Chronicle of Higher Education
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Academe’s most trusted resource for independent journalism, career development, and forward-looking intelligence.
Website: www.chronicle.com
Website: www.chronicle.com
Harvard is sounding the alarm on grade inflation. What gives? Listen to our latest episode of College Matters from The Chronicle to get the scoop. https://chroni.cl/3JBDI7H
Has Harvard Gone Soft?
A report on grade inflation in Harvard’s undergraduate program has stirred up critics of “snowflake” culture, but it tells a deeper story about fairness, rigor, money, and power.
chroni.cl
November 10, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Harvard is sounding the alarm on grade inflation. What gives? Listen to our latest episode of College Matters from The Chronicle to get the scoop. https://chroni.cl/3JBDI7H
Harvard's grade inflation report is a treatise on rigor, fairness, money, and power. https://chroni.cl/3LxiwjN
We Need to Talk About Harvard’s Grade-Inflation Report
The nation’s oldest university is awarding A’s on the regular. Is that a problem?
chroni.cl
November 10, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Harvard's grade inflation report is a treatise on rigor, fairness, money, and power. https://chroni.cl/3LxiwjN
Colleges are reaching settlements with the government to restore research funding. Here's everything you need to know. https://chroni.cl/4oHlWPB
Tracking Trump’s Higher-Ed Deals
Colleges are reaching settlements with the government to restore research funding. Here’s everything you need to know.
www.chronicle.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Colleges are reaching settlements with the government to restore research funding. Here's everything you need to know. https://chroni.cl/4oHlWPB
Cornell University has made a deal with the Trump administration, agreeing to pay $60 million and give up anonymized admissions data to restore hundreds of millions of dollars in frozen grants. https://chroni.cl/3Xl4OTD
Cornell Will Pay $60 Million and Provide Admissions Data in Deal to Restore Federal Funding
The university, which had seen hundreds of millions of dollars frozen, said the deal “will enable us to return to our teaching and research in restored partnership with federal agencies.”
www.chronicle.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Cornell University has made a deal with the Trump administration, agreeing to pay $60 million and give up anonymized admissions data to restore hundreds of millions of dollars in frozen grants. https://chroni.cl/3Xl4OTD
Mahmood Mamdani: "If you want to demonstrate at Columbia, you have to step outside the gate. Whatever freedom is left is outside the gate." https://chroni.cl/4p1k57W
Mahmood Mamdani Doesn’t Want to Talk About Zohran
The Columbia scholar, and father of the mayor-elect, on politics, academe, and antisemitism.
www.chronicle.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Mahmood Mamdani: "If you want to demonstrate at Columbia, you have to step outside the gate. Whatever freedom is left is outside the gate." https://chroni.cl/4p1k57W
AI tools are becoming commonplace in course design. That’s fueling competing visions of the future. In one version, AI raises the bar, freeing professors from tedious hours of labor. In another, AI leads to a breakdown in foundational relationships. https://chroni.cl/485Tgd9
AI Has Joined the Faculty
More instructors are teaching with it. Is it making their courses better or dragging the profession down?
www.chronicle.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:00 PM
AI tools are becoming commonplace in course design. That’s fueling competing visions of the future. In one version, AI raises the bar, freeing professors from tedious hours of labor. In another, AI leads to a breakdown in foundational relationships. https://chroni.cl/485Tgd9
I went to a higher-education conference abroad. People were talking about the political assault on colleges in the United States.
Watching the U.S., Colleges Overseas Wonder If They’re Next
Could the political assault on higher education by the Trump administration be replicated in other countries?
chroni.cl
November 7, 2025 at 9:20 PM
I went to a higher-education conference abroad. People were talking about the political assault on colleges in the United States.
Opinion | Writing pedagogy faces a huge number of challenges. But we still need it, badly.
Opinion | Can the Writing Program Be Saved?
