College Matters from The Chronicle

Office hours with an android? We’re not quite there yet, but the science-fiction future of higher education is closer than you might think. Thanks to a slew of new products known as courseware, college professors can practically run a class on autopilot. Related Reading: The Substitute Teacher: Millions of students have to use courseware. Often, the product replaces the professor. The Homework Tax: For students already struggling to afford college, courseware can add to the burden. The ‘Textbook’ That Reads You: When students use courseware, how much personal data is it collecting? Guest: Taylor Swaak, tech and innovation 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.

Cap down. Earbuds in. Eyes on phones. Despite what you may see in college viewbooks, many students say they feel lonely on campus — isolated in dorm rooms or walled off in tech bubbles. But talking about student loneliness is a tricky issue for colleges. Related Reading:  Overcoming Student Loneliness: Strategies for Connection (Full Report)  Fighting the Mental-Health Crisis Narrative: Do young people misunderstand everyday stress? Guest: Alexander C. Kafka, senior editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters.

During his September debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Donald Trump amplified a debunked rumor that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating people’s pet cats and dogs. Soon, Wittenberg University, a private institution in Springfield, began receiving violent threats. Michael Frandsen, the university’s president, feared the worst — and got an education in the viral power of misinformation. Related Reading:  At 2 Colleges, the Fall Semester Has Been Disrupted by Trump’s Lies About Eating Pets If Trump Wins … His allies are preparing to overhaul higher education. The sector is woefully ill-prepared to defend itself. 4 years of Fighting: Trump vs. Higher Ed Guest: Michael Frandsen, president of Wittenberg University For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

You may not have heard much about higher education in the presidential campaign, but it’s definitely on the ballot. Related Reading:  Rhetoric and Records Shape the Presidential Race College for All? Not Anymore. Obama’s Legacy: An Unlikely Hawk on Higher Education Guest: Rick Seltzer, 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.

Outside consultants are helping cash-strapped colleges cut majors, like foreign languages, that once seemed essential — and are taking the heat for those unpopular decisions. Related Reading:  When Cost-Cutting Universities Hire Consultants, Who’s Really Making the Decisions?  Is Higher Ed Growing or Shrinking? Gordon Gee’s Last Stand Guest: David Jesse, 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.

As president of the U. of Florida, Ben Sasse, a former U.S. senator, steered millions of dollars toward consultants and hired his Republican allies to serve in lucrative jobs. And he threw some expensive parties. Related Reading: Sasse’s spending spree: Former UF president channeled millions to GOP allies, secretive contracts (The Independent Florida Alligator)  Lavish Catering Under Ex-UF President (Fresh Take Florida)  Ben Sasse Spent Far More Than His Predecessor. Including on These Reports.  Ben Sasse is U. of Florida’s Next President. His Critics are Seeing Red.  Guest: Garrett Shanley, reporter for The Independent Florida Alligator / intern at The Chronicle of Higher Education For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters.

Would big-name universities pay a magazine to write puff pieces about them? You bet. Guest: Francie Diep, senior reporter for The Chronicle of Higher Education  Related Reading: The Colleges That Pay for Positive Coverage Even for ‘Mad Men’ Obsessives, Higher Ed Marketing Inspires Unease  Welcome to the Sponsored Campus: More parts of the college experience are up for sale than ever before, experts say. For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters.

A feud among three professors inspired a debate over woke politics in academe. Guest: Emma Pettit, senior reporter for The Chronicle of Higher Education Related Reading:  When a Department Self-Destructs: Battles over money. Allegations of racism. A chair ousted.  Weird at My School - Aaron Kunin’s newsletter  For more on today's episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters.

The lure of decent-paying jobs available without college degrees has some people rethinking whether college is necessary. The trend has big implications for the workforce, society, and the communities where people live and work. Guest: Eric Kelderman, senior writer for The Chronicle of Higher Education Related Reading: The Lure of Work: In Iowa, enrollments are falling as businesses recruit high-school grads. Can colleges come up with a better pitch? College for All? Not Anymore. Democrats have drastically changed their tune on the necessity of a bachelor’s degree. The Public Perception Puzzle: A series by The Chronicle to examine higher ed's public perception problem — and the solutions to it. For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters.

When protests against the Israel-Hamas war swept across college campuses this past spring, student activists were joined in some cases by their professors. That’s what happened at Indiana University, where state police led a particularly aggressive crackdown on demonstrators. The professors’ reasons for participating were varied and complex, but their decisions point toward a thorny and persistent question: Do faculty members have any business joining student protests? Guest: Kate Hidalgo Bellows, staff reporter at The Chronicle of Higher Education Related Reading:  Mideast War, Midwest Crisis: Indiana U. made a series of unpopular decisions. Then it called the police on protesters.  ‘These Terms are Just Absurd’: How One University Disciplined Professors Accused of Assisting an Encampment As an 8-Day Protest Shut Down a University, Administrators and Faculty Sparred Over What to Do Cooley law firm’s review Indiana University’s handling of protests.  For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters.

Where is my financial aid? What is college really going to cost me? These are the kinds of questions lots of students are asking this academic year, and it’s all because of a government screw-up. The disastrous rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as FAFSA, has created uncertainty about students’ financial-aid packages — and many of the most vulnerable are having the hardest time. Guest: Eric Hoover, senior writer for The Chronicle of Higher Education Related Reading: The FAFSA Isn’t Fixed for Everyone Stuck in Limbo: How the FAFSA crisis has stranded higher ed’s most vulnerable applicant For more, visit chronicle.com/collegematters.

Students are arriving at college woefully unprepared, professors say. Many lack the necessary endurance to read long passages, and some question the point of reading at all. We explore why this is happening, and what can be done about it. Guest: Beth McMurtrie, senior writer for The Chronicle of Higher Education Related Reading:  Is This the End of Reading? Students are coming to college less able and less willing to read. Professors are stymied.  Are You Assigning Too Much Reading? Or Just Too Much Boring Reading?  The Loss of Things I Took for Granted: Ten years into my college teaching career, students stopped being able to read effectively. (Slate) For more, visit chronicle.com/collegematters.

Everything happening in the world converges in one place: higher education.  College Matters from The Chronicle, coming September 10.