Episodes

  • A Crunchy College Goes Conservative

    A Crunchy College Goes Conservative
    May 20 2025
    More than two years after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis installed a slate of conservative members to its governing board, New College of Florida has seen transformations large and small. In some of the first shots of what became a wider war on “woke” education, New College’s trustees ditched gender studies, endorsed a curriculum focused on the Western canon, and made the Sarasota, Fla. campus inhospitable to some faculty and students. New College is more appealing now to jocks, and it's flush with money appropriated by Florida’s Republican-controlled legislature. But what does all this mean for the quirky institution that had long been known as “Barefoot U.”? Related Reading The College That Conservatives Took Over (The Chronicle) A Professor at New College Quits in Dramatic Fashion. Here’s Why He Felt He Had to Go. (The Chronicle) Why I Am Joining the Reconquista: Taking back power from the academic left depends on storming the public institutions, not fleeing from them. (The American Conservative) Will a Small, Quirky College Become ‘DeSantis U.’? (The Washington Post) Guest:Emma Pettit, senior reporter at The Chronicle of Higher Education
    Show more Show less
    44 mins
  • Why Faculty Hate Teaching Evaluations

    Why Faculty Hate Teaching Evaluations
    May 13 2025
    On paper, student teaching evaluations make a lot of sense. Who is better positioned to say whether a professor did a good job than the students who took the course? But dig a little deeper, and there’s good reason to question whether colleges should be relying on teaching evaluations to inform big decisions about an instructor’s promotion, pay, or even continued employment. So what’s wrong with this system? And why do colleges still cling to it, despite research that shows it’s flawed? Related Reading: Sign up for The Chronicle’s Teaching Newsletter (The Chronicle) Teaching Evaluations are Broken. Can They Be Fixed? (The Chronicle) A University Overhauled Its Course Evaluation to Get Better Feedback. Here’s What Changed. (The Chronicle) Meta-analysis of faculty’s teaching effectiveness: Student evaluation of teaching ratings and student learning are not related. (ScienceDirect) Guest: Beckie Supiano, senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters.
    Show more Show less
    40 mins
  • Future U: Making Sense of the First 100 Days

    Future U: Making Sense of the First 100 Days
    May 8 2025
    In this special episode, recorded live at the ASU+GSV Summit, Future U. hosts Jeff Selingo and Michael Horn dive into the rapidly evolving higher ed landscape in President Trump’s second term. They discuss massive cuts at the U.S. Department of Education, mounting challenges around international student enrollment, and looming threats to federal research funding. They examine the broader, longer-term implications of these shifts for colleges and draw from their recent research to discuss how leaders can nurture positive campus culture during these challenging times. This episode is made with support from Ascendium Education Group and the Gates Foundation. Links We Mention Mark Schneider: Blowing Up Ed Research is Easy. Rebuilding it is ‘What Matters’ Chapters 0:00 - Intro 7:32 - Cuts to the Department of Education 20:40 - Targeting International Students 23:48 - Withholding of Federal Research Grants 39:25 - Our Favorite Higher Ed Commentary 46:31 - Changing Campus Culture Connect with Michael Horn: Sign Up for the The Future of Education Newsletter Website LinkedIn X (Twitter) Threads Connect with Jeff Selingo: Sign Up for the Next Newsletter Website X (Twitter) Threads LinkedIn Connect with Future U: Twitter YouTube Threads Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Submit a question and if we answer it on air we'll send you Future U. swag! Sign up for Future U. emails to get special updates and behind-the-scenes content.
    Show more Show less
    52 mins
  • This Prof Wants to Win Back the GOP Bros

    This Prof Wants to Win Back the GOP Bros
    May 6 2025
    Nothing animates conservative college students today quite like Turning Point USA. Founded by Charlie Kirk, the right-wing provocateur, the group thrives on an “owning the libs” mentality that is often trained on left-leaning professors. But this brand of conservatism, while big on bellicose taunts, is short on the foundational ideas that have made conservatism such a lasting intellectual tradition. At least that’s the view of Jon Shields, a right-leaning professor of American politics at Claremont McKenna College. For conservatism to thrive in the future, Shields argues, professors of all political stripes should help teach the MAGA crowd about Edmund Burke and the other big thinkers who have long provided the conservative movement with meaningful ballast. Related Reading: These Professors Help Students See Why Others Think Differently (The Chronicle) Liberal Professors Can Rescue the G.O.P. (The New York Times) Inside a Stealth Plan for Political Influence (The Chronicle) The Battle for the Bros (The New Yorker) Guest: Jon Shields, professor of American politics at Claremont McKenna College For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.
    Show more Show less
    44 mins
  • Inside the Education Dept. Purge

