Canary: Higher Ed Issues Landscape Report 12/16

Semester Review: Fall 2024

For administrators and communicators, the Fall 2024 semester has generally been quieter than the previous two. Nevertheless, there remained plenty of reputation-related issues to navigate.

Many of those issues revolved around well-established topics in higher education, such as tenure, labor activism, DEI, admissions, free speech, ROI, rankings, and budget issues. Others have emerged or re-emerged more recently, such as Israel-Hamas-related controversy, the re-election of Donald Trump, NIL, and foreign influence on campus.

Israel-Hamas conflict still looms large

Free speech, antisemitism, and protest have become intertwined over the last year. Political scrutiny, the First Amendment, protestor demands, and campus climate were top of mind for communicators and administrators.

• Universities enacted new “time, place, and manner” restrictions to more tightly regulate protests. Provisions included prohibitions on tactics such as camping on quads, chalking sidewalks, light projection on buildings, and building occupations. Violations of these policies often carried harsher penalties than seen in earlier semesters.
• Higher education, in general, pivoted toward institutional neutrality policies, with presidents increasingly shying away from public pronouncements on current events.
• Protester tactics evolved with career fairs, welcome back events, Hillel, and, in some cases, the homes of academic leaders becoming targets.
• State and federal politicians continued to up the ante, threatening wide-ranging consequences for universities they perceived as not doing enough to counter antisemitism and disruptive protests.
• Despite continued interest from news media and politicos, the Fall was much quieter on campus than the Spring.

“If someone is chanting ‘From the river to the sea’ at 4 p.m. on a Friday in the middle of a quad where protests are allowed, that’s protected speech. If they’re chanting it at 4 a.m. outside a Jewish student’s room, that’s harassment.” - David Wippman, former president, Hamilton College (IHE)

“Issuing statements of empathy may have the unintended consequence of appearing to favor some people, positions, events or locations over others.” - Michael Rao, VCU President (VCU)

“The so-called leadership at schools bears ultimate responsibility for allowing and enabling the cancer of antisemitism to spread unchecked. While the damage done may never fully heal, the Committee remains resolute in demanding accountability from feckless schools and their leadership.” - October 7 statement by Representative Virginia Foxx, Chair of House Committee on Education and the Workforce (House.gov)

“University leaders possess a unique platform to communicate to the entire campus community the unambiguous expectations for the coming year. We urge you to use this platform.” (Hillel International)

The re-election of Donald Trump

The run-up to the 2024 general election didn’t generate the amount of fear and controversy university leaders feared it might. The aftermath of the election has been characterized by the search for its wider meaning for colleges as well as speculation on how higher education policy might shift nationally.

• Universities prepared for the election by curating voter information for students, emphasizing civility in internal communications, and showcasing faculty as elections experts.
• Election events — led by political celebrities like Beto O’Rourke and Charlie Kirk — toured campuses. While often tense and covered on social media, their events never really became that controversial.
• Some universities drew negative attention for canceling classes on or around election day.
• On the campaign trail, President-elect Trump called DEI initiatives “Marxist” and talked about using accreditation and endowment taxes to combat campus issues like antisemitism and free speech climates. His promise to deport undocumented immigrants would also have implications for colleges.

“This is a moment of enormity for American higher education. Many of President Trump’s top advisers [seek] to dismantle higher education, not reform it, and to replace what they perceive as woke Marxist ideology with their own conservative ideology.” - Lynn Pasquerella, president, AACU (The New York Times)

“Charlie Kirk has really blown up over social media the last month or so. He’s definitely become like an online persona for our generation just because he’s debated so many college students — and a lot of them have really held their ground and made good points.” - Morgan Kilbourne (Teen Vogue)

“Given that a new presidential administration can enact new policies on their first day in office (January 20), and based on previous experience with travel bans that were enacted . . . the Office of Global Affairs is making this advisory out of an abundance of caution to hopefully prevent any possible travel disruption.” (UMass-Amherst)

The fight over DEI and admissions

DEI and admissions are often connected in the minds of higher education critics. Nearly 18 months on from the Supreme Court’s striking down of affirmative action in admissions, universities continue to adapt their policies. Meanwhile, state lawmakers in conservative states continue to target DEI with new legislation.

• Several stories dented higher education’s reputation for accessibility and opportunity. For example, Inside Higher Ed reported that the proportion of low-income students at elite colleges was essentially the same today as it was in 1923, while the LA Times found that USC admitted wealthy students as walk-on athletes, often after multi-million donations from their families.
• State Lawmakers have targeted admissions through legislation. For example, making FAFSA completion mandatory for graduating high schoolers, banning legacy admissions, and passing “auto-admit” laws to boost attendance at regional universities.
• Lawmakers have also passed or enacted anti-DEI laws in a number of states. Universities are often criticized for the perception of either under or over-complying with new laws.
• Some universities, where anti-DEI laws are not on the books, have still walked back their DEI policies — for example, by no longer requiring diversity statements.

