1    Oh, the Humanities!
Sources PROOF POINTS: The number of college graduates in the humanities drops for the eighth consecutive year  (Hechinger Report)
‍US humanities graduates feel unprepared for life beyond college  (Times Higher Education)
‍Humanities Graduates Are Happy With Their Lives (Inside Higher Ed)

Further Reading
Are Students Learning the Right Skills? Why Academia Needs to Go Back to the “Basics” (James G. Martin Center)
‍Why the Core Matters for a New Generation (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍Reading: Feeding the Mind and Soul (James G. Martin Center)
‍Tenured, Trapped, and Miserable in the Humanities (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍This Is the Way the Humanities End (Chronicle)
‍
A Race to the Top in Research  (Chronicle of Higher Education)
Yale University To Open First New Professional School In More Than 40 Years . (Forbes)

2    Are the Great Books Dead?
SourcesThe Left Should Defend Classical Education (Jacobin)
‍The Greatness the Professors Denied (Minding the Campus)

Further Reading
Adult Diaper Porn Versus Henry James (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍In the image era, why is art history being squeezed? (University World News)
‍What’s So Great About Great-Books Courses? (New Yorker)
‍Are Science and Religion Locked in a Zero-Sum Struggle? (Real Clear Education)
‍Finding Dignity and Excellence in the Great Books (Wall Street Journal)
‍
Saving Classics From Identity Politics  (The Atlantic)
When Reading Is a Matter of Life and Death  (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍Martin Luther King's legacy for liberal education  (Philanthropy Daily)
‍Liberal arts education a fitting preparation for life  (University World News)
Freeing the Soul from Ignorance: Why Students Should take Hard Classes  (James G. Martin Center)
‍Pano Kanelos Wants to Remake Higher Education  (Wall Street Journal)
Have the Founders of the University of Austin Been in a Classroom Lately?  (The New Republic)

13    Amherst Abolishes Legacy Admissions While Harvard Defends the Practice
Source
A New Look at Legacies (Harvard Magazine)‍

14   Covid Enrollment Challenges Are Here to Stay
SourcesInside the Admissions Pressure Cooker (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍How the Onset of the Pandemic Affected the 2020 Admissions Season (Chronicle of Higher Education)

15   More Colleges Launch Programs to Eliminate Student Debt 

Sources
Ohio State is raising millions to erase student loan debt for undergrads (NPR)
‍More Colleges Rethink Student Loans as Debate Over Debt Cancellation Rages On (Washington Post)

Further Reading
Why Washington Won’t Fix Student Debt Plans That Overload Families (Wall Street Journal)
‍First wave of public servants awarded student loan forgiveness through temporary program (Washington Post)
‍Biden extends student loan freeze to May 2022 (College Fix)
‍State Ranking of Public Higher Education Based on Student Loan Debt and Earnings 2021 (The Cannon Online)
‍Challenge on fee discounts (Times Higher Education)
‍Some Professional Degrees Leave Students With High Debt but Without High Salaries (Wall Street Journal)
‍Education secretary, college leaders want colleges to stop holding transcripts over unpaid balances (WGBH.org)
‍The Forever Student Loan Emergency (Wall Street Journal)
‍NYU Is Top-Ranked—In Loans That Alumni and Parents Struggle to Repay (Wall Street Journal)
‍How Canceling Student Loan Debt Would Be Strategically Smart for Biden (The Nation)
‍More Companies Consider Helping Workers Pay Student Loans (New York Times)

16     Nice Work if You Can Get It … Or Not So, Anymore?SourcesColleges Are Hiring. But Do People Want to Work There? (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍How We Got Here: California Edition (Academe Blog)
‍CFA Wins Tentative Agreement with Cal State Management (Academe Blog)
‍How the Largest Union Fight of 2021 Was Won (The Nation)
‍What Can We Learn From the NYU Graduate Union’s Historic Strike? (The Nation)
‍What Columbia Student Workers Are Asking For (The Nation)
‍United Auto Workers of the Ivy League (Wall Street Journal)
‍Nice Work (Penguin Random House)
‍
‍Further Reading
The Myth of “Adjunctification” and Disappearing Tenure in Higher Ed (American Institute for Economic Research)
‍Columbia Responds: Striking Ph.D. Students Are Treated Fairly (Wall Street Journal)

