Higher Ed Under Fire
What a 1960s Housewife Can Teach Us About Politics in Higher Ed
Decades later, the boundaries of academic freedom are still not settled.
The Latest
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Campus Labor
College Dining Workers Seize the Moment
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The Review | Opinion
The Moral Force of the Black University
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The Review | Reporting
The Cruelty of Faculty Churn
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Featured Newsletters
Teaching
Want Students to Think Deeply? Help Them Do Nothing.
A new course is meant to help students remember that they’re full humans.
Latitudes
How 2 Stanford Students Helped Make a Difference in Ukraine
The pair of business-school students made it their mission to get ambulances to a frontline city. Plus, this week’s news.
The Review
Affirmative Action, Race in Admissions, and the Diversity Rationale
The Supreme Court begins hearing oral arguments today — is this the end of an era?
The Enrollment Crunch: A Special Report
Disappearing Students
The Shrinking of Higher Ed
In the past, colleges grew their way out of enrollment crises. This time looks different.
Nearly 1.3 million students have disappeared from American colleges since the pandemic began. That contraction comes at a precarious moment for the sector. Inflation is driving up costs and straining budgets, stock-market volatility is reducing endowment returns, and federal stimulus funds are running out.
Why is the enrollment crunch happening now? How are colleges responding? What might turn things around? Those are the questions fueling this special report.
Nearly 1.3 million students have disappeared from American colleges since the pandemic began. That contraction comes at a precarious moment for the sector. Inflation is driving up costs and straining budgets, stock-market volatility is reducing endowment returns, and federal stimulus funds are running out.
Why is the enrollment crunch happening now? How are colleges responding? What might turn things around? Those are the questions fueling this special report.
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Stopping the Slide
A community college, a public regional, and a small private institution try to innovate their way out of yearslong enrollment declines. -
Finishing What They Started
As the number of traditional-age students shrinks, educators strive to re-enroll the 39 million Americans who left without a credential. -
The Perilous Predicament of the Very Small College
Many campuses with fewer than 1,000 students survived the pandemic on fumes. What’s next? -
Whither Black Enrollment?
After more than a century of Black activists’ fight for college access, Black enrollment this past decade has tumbled at an alarming rate.
Virtual Events
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Creating Campus Spaces to Support Student Success
UPCOMING: November 10, 2022 | 2 p.m. ET: In this virtual forum a panel of experts in architecture, campus planning, and student life share insights to help colleges rethink their campus design to better meet students where they are, support learning, and foster a sense of belonging. With Support From JLL. Register here. -
Shifting International-Student Trends
UPCOMING: November 15, 2022 | 2 p.m. ET: The Institute of International Education’s annual Open Doors report offers the most comprehensive look into international-student trends. Join us as we host an expert panel and dive into the latest enrollment figures. With Support From ETS. Register here. -
How to Design Learning for Student Success
UPCOMING: November 16, 2022 | 2 p.m. ET: College leaders share thoughts on the growing trend of involving students in the design of curricula and pedagogy in this virtual forum. With Support From Pearson. Register here.
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Professional-Development Resources
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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 and universities have traditionally provided in-person programming and supports to strengthen bonds between students and build a sense of community. This research brief was originally published by Ithaka S+R.
The Review
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Does It Matter if Our Universities Look Like America?
A key player in the 2003 Grutter case takes stock of Monday’s Supreme Court arguments. -
Good Riddance to Legacy Admissions
Colleges will soon have a harder time giving a leg up to children of alumni. -
13 Takes on Race-Conscious Admissions
Here’s what the commentariat has to say about the Supreme Court cases against Harvard and Chapel Hill. -
Letters
The Chronicle welcomes correspondence from readers about our articles and about topics we have covered.
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Data
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Major Private Gifts to Higher Education
Gifts of $50 million or more, dating to 1967, are compiled in this list. -
Higher Ed’s Enrollment Fell Again This Fall, if a Bit More Slowly
A 1.1-percent decline, both in undergraduates and in total enrollment, suggests academe’s recovery has yet to arrive. -
‘A Perilous Position’: Some Community-College Students Struggle to Meet Basic Needs, Report Says
Twenty-nine percent were food-insecure, and 14 percent were housing-insecure, according to the Center for Community College Student Engagement.
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Advice
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What Faculty of Color Need to Know About a Tenure-Track Career
How you cope with the morass of academic politics will be different depending on the person, the department, and the institution. -
Institutions Must Do More to Accommodate Those With Long Covid
Long haulers are just one more group excluded from fully participating in academe. -
Let’s Disrupt the Calls for ‘Disruptive Innovation’
Too often the demand for novel solutions to higher education’s woes disregards existing work and those doing it. -
Key to a Diverse Pool of Doctoral Students? ‘Relevant’ Research
A new program aims to help the students answer a question that many of them struggle with: “What are we doing this for?” -
Ask the Chair: What if Your Leadership Style Is the Problem?
Three bad ways to manage an academic department that are all too common. -
4 Classroom Lessons From Haunted Houses
What research on “recreational fear” — the fun of being scared — can teach us about learning in the college classroom.
