Daily Briefing

Good morning, and welcome to Monday, November 27. Eric Kelderman, a senior writer at The Chronicle, wrote today’s Briefing, filling in for Rick Seltzer. Julia Piper compiled Comings and Goings. Get in touch: dailybriefing@chronicle.com.

Number crunching on confidence in higher ed

Did you get any questions over Thanksgiving dinner about the value of college? Our data can show you what people really think.

Public views on higher ed are not monolithic. Opinions vary by subgroup and by what aspects of colleges people are considering, as you can see in an interactive tool designed by our Jacquelyn Elias and Brian O’Leary using data from The Chronicle’s national poll. We asked the general population how well colleges serve students and society and broke down the results by gender, race, education, politics, and household income.

People believe a bachelor’s degree helps individuals in many ways, the data show. At least two-thirds of respondents said the degree helps a great deal or good amount in building a personal or professional network, getting a good-paying job, pursuing a passion for a subject, and achieving personal growth generally.

• Women are more convinced. On most counts they saw a greater benefit to college than men did. In one marked split, 65 percent of female respondents and 53 percent of male respondents said a degree would help someone get respect from others.
• Many people think college has a positive influence on students’ way of thinking. Sixty-five percent of respondents said so — 70 percent of women and 61 percent of men. But 17 percent of women and 28 percent of men said college negatively influenced students’ thinking.
• Opinions of college’s effect on personal values and political views are less favorable. Four in 10 men saw a negative influence on students’ political views.

The societal value of higher ed is not clear to the American public. Our survey listed 10 functions of colleges beyond educating students for their individual benefit and asked how important each one was and how well institutions did it.

• Three functions are seen as most important. Conducting research on science and technology, developing a skilled work force, and operating medical centers were considered very or extremely important by more than three-quarters of respondents.
• What’s deemed important isn’t necessarily seen as well done. Almost seven in 10 people said developing a well-informed citizenry was very or extremely important, but only about three in 10 said colleges were doing a very good or excellent job of that.
• Politics matter. Not surprisingly, partisan perspectives are reflected in the answers to several questions. In general, a larger share of respondents who identify as liberal are more positive. For example, 77 percent of liberals said research on society and culture was very or extremely important, compared with 42 percent of conservatives. Another big split was on leveling the playing field for success, which 73 percent of liberals and just 45 percent of conservatives said was very or extremely important.

The bigger questions: Are colleges living up to the public’s expectations for bringing value to students and to local communities? Do institutions’ and leaders’ actions and words match what people want from the sector?

You can find our interactive tool and filter our survey data here, as well as check out several articles on the survey findings and other aspects of the public’s views of higher education — including how to build trust — here.

Quick hits

• Palestinian students shot near University of Vermont: Three young men who are reportedly students at Brown University, Haverford College, and Trinity College, in Hartford, Conn., respectively, were traveling together for Thanksgiving break when a white male confronted them in Burlington on Saturday evening, then shot and wounded them, according to the local police department, which is working with the FBI to investigate the incident as a hate crime. Two of the students were in stable condition on Sunday, and one was in serious condition. (Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee, NBC News, VTDigger)
• Feds fine Union Institute & University $4.3 million and cut off student aid: The U.S. Department of Education alleges the private college misused federal dollars by taking in more than they were allowed and failing to properly refund students. The fine and loss of federal money will add to the institution’s financial troubles and falling enrollment. (Higher Ed Dive)
• University of Nebraska at Lincoln outlines budget cuts: The state’s land-grant university is closing open faculty positions and cutting 30 staff jobs as it seeks to close a $12-million budget deficit. (Lincoln Journal Star)
• University of Tampa joins list of investigations for possible civil-rights violations: At least six other colleges are also under scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights for possible discrimination against students because of antisemitism or Islamophobia. (CNN)
• James Madison University won’t sue over bowl eligibility: After its football team was undefeated in its first 10 games, the university had sought a waiver from the NCAA, whose rules bar it from a postseason bowl game this season because the program recently transitioned from the Division I Football Championship Subdivision to the highest level of college football, the FBS. After a loss this month to Appalachian State University, JMU said a lawsuit was “was not a viable course of action.” (ESPN)

‘My goals have been met.’