17     Vaccines “Boosted” by CDC but Mandates Opposed by Courts
SourcesBoosting Vaccine Mandates (Inside Higher Ed)
‍Most Colleges Resume In-Person Classes (Inside Higher Ed)
‍Students Happier in Colleges With Vaccine Mandates: Survey  (College Post)
‍San Diego student asks Supreme Court to intervene in suit against district’s vaccine mandate (LA Times)
‍Does Supreme Court's decision on employee vaccine mandates affect colleges? (University Business)
‍Universities Flip-Flop on Mask and Vaccine Mandates as New Covid Variant Raises Concerns (Chronicle of Higher Education)

Further Reading
State-by-state colleges requiring COVID-19 vaccines, boosters (University Business)
‍‘Tip of the Spear’: As New Variant Spreads, One Campus All But Shuts Down Amid Covid Surge (Chronicle of Higher Education)
Colleges Are Starting to Require Covid-19 Booster Shots (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍Colleges with high vaccination rates must now decide if they'll require boosters (NPR)
‍SCOTUS upholds stay on OSHA’s vaccine mandate (Inside Higher Ed)
‍SCOTUS blocks Biden’s workplace vaccine rule (Politico)

State-by-state colleges requiring COVID-19 vaccines, boosters  (University Business)
‍Does Supreme Court’s decision on employee vaccine mandates affect colleges?  (University Business)
‍We stopped tracking coronavirus cases at the University of Florida. Here’s why.  (Washington Post)
‍Virginia’s public colleges and universities can’t require coronavirus vaccine, new GOP attorney general finds  (Washington Post)
‍Virginia’s public universities drop coronavirus vaccine mandates after attorney general’s opinion  (Washington Post)
‍Virginia Attorney General Says Public Colleges May Not Require Student Vaccinations  (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍Virginia AG says public colleges can't mandate COVID vaccines  (AXIOS)
Some Colleges Loosen Rules for a Virus That Won’t Go Away  (New York Times)  
‍A Covid ‘New Normal’ Is Coming to Campus. Here’s What That Could Look Like.  (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍Students With Covid-19 Should Be Required to Test Out of Isolation, College Health Association Says  (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍Campus Covid Restrictions Harm Students  (City Journal)
‍How an Anonymous Reporting System Made Yale a COVID ‘Surveillance State’  (Washington Free Beacon)
‍Unreasonable Covid Restrictions May Violate University-Student Contracts  (National Review)
‍Colleges Lead on COVID-19 Testing as Omicron Surges  (Inside Higher Ed)

18     Academe: Still Choice Worthy for Would-Be Scholars?
SourcesIs the Scholarly Life Still Worth Pursuing? An Open Letter to the Authors of Public Discourse (Public Discourse)
‍Should I Become an Academic? Maybe Not: A Final Response to Phillip Dolitsky (Public Discourse)
‍Courageous Scholars Shouldn’t Abandon the University: A Response to Phillip Dolitsky (Public Discourse)
‍Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation (Princeton University Press)
‍Why I am no longer a tenured professor at the University of Toronto (National Post)

Further Reading
Why College Degrees Might Not Be Worth It: A Response to Phillip Dolitsky (Public Discourse)
‍What’s So Great About Great-Books Courses? (New Yorker)
‍This Is the Way the Humanities End (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍College Isn’t For Everyone  (Education Next)

