We examined our reader data to tell the story of 2023. Your interests defined your year — and ours.
These topics and stories generated the most reader attention in 2023. We measured cumulative reader attention through time spent on articles, downloads of reports, and website searches, among other things. Unlike other end-of-year lists, ours isn’t curated by editors, but by you.
But first, here’s a brief timeline of some, but not all, significant events from 2023:
We’ve written over 1,500,000 words — that’s like writing out the entire English language nearly nine times. But you were most interested in 10 of those (or 12, if you want to be specific). Here are your most-searched phrases on our site:
Of the more than 900 articles we published this year, one stood out to our readers. It’s no surprise what our most-read article of 2023 is, considering the topic took up four spots on our most-searched list.
Readers spent a collective 138,606 minutes reading I’m a Student. You Have No Idea How Much We’re Using ChatGPT — which is about 13.7 weeks, only two weeks shy of a full semester. Coincidentally, that’s about the length of time that passed before we realized just how much ChatGPT would change the way higher education approaches, well, everything. We’ve covered how to work around ChatGPT, how to embrace it, and how it’s already changed the way you teach. We answered your questions about ChatGPT in real time on Reddit.
But it’s not just the year of AI. Here are the other stories that captured the interest of your minds — and your search bars.
The stories about UC-Berkeley and student mental health tapped into topics that you couldn’t get enough of — they’re part of our two most-read topics of this year: Investigations and campus culture.
Here are three more standout articles in the investigations and campus culture categories that didn’t break the top five, but that you still found time to read this year:
One topic on everyone’s mind this year? Diversity, equity, and inclusion.
New state laws limiting campus instruction and resources related to diversity have also changed the way colleges hire. Among other challenges, like retention of higher-education staff, faculty are eyeing the exits in states that have strict new DEI-related laws that limit what can or can’t be taught.
Speaking of jobs: These are the hot positions in higher education right now — at least according to how you search on our job site:
Your 20 most-searched terms on our job site:
Your search terms also reflect trends in higher-education hiring, like the increased demand for remote work — and some of the budget cuts that have hit colleges across the country. Take commonly searched terms like “Spanish” and “Theatre.” West Virginia University kneecapped both its foreign-language and puppetry programs, which opened a larger conversation about the future of the liberal arts.
Despite the challenging academic job market, one job managed to go viral this year.
This year you weren’t just looking for a job. You also wanted to sharpen your skills, especially when it came to student success and leading a department.
From news to opinion to advice, Chronicle readers cumulatively spent nearly 20 years perusing our articles in 2023.
Don’t worry:
In 2024 we’ll be back at it again, covering the array of changes that happen in a year of higher education.
