The Chronicle of Higher Education | Higher Ed News, Opinion, & Advice

Photo illustration showing Yanyao Jiang (left) and Feifei Fan

Dueling Complaints

She Accuses Her Former Adviser of ‘Sex Slavery.’ He Says She Consented.

Now Feifei Fan and Yanyao Jiang work in the same department, and their tangled case is headed for a Title IX showdown.

The Latest

Closing Time

A College Will Close After Years of Labor Battles and Enrollment Declines
Equity Debate

Accreditor Could Require Diversity Efforts Despite Political Hostility
Centralized Control

With Their Chancellor Likely Leaving, Chapel Hill Insiders Fear a New Leader Has Already Been Chosen
Will Campuses Bite?

A Tech Giant Is Pitching a Robot Dog for Campus Security. It’s a Hard Sell.
The Review | Opinion

Everyone, Just Shut Up Already
The Review | Essay

How Sexist Is Science?
Stagnating Rates

Too Many Students Still Aren’t Finishing College, New Report Says
Campus Designs

Does Charlie Munger’s Death Finally Put an End to Dormzilla?

More Stories

The Public-Perception Puzzle

Where the Public Sees Value in Higher Ed

The Chronicle asked more than a thousand adults how well colleges serve students and society. Explore the data to find points of confidence and doubt, consensus and divergence.
3 Presidents on How Higher Ed Can Build Public Trust

Public polling on higher education has set off some alarm bells. If confidence is falling, what does that augur for colleges?
Americans Value Good Teaching. Do Colleges?

The evidence doesn’t look good.
The Public-Perception Puzzle

A series by The Chronicle to examine higher ed’s public-perception problem — and the solutions to it.

Featured Newsletters

Race on Campus

In a Post-Affirmative-Action World, Outreach Matters

By Daarel Burnette II

Plenty of obstacles confront students of color. Where should colleges start?

November 21, 2023

Your Career

How to Lead Through Loss

By Denise K. Magner

What a chair should consider in helping the faculty cope with a colleague’s unexpected death.

November 27, 2023

The Review

Primitive Sacrifice and the Presidential Turkey Pardon

By Len Gutkin

Plus: On a significant burlesque.

November 27, 2023

Virtual Events

Supporting Student Success: Staff and Roles

UPCOMING: December 5, 2023 | 2 p.m. ET: Colleges prioritize student success through advising programs and performance-tracking systems, but staff burnout and turnover present a challenge. Join us to discuss it. With Support From Mongoose. Register here.
Starting a Program for Incarcerated Students

UPCOMING: December 6, 2023 | 2 p.m. ET: With new federal aid available for students in prisons to take courses for credit, many colleges are now interested in starting or expanding programs for those students. Join us for advice on what it takes to do so. With Support From Ascendium. Register here.
Data Science Unbound

UPCOMING: December 7, 2023 | 2 p.m. ET: Student demand for data science in the liberal arts continues to rise. A panel of experts will explore the trend and the challenges it presents, including issues of faculty shortages and course sharing. With Support From Microsoft. Register here.
Chronicle Festival — Ideas Shaping Higher Ed

ON DEMAND: How can colleges embrace new partnerships and approaches, put students at the center, and deliver on the value of a degree? Watch this year’s festival on demand and hear from top thinkers and leaders about ideas that will reshape colleges. Watch on demand.

Professional-Development Resources

Professional-Development Resources

Visit The Chronicle’s professional-development resources page to read stories from Chronicle journalists and contributors, and to explore videos and research briefs on a variety of topics.
The Chair’s Role in the Continuing Pandemic

George Justice discusses how department chairs are continuing to deal with Covid on campus, and how they’re dealing with the added pressures of leading through the pandemic. Video provided by Dever Justice LLC.
Managing Up

Carolyn Dever tackles how managing up is a challenge for all department chairs, and how to navigate these difficulties, providing pro tips on how to approach your dean or provost. Video provided by Dever Justice LLC.
Seven Practices for Building Community and Student Belonging Virtually

Most colleges have traditionally provided in-person programming and supports to strengthen bonds between students and build community. This research brief was originally published by Ithaka S+R.

The Review

How Chapters Shaped the History of Reading

By Catherine Gallagher

Nicholas Dames’s new book considers a literary feature that scholars usually neglect.
Science Has a Censorship Problem

By Musa al-Gharbi and Cory Clark

The motives are benign. The effects are insidious.
Learning While Female in Kabul

By Lucy Ferriss

How educators around the world keep hope alive in a hopeless place.
Letters to the Editor

Read the latest letters to the editor about our articles and about topics we have covered.

Data

How Do Humanities Majors Fare in the Work Force?

While the worth of a humanities degree has been called into question in recent years, a new state-by-state analysis shows its earning power is stronger than what many people think, with an unemployment rate similar to graduates in other fields.
State Support for Public Colleges, 2002-21

Explore how state and federal support has declined as a share of overall revenue — putting a greater burden on students — at more than 1,500 public colleges and universities between 2002 and 2021.
Recruiting for Cybersecurity Programs

ON DEMAND: Job openings in the field have grown by 350 percent in the last decade. Join experts to discuss programs colleges can create on evolving threats and specialized areas. With Support From ACI Learning. Watch on demand

Advice

How to Make Your Teaching More Inclusive

By Viji Sathy and Kelly A. Hogan

This comprehensive guide offers a road map to make sure your classroom interactions and course design reach all students, not just some of them.
Admin 101: Does What You Do Matter?

By David D. Perlmutter

Five ways for academic administrators to make sure they are paying attention to work that matters.
Adventures in Substack

By James M. Lang

How to get started writing and publishing your own academic newsletter.
A Candidate’s Guide to Today’s Job Interviews

By Jennifer S. Furlong and Stacy M. Hartman

The interview process for tenure-track positions used to be fairly predictable. Not anymore.
Why You Should Rethink Your Resistance to ChatGPT

By Flower Darby

How to teach with AI tools in ways that meet faculty concerns about ethics and equity.
Ask the Chair: How to Cope With a Death in Your Department

By Kevin Dettmar

Leading through loss means being sensitive to the needs around you and stepping up to meet them.

Special Report

Package

The Trends Report 2023

If anyone still thought we could gaze, soothsayer-like, into the future in order to meet it fully prepared, Covid-19 humbled us.

But we can try to understand the forces shaping higher ed, what’s behind them, and how we can meet this moment effectively.

We hope this annual issue will help you do just that.

You Didn’t Apply, but We Admitted You Anyway

New experiments are short-circuiting admissions. Here’s why they matter.
Students Demand Endless Flexibility

But is it what they need? There are limits to how much faculty members can bend.
Flagships Prosper While Regionals Wither

The gap is widening. Who wants to attend a hollowed-out college or university?
Everyone Is Talking About ‘Belonging’

But what does it really mean? A sense of belonging is elusive.
The Climate-Conscious College

Curricula are being updated to inspire action, not just fear.
Other Developments to Watch

Here are some other higher-ed trends we’re tracking.