Fear, anxiety follow third wave of bomb threats targeting HBCUs  (Washington Post)
‍New Bomb Threats Disrupt Campus Activities at Several HBCUs  (NPR)
‍FBI Identifies People of Interest in Bomb Threats Against Black Colleges  (Wall Street Journal)
‍FBI investigating HBCU bomb threats as a hate crime, suspects juveniles may be involved  (Washington Post)  
Historically Black Colleges Targeted by Bomb Threats  (Wall Street Journal)
‍‘This Is Not New’: Unsettled by Threats, HBCUs Reflect on a Long History of Racist Intimidation  (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‘You’re Not Safe as a Black Person’: New Round of Bomb Threats Rattles HBCUs  (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍UCLA Cancels In-Person Classes Tuesday After Threats From Former Lecturer  (Chronicle of Higher Education)
The Attendance Conundrum  (Chronicle of Higher Education)
AI Chatbots Pose Ethical Risks. Here’s How One University Is Handling Those.  (Chronicle of Higher Education)‍
Report: Endpoint Malware and Ransomware in First Three Quarters of 2021 Topped All of 2020  (Campus Technology)
College Students Struggle to Address a Mental Health Crisis  (Nation)
‍Mental Health a Top Concern for Colleges as Students Return for Spring Semester  (Boston Globe)
‍Connecting With Students by Hearing Their Personal Stories  (Inside Higher Ed)
‍Suicides in US Colleges  (Inside Higher Ed)
‘If I’m Hungry, the Last Thing I’m Worried About Is Physics II’  (Inside Higher Ed)
How an Anonymous Reporting System Made Yale a COVID ‘Surveillance State’  (Washington Free Beacon)

19     High Court Agrees to Hear Harvard, UNC Affirmative Action Cases Sources Supreme Court to hear Harvard admissions challenge (Harvard Gazette)
‍Supreme Court to Take Up Challenges to Affirmative Action at Harvard, UNC (Harvard Crimson)
‍Supreme Court Will Hear Affirmative Action Cases. What Happens Next (Diverse Issues in Education)
‍COLUMN: Why some in higher education are freaking out about new affirmative action showdown (Hechinger Report)
‍Supreme Court Will Hear Challenge to Affirmative Action at Harvard and U.N.C. (New York Times)
‍Supreme Court to Review Race-Conscious Admissions Policies at Harvard, UNC (Wall Street Journal)

Further Reading
UNC Affirmative Action Case Appealed (Inside Higher Ed)
‍Judge Rules for UNC in Admissions Case (James G. Martin Center)
‍Biden sides with Harvard (Times Higher Education)
‍Biden’s ‘Yes’ to Racial Preferences (Wall Street Journal)
‍Again, Take the Harvard Case (National Review)
‍Affirmative Action Was Never a Perfect Solution  (New York Times)
‍The End of Affirmative Action Will Impact Black and Latino Students At High Levels (The Root)

