Episodios

  • 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.
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    33 m
  • 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.
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    46 m
  • 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.
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    58 m
  • 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.
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    46 m
  • Faculty vs. Administration

    Faculty vs. Administration
    Apr 1 2025
    We’re hearing a lot lately about a war on higher education, as the Trump administration targets colleges on multiple fronts. On a lot of campuses, though, the biggest battle is an endless feud between faculty and administrators. Professors and presidents seem to be at loggerheads over everything, including curriculum debates, online education, and academic freedom. How did we get here? And is it really as bad as it looks? Related Reading: The Campus Cold War: Faculty vs. Administrators What’s Behind the Surge in No-Confidence Votes? Bluefield State President Bashes Faculty on His Blog How the U. of Arizona Found Itself in a ‘Financial Crisis’ of Its Own Making Guest: Lee Gardner, senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.
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    41 m
  • Higher Ed Controversy Draft

    Higher Ed Controversy Draft
    Mar 25 2025
    If you follow higher education like we do, you know that the sector is ripe for controversy. From misused money, to smoking-gun emails, to the occasional sex scandal, colleges and universities routinely make news for all the wrong reasons. But what makes for a delicious higher-ed controversy? And what can be learned from the embarrassing failures of otherwise respectable institutions? To dig into those questions, Chronicle staffers gathered recently for a first-of-its-kind higher-education controversy draft. Who built the best roster? That’s for you to decide. Related Reading: Uproar at Mount St. Mary’s (Chronicle) Is That Our Chancellor in the Porno (College Matters podcast) Discredited: The UNC Scandal and College Athletics’ Amatuer Ideal (Andy Thomason) Auburn President’s Permanent No Comment (Inside Higher Ed) Guests: Sarah Brown, senior editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education Andy Thomason, assistant managing editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.
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    1 h y 15 m
  • A War on ‘Woke’ Classes

    A War on ‘Woke’ Classes
    Mar 18 2025
    Public colleges and universities across Florida have scrambled to comply with a new law that supporters see as a bulwark against the liberal indoctrination of students. The law prohibits core general-education courses that teach “identity politics” or those “based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States.” The law has forced colleges to scrutinize hundreds of courses in their catalogues, pressure testing whether anything they teach runs afoul of this sweeping new regulation of college curricula. Proponents of the law say it’s an overdue corrective to general-education offerings, which have ballooned on campuses across the country. But critics worry that the legislation signals a perilous encroachment on faculty control over curricula, creating political litmus tests for what students are allowed to learn in core courses. Related Reading: The Curricular Cull: Inside a Sweeping Attempt to Regulate Gen Ed in Florida (The Chronicle) Professors Ruined Gen Ed. Florida Is Fixing It. (The Review) Florida’s Nakedly Ideological Attack on Gen Ed (The Review) What Is Happening in Florida? (The Chronicle) Guest: Emma Pettit, senior reporter at The Chronicle of Higher Education For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.
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    39 m
  • Disappearing White Student

    Disappearing White Student
    Mar 11 2025
    When it comes to college enrollment, admissions officers and civil-rights advocates often talk about historically underrepresented groups, including Black and Latino students. But white-student enrollment has dropped 19 percent since 2018 — more than any other racial group. People in higher education often seem reluctant to talk about it. Related Reading: Where are the White Students? (The Chronicle) Affluent White Students are Skipping College, and No One Knows Why (The Chronicle) Guests: Daarel Burnette II, senior editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education Katherine Mangan, senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.
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    35 m
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