It’s facing ideological headwinds and the damage wrought by AI. It’s still essential.
www.chronicle.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Opinion | Writing pedagogy faces a huge number of challenges. But we still need it, badly.
In accusing George Mason's president of lying, a House Judiciary report relied on testimony from some of his own administrators.
House Republicans Say George Mason’s Leader Broke the Law. His Lawyer Sees ‘a Political Lynching.’
A new report from the House Judiciary Committee claims Gregory Washington lied while defending illegal faculty-diversity initiatives. His attorney denied the claims.
www.chronicle.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:12 PM
In accusing George Mason's president of lying, a House Judiciary report relied on testimony from some of his own administrators.
The Department of Education is making changes to federal borrowing limits, and the result could affect whether students will be able to afford graduate school.
Graduate Programs Will Soon Feel the Brunt of Loan Caps as Changes to Federal Aid Advance
If fewer students can afford to enroll, higher-ed advocates say, colleges may struggle to sustain many of their master’s and professional degrees.
chroni.cl
November 7, 2025 at 6:08 PM
The Department of Education is making changes to federal borrowing limits, and the result could affect whether students will be able to afford graduate school.
Opinion | Colleges have devoted very little time to defining “excellence." That's a problem.
Opinion | Why Harvard Students Are Afraid of B’s
For many students at elite colleges, anything less than excellence feels like failure.
www.chronicle.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Opinion | Colleges have devoted very little time to defining “excellence." That's a problem.
You may have heard about the former college president who left a university in New Mexico amid accusations that he misused government funding to travel abroad and decorate his home. Now, he’s alleging he was forced out for trying to blow the whistle.
An Embattled Ex-President, Sunk by Alleged Misuse of University Money, Says a Conspiracy ‘Destroyed’ Him
The longtime leader of Western New Mexico University, who resigned a year ago amid scrutiny of his spending on travel and furniture, has filed a lawsuit against his former institution and pointed the ...
chroni.cl
November 7, 2025 at 4:00 PM
You may have heard about the former college president who left a university in New Mexico amid accusations that he misused government funding to travel abroad and decorate his home. Now, he’s alleging he was forced out for trying to blow the whistle.
Higher ed's enemies know that faculty members and administrators are "internally riven, and they have their own ideas about how to manage us," writes Ian McNeely, a professor of history and senior associate dean at UNC Chapel Hill.
Faculty and Administrators Are on the Same Side
Service obligations to the university should be seen as an authentic form of management, our guest columnist writes.
chroni.cl
November 6, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Higher ed's enemies know that faculty members and administrators are "internally riven, and they have their own ideas about how to manage us," writes Ian McNeely, a professor of history and senior associate dean at UNC Chapel Hill.
The University of Austin says it will never charge tuition or take government funding. Can it make good on those commitments?
The ‘Anti-Harvard’ Startup University Says It Will Never Charge Tuition or Take Government Money
The institution hopes the move will create an alumni base both successful and grateful enough to give back.
www.chronicle.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:12 PM
The University of Austin says it will never charge tuition or take government funding. Can it make good on those commitments?
Opinion | If colleges and universities start outsourcing tasks to tech companies, they could rapidly find that they have outsourced their reason for being.
Opinion | AI Is the Future. Higher Ed Should Shape It.
If we want to stay at the forefront of knowledge production, we must fit technology to our needs.
chroni.cl
November 6, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Opinion | If colleges and universities start outsourcing tasks to tech companies, they could rapidly find that they have outsourced their reason for being.
Harvard is sounding the alarm on grade inflation. What gives? Listen to our latest episode of College Matters from The Chronicle to get the scoop.
Has Harvard Gone Soft?
A report on grade inflation in Harvard’s undergraduate program has stirred up critics of “snowflake” culture, but it tells a deeper story about fairness, rigor, money, and power.
chroni.cl
November 6, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Harvard is sounding the alarm on grade inflation. What gives? Listen to our latest episode of College Matters from The Chronicle to get the scoop.