Supreme Court to Review Race-Conscious Admissions Policies at Harvard, UNC  (Wall Street Journal)
‍Supreme Court Will Hear Challenge To Affirmative Action at Harvard and U.N.C.  (New York Times)
‍Supreme Court Will Hear Admissions Cases, Suggesting Conservatives May Target Affirmative Action  (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍Admission cases reach top court  (Times Higher Education)
‍Supreme Court to Take Up Challenges to Affirmative Action at Harvard, UNC  (Harvard Crimson)
‍Supreme Court to Hear Cases Challenging Affirmative-Action Policies at Harvard, UNC  (National Review)
‍The Supreme Court Has Upheld Race-Conscious Admissions Again and Again. Will This Time Be Different?  (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍A Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action could go further than California’s ban  (San Francisco Chronicle)
‍A Chance to Remove Race From College Admissions  (Wall Street Journal)
‍The Supreme Court Appears Ready to Defeat Affirmative Action  (The New Yorker)
‍Why some in higher education are freaking out about new affirmative action showdown  (The Hechinger Report)
‍Is It Beneficial for Universities to Use Racial Preferences for ‘Diversity’?  (National Review)
‍Race, Harvard and the Supreme Court  (Wall Street Journal)
‍Why race-based affirmative action is still needed in college admissions  (Washington Post)
‍Harvard President Defiant in Admissions Fight  (NY Sun)
‍Supreme Court to hear Harvard admissions challenge  (Harvard Gazette)
‍The Supreme Court is weighing Harvard’s race-conscious admissions. What’s at stake?  (GBH News)
‍A Clear Divide for the Supreme Court  (Inside Higher Ed)
‍Supreme Court Will Hear Affirmative Action Cases. What Happens Next?  (Diverse)
‍An Affirmative Action Endgame?  (City Journal)
‍Anti-Asian Discrimination at the Heart of the Progressive Education Agenda  (NAS Minding the Campus)
‍Harvard, UNC Cases Give SCOTUS Chance to End Racial Preferences for Good  (NAS Minding the Campus)
‍How do colleges use race in admissions decisions?  (Washington Post)
‍Lawsuit against Georgetown, other schools, renews questions over admissions practices  (Washington Post)
Back to the Drawing Board: Catherine Lhamon Seeks to Amend Title IX Regulations, Again   (National Association of Scholars)
‍Women’s Rights v. Trans Rights: Where Are the Feminists?  (RealClearEducation)
‍Title IX for Men  (Law & Liberty)
‍‘I Want to Believe’: At BYU, Opponents of Rules on Same-Sex Couples Welcome Federal Action  (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍Federal Investigators Look Into LGBTQ Dating Ban at Brigham Young University  (Diverse)
‍Women’s Rights v. Trans Rights: Where Are the Feminists?  (RealClearEducation)
‍N.C.A.A. Reorganizes Around New Constitution That Shifts Power to Universities  (New York Times)
‍The NCAA Has a New Constitution. What Will That Mean for Big-Time College Sports? No One Knows  (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍NCAA Member Schools Approve Constitution That Grants Divisions More Power  (Diverse)
‍NCAA punts on transgender athlete policy  (Campus Reform)
U. Pennsylvania law groups support transgender swimmer, blast ‘attack on trans rights’  (The College Fix)
U.S. Drops Case Against Professor Accused of Hiding China Ties  (Wall Street Journal)
‍In high-profile case against MIT’s Gang Chen, prosecutors seeking to drop charges  (Washington Post)
‍US ending China case at MIT  (Times Higher Education)
‍MIT Professor Gang Chen Says Misunderstanding Lay at Root of U.S. Case  (Wall Street Journal)
‍A Scientist Without a Country  (Chronicle of Higher Education)

20    Academic Freedom on the RopesSources
A Campus President Defends Tenure (Academe Blog)
‍Judge Issues Stinging Free Speech Ruling Against University of Florida (New York Times)
Youngkin Makes the GOP the Parents’ Party (Wall Street Journal)
‍Gainesville, We Have a Problem (Academe Blog)
‍
‍Further Reading
Academic freedom under fire across globe, warns Scholars at Risk (Times of Higher Education)

Judge rules for professors in University of Florida academic freedom case  (Washington Post)
‍In Heated Hearing, Lawyer Says Professors Who Sued U. of Florida Have ‘Unclean Hands’  (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍Blasting U. of Florida, Judge Says Professors’ Testimony Can’t Be Blocked  (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍Judge: University of Florida can’t enforce conflict-of-interest policy to ban faculty testimony  (FIRE)
‍Court backs faculty speech rights  (Times Higher Education)State Lawmakers Can't Ban Critical Race Theory at Colleges  (Reason)
‍Firings of Top Lawyers at UVa and George Mason Raise Questions of Political Interference  (Chronicle of Higher Education)

21   South Carolina Lawmakers Try to “Cancel” Tenure at State Colleges 
SourcesNational AAUP condemns bill to end tenure at South Carolina public colleges (Higher Ed Dive)
‍A Campus President Defends Tenure (Academe Blog)
‍The Myth of “Adjunctification” and Disappearing Tenure in Higher Ed (American Institute for Economic Research)