As part of The Chronicle’s public-perception project, our reporters spoke further with some respondents to our national poll. Here is the perspective of Andrew Rendon, 54, as told to our Charlotte Matherly.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

I planned to go to college. I didn’t want to stop education at 12th grade.

Ten years ago, I assaulted an officer, so I got arrested. They put me in a STAR (Supervised Treatment After Release) program. The drug and alcohol counselors, I would see them five times a week. I got my GED in 2016. I thought I could be a drug and alcohol counselor. I’ve been studying since then in human services, and now I’m going for case management.

Community college is enjoyable. I don’t find it a waste of time. I find my goals have been met. I never thought I’d be this far into it.

Not achieving a degree made life hard. It caused depression in me, and it was hard to get a job.

In June of next year, I should have a cap-and-gown ceremony. I hope to have a career in social work and just continue till the retirement age, maybe 10 years more of actual employment in social work. Either in domestic issues or emotions, I’ll be helpful in times of crisis. A degree will just take me to where I’ve always wanted since I left that STAR program 10 years ago.

Quote of the day

“The First Amendment gives everyone the right to make an abject idiot of themselves.”

— Ben Sasse, president of the University of Florida, in an open memo to his cabinet members and deans, discussing the controversy over a former faculty member’s social-media post comparing Israel’s military actions in Gaza to Germany’s killing of Jews during World War II.

Sasse, a former Republican U.S. senator, referred to 72 hours of “hyperbolic drama” surrounding the professor “supposedly forcing despicable antisemitic garbage on UF students.” A Republican state lawmaker in Florida had criticized the university for not taking action against the former faculty member. Sasse explained that the person had not worked there since 2019 and tried to draw a line between academic freedom and political activism. He also pledged to protect speech rights, and disparaged the lawmaker’s “thirsty, attention-desperate post.”

Comings and goings

• Latasha Wade, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs and student success at Elizabeth City State University, has been named associate vice provost for academic planning at North Carolina State University.
• Lori Byrd, associate director of academic programs and coordinator of health sciences for the North Carolina Community College system, has been named associate dean for strategic partnerships and practice at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing.
• Markeisha Miner, senior associate dean of student services and dean of students at Cornell University Law School, has been named vice president for community, equity, and diversity at the University of Rhode Island.
• Alicia Kalka, associate vice president for enrollment and student life at Fairmont State University, has been named interim vice president for student success.
• Anne Gillespie, vice president for business and finance at Mount Mercy University, has been named vice president for finance and facilities at Minnesota State University at Mankato.
• Alan Medders, interim vice president for advancement at Jacksonville State University since July, has been named vice president for philanthropy.
• Jill Stephens Walton has been named vice president for development and alumni relations at the University of Georgia and executive director of the University of Georgia Foundation after leading the development division on an interim basis.
• Rebecca Benard, associate dean and faculty member in the College of Arts and Sciences at Case Western Reserve University, has been named interim dean of undergraduate advising.

To submit a new-hire announcement, email people@chronicle.com.

Footnote

Today we are back with another haunting higher-ed dream from our Chronicle colleague Maureen Ryan, associate director of strategic communications.

“I have a recurring panicky dream that I am one credit shy of graduating, accidentally sleep through my alarm, and miss a final exam. I attribute this to — true story — transferring to a four-year university after earning an A.A. degree and discovering I could schedule only ONE credit (tennis) for the semester! Turns out that transfer students were the last group to register for courses, and all the classes I needed were full. I then learned the joys of the “drop-add” process on campus, which consisted of begging professors to add you to their classes and dropping the ones you had registered for. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any classes to drop. Good times!”

Does higher education visit you in your sleep, too? Does your subconscious mind drift to exam doom, as our Eric Hoover once explored? Share your dream about academic life, and we might feature it in an upcoming Daily Briefing. Email it to dailybriefing@chronicle.com.