    Inside the Education Dept. Purge
    Apr 29 2025
    Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education, an agency that Republicans say is too wasteful and too woke. Through a series of layoffs and buyouts, the Trump administration has reduced the agency’s work force by roughly half. The broader goal, administration officials say, is to return more power to the states and to cut down on government waste. But the cuts have left many people concerned about the department’s capacity to carry out its vital functions, like enforcing civil-rights laws. The great purge at the agency has spread fear among employees, upended hundreds of lives, and left some to conclude that the whole point of this operation has been to intimidate and control government workers. Related Reading: ‘Breathtakingly Irresponsible’: Former Workers Decry Decimation of Education Dept.’s Data Warehouse What the Education Dept.’s Job Cuts Could Mean for Financial Aid Protesters Rally Against Education Dept. Cuts Guests: Anthony Badial-Luna, management and program analyst at the Education Department Kaitlyn Vitez, higher-education liaison at the Education Department Christopher Madaio, former director of the Investigations Group in the Education Department’s enforcement unit; senior adviser at The Institute for College Access & Success Elizabeth Morrow, a deputy director at the Office of Public Engagement for Non-Discrimination in the Office for Civil Rights For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.
    Show more Show less
    33 mins
  • Student Visa War ‘Should Shock and Terrify’

    Student Visa War ‘Should Shock and Terrify’
    Apr 22 2025
    On the campaign trail, Donald Trump promised to deport student protesters. In recent weeks, the president has delivered on that pledge. The Trump administration has revoked hundreds of international students' visas across the country, spreading fear on college campuses and inviting constitutional challenges from lawyers and activists. Eric Lee, an immigration lawyer, says the administration’s actions are unconstitutional. One of his clients, Momodou Taal, a Cornell University graduate student and pro-Palestinian activist, recently decided to leave the United States rather than face detention and deportation. What’s happening, Lee says, is a threat to the free speech rights of citizens and noncitizens alike. Related Reading: Tracking Trump’s Actions on Student Visas Pro-Palestinian Activists Shut Down a Job Fair. One Student’s Punishment Could Get Him Deported. Trump has Revoked Student Visas at Dozens of Colleges. Here’s What That Means. Guest: Eric Lee, immigration lawyer For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.
    Show more Show less
    46 mins
  • The GOP Loves Western Civ

    The GOP Loves Western Civ
    Apr 15 2025
    Over the past decade, centers and institutes devoted to the study of Western civilization and American civics have popped up on numerous public university campuses. Typically backed by conservative lawmakers, versions of this concept have taken root at universities in Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, and Tennessee. In Texas, an entirely new private university, the University of Austin, now offers students a curriculum steeped in the study of Western thought. At a recent live taping at SXSW EDU, Jack Stripling, host of College Matters, talked with Jacob Howland, the University of Austin’s provost, and Pauline Strong, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, about what this growing trend says about the politics of higher education. Related Reading: How a Center for Civic Education Became a Political Provocation (The Chronicle) We Can’t Wait for Universities to Fix Themselves. So We’re Starting a New One. (Free Press) Billionaires Back New ‘Anti-Woke’ University (The Wall Street Journal) A New Birth of Freedom in Higher Education: Civics Institutes at Public Universities (AEI) Guests: Jacob Howland, provost and dean of intellectual foundations at the University of Austin Pauline Strong, director of the Program in Native American and Indigenous Studies and a professor of anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin. Strong is president of the American Association of University Professors' chapter at UT Austin. For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.
    Show more Show less
    58 mins
  • Why Parking Drives Us Mad

    Why Parking Drives Us Mad
    Apr 8 2025
    Buckle up, and get ready to lay on your horn. We’re taking a drive through the enraging, labyrinthine, and often misunderstood world of college-campus parking. Along the way, we’ll meet a college instructor who complained about parking fees, only to pay more than he’d ever imagined; a parking administrator who promises she’s not evil; and a writer who may have unmasked the real villain in higher ed’s tortured parking story. Related Reading: A History Instructor Complained About Parking Fees. It Cost Him His Job. He lost His Job After Complaining About Parking. Now He’s Been Reinstated. Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World Guests: Nell Gluckman, senior reporter at The Chronicle of Higher Education Adrienne Tucker, director of parking and transportation at Kansas State University Henry Grabar, staff writer at Slate and author For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.
    Show more Show less
    46 mins
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_T1_webcro805_stickypopup