Further Reading
Tenured Faculty, This Is Your Fight, Too (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍‘The Professors Are the Enemy’ (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍Why Ending Tenure Is Only a Start (Tablet)
‍Unscientific Method (City-Journal)
‍South Carolina assault on tenure ‘will drive academics away’ (Times Higher Education)

22   New University “‘Dedicated to Truth’ Will Welcome ‘Witches Who Refuse to Burn’”
SourcesA Planned University ‘Dedicated to Truth’ Will Welcome ‘Witches Who Refuse to Burn’ (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍Is higher education really broken and can the University of Austin save it? (University Business)
‍I’m Helping to Start a New College Because Higher Ed Is Broken (Bloomberg)
‍Who Is the University of Austin For? (The Nation)

Further Reading
The Guild and the Grifters (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍Why We Need New Colleges (New York Times)
‍We should embrace the University of Austin (American Enterprise Institute)
‍Why We Need the University of Austin (Real Clear Education)
‍The University of Austin is Scaring All the Right People (Real Clear Education)
‍A Handful of Colleges Are Finally Providing Training in a Way Consumers Want It: Fast (Hechinger Report)
Hopeful News in Higher Ed (City Journal)
‍University of Austin: The new front in the fight for US campuses (Times Higher Education)
‍President Series: What is a new traditional university and why is the vision so vital? (University Business)
‍How subscription-based education supports lifelong learning for students and workers (University Business)
‍Learning from UT Austin about Academic Freedom and Community Education (Academe Blog)

Pano Kanelos Wants to Remake Higher Education  (Wall Street Journal)
‍Have the Founders of the University of Austin Been in a Classroom Lately?  (The New Republic)
Jordan Peterson quits academia, cites ‘woke madness’  (The College Fix)
‍Can Politics Get Better When Higher Education Keeps Getting Worse?  (Wall Street Journal)
Out With the Old, In With the New: Rating Higher Ed by Economic Mobility  (Third Way)

23   Other New Colleges Try New Ways to Attract Students 
SourcesAs enrollment falls and colleges close, a surprising number of new ones are opening (Washington Post)
‍42% of Stopped-Out Young Adults Cited Financial Reasons for Leaving College, Survey Finds (Higher Ed Dive)

Further Reading
A College Found Explosive Growth Through Its Online Programs. Now Its Accreditor Has Put It on Probation. (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍The Edge: What Adult Students Need Now (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍A By-the-Numbers Look at a College’s Public Plea for Help (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍As enrollment falls and colleges close, a surprising number of new ones are opening (Hechinger Report)

President Series: Purdue’s growth tied to ‘keeping students at center of bullseye’  (University Business)
‍Arizona State University Looks to Enroll 100 Million More Students by 2030  (Wall Street Journal)
‍Arizona State University Aims To Educate 100 Million Students Worldwide by 2030  (Diverse)
‍Robbins says University of Arizona will 'fully integrate' Global Campus  (Arizona Public Media)
‍U. of Arizona Is Tightening Its Embrace of Troubled UA Global Campus. Will Reputational Damage Follow? (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍This Year’s Priorities for Campus Space  (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍Shorter week entices US colleges (Times Higher Education)
‍Humboldt State has new name as a 'polytechnic university'  (Los Angeles Times)
‍Youngkin summons higher education leaders to help promote his plan for ‘lab school’ partnerships  (Washington Post)
‍A Race to the Top in Research  (Chronicle of Higher Education)
Why a Rural-Serving College May Look Different Than You Think (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍Latinos rise through education  (Times Higher Education)
‍Student outcomes and earnings in higher education policy  (AEI)
‍Which types of institutions offer low-income students the greatest ROI?  (Higher Ed Dive)  
‍Postcollege Earnings Depend on the College Attended  (Inside Higher Ed)
New Leader for University of Phoenix  (Inside Higher Education)
‍For-profit college conversions get new scrutiny in US -Times Higher Education  (Times Higher Education)

