Canary: Higher Ed Issues Landscape Report 11/25

November 25th, 2024

• What we’re watching: admissions, DEI compliance, campus safety.
• Protests on campus: new developments and policy updates — post-election, pre-Trump.
• What we’re reading: business school research malpractice, a new era of college oversight, Oxford’s first ever elected chancellor.

What We're Watching

Admissions

Several stories last week dealt a blow to the narrative that elite colleges are becoming more accessible for low-income students — a key pillar of messaging since the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in admissions.

Inside Higher Ed reported that the proportion of low-income students at elite colleges was essentially the same it was in 1923. Meanwhile, the Harvard Crimson reported that one in 11 students at Harvard came from just 21 high schools, mostly in the Northeast.

“So 9.1% of Harvard students come from 0.07% of US schools.” - James Murphy (X)

“Two of the major policy changes in the history of American higher education — the GI Bill . . . to alleviate financial constraints and the SAT . . . to give everyone a shot to get into these elite colleges — had little success in increasing the representation of low- and middle-income students [at elite colleges]” - Ran Abramitzky, Stanford University (Inside Higher Ed)

At the same time, according to the Hechinger Report, the majority of American universities are becoming easier to get into as higher education approaches an enrollment cliff. There were 2 million less students enrolled in higher education in 2022 than 2012, and experts are predicting an even steeper decline in the coming decade.

“Not surprisingly, 45 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds think it’s harder to get into college than it was for their parents’ generation. . . In fact, 87 percent of nonprofit four-year colleges in 2022 took half or more of the students who applied to them, up from 80 percent in 2012.” (Hechinger Report)

DEI and over-compliance

A number of Texas universities were drawn into the spotlight amidst accusations of over-compliance with state anti-DEI laws.

University of North Texas: professors were dismayed by the decision of administrators to make over 200 edits to course titles and descriptions in an apparent attempt to stave off interest from state lawmakers opposed to DEI. In one typical instance, a graduate course called “Race, Class and Gender Issues in Education” was “Critical Inquiry in Education.”

University of Texas: Austin outlets reported that UT Austin now regularly scans its website for language associated (loosely in numerous cases) with DEI. Examples included “Latinx,” “ally,” “intersectionality,” and “microaggression.” A spokesperson clarified that “flagged” words were not prohibited from being used on UT web pages.

Campus safety

The University of Florida will use facial recognition technology at its last two home football games. The technology is voluntary, but fans who register are incentivized with express entry. A number of UF’s fellow SEC members have been mandated by the league to use all available resources to find and suspend unruly fans after field rushes and debris-throwing incidents. In addition, Temple University in Philadelphia announced it would use AI gun-detection software to scan its 1500 security cameras.

Protest: Post-Election, Pre-Trump

An uptick in both the number and intensity of student protests is feeding media interest in what a second term for President-elect Donald Trump will look like for the pro-Palestinian movement on campus — as well as higher education more widely.

“While there has already been harsh crackdowns and repression across the country under the Biden administration, there is concern of a Trump administration ramping up and taking even more extreme unlawful and unconstitutional crackdowns on student protesters,” - Amr Shabaik, Council on American-Islamic Relations (The Hill)

“If I’m a general counsel at a university being told by the federal government, ‘Hey, if you don’t get this right, your federal funding is on the line’ … you’re going to choose censorship to save your federal dollars, and that is a really awful position to put our institutions in.” - Tyler Coward, Fire (Guardian)

New Developments

While many protests are reminiscent of those from last semester, tactics continue to evolve. To many onlookers, protests appear more extreme even as they happen less frequently.

University of Washington: the president’s home and car were graffitied with pro-Hamas symbols last Thursday. The tires of her car were also slashed.

University of Rochester: protestors posted “wanted” posters around campus, allegedly targeting mostly Jewish faculty members and Hillel staff on the basis of their support for Israel.

“Drop Hillel”: Protestors have targeted Hillel more explicitly this semester. For example, at Baruch College, in the CUNY system, protests occurred outside the Hillel chapter at a new member orientation.