In a peer-reviewed publication, two social work scholars analyzed their white students perceived defensiveness when learning about racial oppression. When those students felt guilty, or sad, or angry, they “lashed out” to “re-establish white comfort,” the scholars concluded.
Their Teaching Aimed to Make White Students Uncomfortable. Then Came the Civil-Rights Complaint.
Two instructors used a “pedagogy of discomfort.” Did they go too far?
www.chronicle.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:00 PM
In a peer-reviewed publication, two social work scholars analyzed their white students perceived defensiveness when learning about racial oppression. When those students felt guilty, or sad, or angry, they “lashed out” to “re-establish white comfort,” the scholars concluded.
An anonymous hacker claims to have obtained the personal information of 1.2 million people affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania.
An Apparent Mass Hack at Penn Exposes Higher Ed’s Security Weaknesses
The first sign of the hack appeared on Friday with an email to 700,000 students, alumni, and parents that railed against the university.
www.chronicle.com
November 5, 2025 at 7:12 PM
An anonymous hacker claims to have obtained the personal information of 1.2 million people affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania.
Opinion | Generative AI does not fit well into existing categories or expectations around student use, presenting academics with a set of complicated questions.
Opinion | The Post-Plagiarism University
Professors have tried to fit AI into old categories of academic misconduct. Students aren’t buying it.
www.chronicle.com
November 5, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Opinion | Generative AI does not fit well into existing categories or expectations around student use, presenting academics with a set of complicated questions.
UT-Austin affirms a "non-negotiable" commitment to academic freedom, and its writers considered Trump's compact as "part of the context under which we were working."
As Trump’s Compact Looms, UT-Austin Affirms ‘Non-Negotiable’ Commitment to Academic Freedom
The statement also comes amid several high-profile cases in Texas pitting academic freedom against political pressure.
www.chronicle.com
November 5, 2025 at 5:04 PM
UT-Austin affirms a "non-negotiable" commitment to academic freedom, and its writers considered Trump's compact as "part of the context under which we were working."
Professors rarely embrace academic-program cuts, but some U. of Nebraska faculty feel they're the victims of a rushed and slapdash process.
U. of Nebraska’s Attempt to Measure Academic Programs’ Productivity Draws Faculty Ire
Administrators at the Lincoln campus say insufficient state aid and a decline in enrollment resulted in a $27.5-million budget deficit.
chroni.cl
November 5, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Professors rarely embrace academic-program cuts, but some U. of Nebraska faculty feel they're the victims of a rushed and slapdash process.
Opinion | Don't miss this interview with UT-Austin's provost.
UT-Austin’s Provost Talks Academic Freedom and the Trump Administration
Plus: The University of Chicago’s money woes
chroni.cl
November 4, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Opinion | Don't miss this interview with UT-Austin's provost.
Opinion | FIRE responds to a recent critique of its attitude toward heckling.
Opinion | No, Heckling Is Not Protected Speech
A recent critique of FIRE misunderstands free-speech doctrine.
chroni.cl
November 4, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Opinion | FIRE responds to a recent critique of its attitude toward heckling.
Opinion | When it comes to shouting down speakers, free-speech law is more complicated than FIRE and others allow.
FIRE Is Wrong. Raucous Protest Is Free Speech.
The First Amendment does not forbid heckling.
chroni.cl
November 4, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Opinion | When it comes to shouting down speakers, free-speech law is more complicated than FIRE and others allow.
What if joy is the thread that runs through all effective teaching practices, the antidote to many of the things that make students and professors miserable?
How to Restore Joy to the Classroom
It isn’t always warm and fuzzy. Sometimes, it requires repairing what’s broken.
www.chronicle.com
November 4, 2025 at 5:04 PM
What if joy is the thread that runs through all effective teaching practices, the antidote to many of the things that make students and professors miserable?