24   California Community College System Infiltrated by “Bots” 
SourcesMore colleges face bankruptcy even as top schools experience record wealth (University World News)
‍Thousands of ‘fake students’ enrolled in California community colleges seeking financial aid (College Fix)

Further Reading
Federal Relief Money Boosted Community Colleges, but Now It’s Going Away (Hechinger Report)
‍Community colleges continue major enrollment decline (Washington Post)

25   Community Colleges Face Enrollment Crisis 
SourcesMore colleges face bankruptcy even as top schools experience record wealth (University World News)
‍Federal Relief Money Boosted Community Colleges, but Now It’s Going Away (Hechinger Report)

Further Reading
Update shows undergraduate enrollment decline growing to 3.5% this fall (Higher Ed Dive)
‍Everyone Wants to Be a Hispanic-Serving Institution (Chronicle of Higher Education)

This Texas Community College Group Is Offering Free Tuition – And Much More (Hechinger Report)

26   Community Colleges Offer a Needed Lifeline—Bachelor’s Degrees 
SourcesLagging Behind (Inside Higher Ed.)
‍Community college bachelor’s degrees (Hechinger Report)
‍The Edge: The ‘Dirty Secret’ That Obstructs Transfer  (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍From associate to B.A.: More people can finish a four-year degree at community colleges (Hechinger Report)

Further Reading
Undergraduate Enrollment Has Continued Its Decline (Chronicle of Higher Education)
Associations Team Up on Transfer Statement (Inside Higher Ed)
‍Community colleges continue major enrollment decline (Washington Post)
‍Update shows undergraduate enrollment decline growing to 3.5% this fall (Higher Ed Dive)

27   Pell Grant Increase Denied to Students at For-Profit Colleges Under Build Back Better 
SourcesBiden plan draws wide ire for excluding for-profit colleges from Pell increase (Higher Ed Dive)
‍Democrats’ Bill Would Deny For-Profit College Students Extra Aid (New York Times)
‍For-profit colleges fight exclusion from Biden’s Pell boost (Politico Weekly Education)

Further Reading
House Members Urge Inclusion of For-Profits in Pell Increase (Inside Higher Ed)
‍Pell Grant Expansion Actually Hurts Low-Income Students (National Association of Scholars)
‍For-profit colleges fight exclusion from Pell Grant increase in Biden’s spending bill (Washington Post)

Delayed vote on Pell Grant increase could disrupt college financial aid offers  (Washington Post)
‍Student loan forgiveness is regressive whether measured by income, education, or wealth  (Brookings)
‍We Will Take Care of It’: Why Over 100 Campus Leaders Asked Biden to Cancel Student-Loan Debt  (Chronicle of Higher Education)
‍Biden’s Student-Debt Pledge Stalls, Frustrating Supporters  (Wall Street Journal)
‍Navient, the Student Loan Punching Bag  (Wall Street Journal)
‍President Biden’s higher education agenda, 1 year in  (AEI)
‍Moves Are Designed To Boost Innovation in the U.S. While Keeping Pace With Competitors Such as China  (Wall Street Journal)
‍Cardona calls for 'reset' in US education system  (Higher Ed Dive)
‍Biden targets for-profit colleges  (Times Higher Education)
‍For-Profit Colleges That Lend to Their Own Students Face Scrutiny  (Wall Street Journal)  
‍Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will examine private student lending (Higher Ed Dive)
Biden administration urges colleges to use covid relief funds to meet students’ basic needs  (Washington Post)
‍A U.S. Program for Migrant Students Is Unusually Successful. Now the Pandemic Threatens It.  (Chronicle of Higher Education)
State to give $10,000 to low-income college students for community service work (Los Angeles Times)
‍California Offers Compensation for Student Volunteer Hours (College Post)
Online Program Management Firms Are Thriving. And These Democrats Want Answers.  (Chronicle of Higher Education)