerned about the department’s capacity to carry out its vital functions, like enforcing civil-rights laws. The great purge at the agency has spread fear among employees, upended hundreds of lives, and left some to conclude that the whole point of this operation has been to intimidate and control government workers. Related Reading: ‘Breathtakingly Irresponsible’: Former Workers Decry Decimation of Education Dept.’s Data Warehouse  What the Education Dept.’s Job Cuts Could Mean for Financial Aid Protesters Rally Against Education Dept. Cuts Guests: Anthony Badial-Luna, management and program analyst at the Education Department  Kaitlyn Vitez, higher-education liaison at the Education Department  Christopher Madaio, former director of the Investigations Group in the Education Department’s enforcement unit; senior adviser at The Institute for College Access & Success Elizabeth Morrow, a deputy director at the Office of Public Engagement for Non-Discrimination in the Office for Civil Rights  For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump promised to deport student protesters. In recent weeks, the president has delivered on that pledge. The Trump administration has revoked hundreds of international students' visas across the country, spreading fear on college campuses and inviting constitutional challenges from lawyers and activists. Eric Lee, an immigration lawyer, says the administration’s actions are unconstitutional. One of his clients, Momodou Taal, a Cornell University graduate student and pro-Palestinian activist, recently decided to leave the United States rather than face detention and deportation. What’s happening, Lee says, is a threat to the free speech rights of citizens and noncitizens alike. Related Reading: Tracking Trump’s Actions on Student Visas  Pro-Palestinian Activists Shut Down a Job Fair. One Student’s Punishment Could Get Him Deported.  Trump has Revoked Student Visas at Dozens of Colleges. Here’s What That Means. Guest: Eric Lee, immigration lawyer For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

Over the past decade, centers and institutes devoted to the study of Western civilization and American civics have popped up on numerous public university campuses. Typically backed by conservative lawmakers, versions of this concept have taken root at universities in Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, and Tennessee. In Texas, an entirely new private university, the University of Austin, now offers students a curriculum steeped in the study of Western thought. At a recent live taping at SXSW EDU, Jack Stripling, host of College Matters, talked with Jacob Howland, the University of Austin’s provost, and Pauline Strong, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, about what this growing trend says about the politics of higher education. Related Reading:  How a Center for Civic Education Became a Political Provocation (The Chronicle)  We Can’t Wait for Universities to Fix Themselves. So We’re Starting a New One. (Free Press)  Billionaires Back New ‘Anti-Woke’ University (The Wall Street Journal)  A New Birth of Freedom in Higher Education: Civics Institutes at Public Universities (AEI)   Guests: Jacob Howland, provost and dean of intellectual foundations at the University of Austin Pauline Strong, director of the Program in Native American and Indigenous Studies and a professor of anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin. Strong is president of the American Association of University Professors' chapter at UT Austin. For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.