Alumni: An alumni group at Emerson has launched a social media campaign urging fellow alumni to pull donations and shun official events if the school endorses a ceasefire in Gaza.

“Hopefully, it at least puts the college on edge. It’s not just the students that are currently affected, but alumni who feel really strongly about this.” - Emerson Alumnus (WGBH)

Policy updates

In response, universities are shifting policies in multiple directions. Some are doubling down on more restrictive policies, while others are loosening those implemented over the summer.

UNC System: Board of Governors (BOG) members are considering a blanket protest policy for member institutions to standardize practices across campuses. However some university leaders within the system are expressing skepticism.

"We've got to come up with guardrails and common sense practices that take out all that chaos that we have had. And the expectations need to be clear across the system." - BOG Chair Wendy Murphy (WUNC)

"UNC-Pembroke is very different from UNC-Chapel Hill. One size doesn't fit all in this situation. I don't disagree with the need for this, but the implementation to me is going to be the key to success." - UNC-Pembroke Chancellor Robin Cummings (The News & Observer)

University of Portland: new revisions to student policy in regard to non-violent protest went from three rules to nine. New requirements include that students notify the Director of Campus Safety and Emergency Management, as well as the Dean of Students, two days prior to a planned demonstration. Tents and barriers are also now explicitly prohibited.

“We decided to put it down in writing basically what we've been doing. We saw that other universities do the same thing. So that's kind of the impetus. . . Do we wait until something happens and then respond, rather than make ourselves clear now? . . I'd rather be on the side of proactively communicating with our students.” - Fr. John Donato, UP’s VP for student affairs (The Beacon)

University of Maine: faculty and students spoke at a trustee meeting to express concern over proposals to tighten free speech policies.

“Of course, the university has a responsibility to ensure the material safety of students, but material safety is distinct from a feeling of safety. Feelings of fear can be quite real, but the university should not . . . use them to shut down speech.” - Abigail Fuller, UM professor (Press Herald)

UCLA: a university-commissioned report into institutional responses to pro-Palestinian protests last spring found problematic decision-making processes, poor communication, and other errors. UC System chancellor apologized in response to the findings.

“We are taking a close, detailed look at where we fell short and how we can do better moving forward.” - UC System President Michael Drake. (LAist)

Indiana University: Trustees tweaked their protest policy, updated over the summer, to allow approved “expressive activities” between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.

📖 What We’re Reading

The Atlantic: The Business-School Scandal That Just Keeps Getting Bigger

• The rot in business schools runs much deeper than almost anyone had guessed, and the blame is unnervingly widespread. … Gino was accused of faking numbers in four published papers. Just days into her digging, Schroeder uncovered another paper that appeared to be affected—and it was one that she herself had helped write. Among the four research papers in which Gino was accused of cheating is one about the human tendency to misreport facts and figures for personal gain. Which is to say: She was accused of faking data for a study of when and how people might fake data.

USA Today: With a Republican trifecta in Washington, a new era of college oversight is on its way

• On the one hand, conservatives believe in small government and fewer regulations. An executive order issued by President Donald Trump in 2017 directed every federal agency, including the U.S. Department of Education, to “alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens”. . . On the other hand, Republicans have become increasingly critical of "liberal indoctrination" on campus and are pitching big ideas about reforming how colleges work. But some of those proposals would likely require more government intervention, not less.

Washington Examiner: Oxford University shows America how to fix academia

• Oxford University, named by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings as the world’s top university for the ninth year in a row, will elect a new chancellor this week. For the first time since Oxford named a chancellor 800 years ago, voting has been opened not only to university staff, but also its vast alumni network. . . That has expanded Oxford’s electorate to some 250,000 voters across multiple time zones and generations. Students are not allowed to vote until they have earned a degree.

#️⃣ Trending on Social This Week

Sources:

• Shabbos Kestenbaum (@ShabbosK)
• Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_)
• Bill Ackman (@BillAckman)

Legend Labs is a brand and communications consulting firm for the digital age. We help ambitious leaders create, grow, and protect their Legends. This analysis of reputation-related trends in higher education features insights from Meltwater and direct social media & web analysis.

For more information, email us at hello@legendlabs.com.