Everything happening in the world converges in one place: higher education. Political unrest, the future of AI, the dizzying cost of everything — all of it is p...
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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38:34
Disappearing White Student
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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34:38
Sports Betting Goes to College
March Madness season will soon be upon us, bringing with it another grand American tradition: an annual college-sports-betting bonanza. A 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling struck down what had been a near-national ban on sports betting, ushering in a wave of legalized gambling legislation across the country. For colleges and universities, the changing sports-betting landscape brings new risks and potentially lucrative financial returns.
Related Reading:
What Colleges Need to Know About Sports Betting (Chronicle)
How Colleges and Sports-Betting ‘Ceasarized’ Camps Life (New York Times)
North Carolina is About to Rake in Millions in Sports Betting Revenue. 13 Colleges Will Get a Slice. (Chronicle)
Guest: John Holden, an associate professor of business law and ethics at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business
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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39:10
What’s Up with Grade Inflation?
Chances are, you’ve met a straight-A college student. There are plenty of them around. And some people aren’t too happy about that. A new wave of “meritocracy” obsessives seem convinced that there are just too many good grades being given out. But what drives our nation’s periodic panic about grade inflation? And what does it tell us about what we want grades to mean?
Related Reading:
What Does an A Really Mean?
A Real Problem with Grade Inflation
Who Needs an A? A Lot of Folks on Campus Do
Guest: Beckie Supiano, 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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44:38
How Bad Are Helicopter Parents?
With GPS tracking, “concierge moms,” and high-priced dormitory-design consultants, it’s easier than ever for college students’ parents to go overboard. But is extreme helicopter parenting as pervasive as it seems? And how much are changing cultural norms affecting the relationships parents have with their young-adult children? We asked Lisa Heffernan, co-founder of Grown and Flown, a wildly popular online resource for parents, to break down what’s really happening between parents and young college students.
Related Reading:
Parents, Young Adult Children and the Transition to Adulthood (Pew Research Center)
Tuition: $9,400. Dorm Room Interior Designer: $10,000? (The New York Times)
Varsity Blues (Chronicle coverage)
Surveillance Parents Face the Ultimate Firewall: Freshman Year (The Wall Street Journal)
Guest: Lisa Heffernan, co-founder of Grown and Flown
For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.
Everything happening in the world converges in one place: higher education. Political unrest, the future of AI, the dizzying cost of everything — all of it is playing out on college campuses. On College Matters, a podcast from The Chronicle of Higher Education, we explore the world through the prism of the nation’s colleges and universities.
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