“We expected that [the SCOTUS decision] would result in fewer students from historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups enrolling at MIT. That’s what has happened. . . Many people have told me over the years that MIT ought to care only about academic excellence, not diversity. But every student we admit, from any background, is already located at the far-right end of the distribution of academic excellence.” - Dean of Admissions and Student Financial Services, Stu Schmill (MIT)

“Many of us are concerned that the regents are about to make decisions that stretch beyond their charge (financial oversight of the university) and encroach upon our educational and research missions... driven by a conflation of DEI with pro-Palestinian protest.” - Rebekah Modrak, Chair of UMich Faculty Senate (The Guardian)

“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)

Unions spar over budgets and tenure

Faculty, staff and news media reacted in myriad ways to administrative responses to budget issues (which often touched upon shared governance issues as well.) Labor activism appeared to lose some of its lustre and can expect a more hostile political environment moving forward.

• Cornell and BU both endured strike action this semester.
• Indiana and Florida universities grappled with the implementation of new laws that weakened tenure.
• Portland State eliminated over 100 faculty positions, Texas A&M eliminated over 50 “low performing” degree programs drawing ire from faculty. In addition to faculty and program cuts, Brandeis defunded their renowned string quartet.

“The Faculty note with grave concern a consistent pattern of damaging errors of judgment and poor leadership by President Liebowitz. The results this year include badly handled budget shortfalls, failures of fundraising, excessive responses to student protests, indifference to faculty motions, and the recent damaging staff layoffs.” - Brandeis faculty (The Justice)

“There’s no mincing words: Tenure’s gone. It’s been replaced by a five-year contract. [It] really gives them [UF administrators] a chance to get rid of people they don’t like.” - Meera Sitharam, United Faculty of Florida union, UF chapter (IHE)

“The American working class is in a fight for our lives, and if you don’t believe me, just last night, blue-collar workers — UAW members — at Cornell University had to walk out on strike for a better life . . . Our only hope is to attack corporate greed head on.” - UAW President Shawn Fain (Cornell Daily Sun)

The goalposts keep moving

The Paris Olympics, the House settlement, and unruly fans dominated college sports conversation. Meanwhile, talk of super leagues and other NIL impacts kept the comment sections of news sites as busy as ever.

• Though given preliminary judicial approval, the House v. NCAA settlement continues to stumble along.
• Future and current Olympians from all over the world come to America on athletic scholarships. Universities were quick to celebrate their student-athletes who shined at the Paris Olympics.
• Fan incidents at ASU, UT, and Ole Miss led to large fines being assessed and arrests being made.
• NIL continues to fuel anxiety around the future of smaller athletic programs and conferences, as well as the future of funding for Olympic sports.

“The wheels are turning. Everywhere. Everyone is in search of a better plan for college football and college sports as a whole. There are projects and blueprints and high-level meetings all coming down at once.” (Sports Illustrated)

“According to the NCAA, 1,225 current, former and incoming NCAA athletes are competing in the Paris Olympics. They represent 253 schools across 60 conferences, and while most of them are competing with Team USA, more than 100 other countries have an NCAA athlete on their team.” (The Athletic)

“The University of Texas will . . . be required to use all available resources, including security, stadium and television video, to identify individuals who threw objects onto the playing field or at the opposing team. . . The Conference is not suspending alcohol sales privileges for the University of Texas at this time but reserves the right to do so if other requirements outlined above are not met.” (SEC)

A Look Ahead to the Spring Semester

While we cannot predict what will happen in 2025, Legend Labs will be keeping an eye on a number of topics we expect to come to prominence. We’ll share a more comprehensive roster in the New Year. In the meantime, here are four that will definitely make the list:

Foreign influence:

Controversies over student vandalism and espionage, Trump’s promise to deport undocumented immigrants, and congressional scrutiny of joint ventures between U.S. and Chinese universities have intensified the conversation around foreign influence, foreign students, and global campuses

“The results of our joint investigation are alarming. The Chinese Communist Party is driving its military advancements through US taxpayer-funded research and through joint US-PRC institutes.” - Congressman John Moolenaar (The Select Committee on the CCP)

Rankings:

Despite criticism of methods and a proliferation of players, rankings remain important. Today, students and parents have the opportunity to choose from many different rankings, picking the criteria and methodology that best reflect their own priorities and values. The playing field is only going to get more crowded.

Title IX:

President-elect Trump has vowed to reverse the Biden administration’s new Title IX rules. In addition, transgender participation was one of the biggest college sports (and Olympic Games) stories this year. State law will be a second battlefront on which these issues are fought.

Surveillance:

From campus police body-cam footage at protests to AI-powered CCTV cameras at sports arenas, there has been a quiet development of university security capabilities in recent years. Facial recognition technology adoption could be next and will cause fierce debates on campus.

“We aren’t just throwing cameras all over the place. There’s a comprehensive evaluation process for every area of campus to make sure we check all our boxes. The cameras are designed to give us more than one functionality. They are small, compact, and very good at what they do.” - Marcus Tinsley, Office of Public Safety (Liberty University)

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.