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What’s in Today’s Brief? (March 9th Preview)
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Campus presidents fall—Ohio State chief resigns; Bard president faces faculty pressure
Ohio State University President Ted Carter resigned after disclosing an inappropriate relationship with someone seeking university resources; the board accepted his resignation and the university said it will announce transition plans soon. Carter had been two years into a five-year contract and previously led the University of Nebraska system and the U.S. Naval Academy. The sudden exit follows a wave of short-tenure leadership changes at major public research universities. At Bard College, faculty governance escalated as the Faculty Senate demanded the creation of a fund equal to Jeffrey Epstein’s donations to the college for sexual-violence initiatives and pushed for accountability around President Leon Botstein. Faculty calls and an independent review have intensified scrutiny of presidential fundraising and oversight practices. Both developments highlight board-and-governance risks that can force leadership transitions and distract institutions from academics and operations.
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Higher-ed rules on the move: Education Department launches AIM negotiated rulemaking
The U.S. Department of Education announced the formation of the Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization (AIM) negotiated rulemaking committee to rewrite recognition and accountability rules for accreditors. The AIM agenda will examine accreditation’s role in credential inflation, conflicts of interest, transfer-of-credit policies, and data-driven student outcomes; negotiators will meet in April and May and nominations were due Feb. 27. Separately, the Department issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would reshape student loan limits, eliminate Grad PLUS, and create a tiered repayment structure for graduates and professionals. The NPRM requests comments and signals major compliance and financial-aid changes that institutions must evaluate and, if needed, contest during the public comment period.
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Rebuilding research capacity—Education Department adviser maps plan to restore IES
A senior adviser to Education Secretary Linda McMahon delivered a 95‑page report recommending how to rebuild the Institute of Education Sciences after deep cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency last year. Amber Northern’s “Reimagining the Institute of Education Sciences” offers dozens of steps to restore core statistical collections and evaluation work that policymakers, researchers and institutions relied upon for program evidence. The report does not bind the department to action, but the paper signals an internal push—by some Trump appointees—to restore research infrastructure. Restoring IES would affect federal evidence standards, grant evaluation timelines, and institutions that depend on IES datasets for assessment and accountability.
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AI adoption vs. classroom risk—administrators invest while student integrity flags rise
An Ellucian survey of 779 college administrators found two-thirds of institutions are implementing AI across business units, 43% include AI in strategic plans, and 60% are spending on AI initiatives; 88% expect more adoption in two years. Administrators singled out marketing, financial aid, and analytics as early winners but expressed growing skepticism about AI’s classroom role: fewer leaders now say AI does more good than harm for student learning. Complementing administrators’ views, Securly’s analysis of 1.2 million student interactions in 1,300+ districts shows roughly 20% of K–12 AI queries involved problematic behaviors—chiefly attempts to have AI finish assignments. Nearly one-in-50 interactions flagged potential self-harm, bullying or violence. For higher‑education leaders, the data signals a need for clearer AI-use policies, integration with classroom integrity systems, and coordination with K–12 partners on digital-literacy expectations.
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Fundraising under scrutiny—universities vet donors as families emerge as key targets
Advancement teams face rising risk as federal scrutiny, shrinking research dollars and geopolitical concerns force new donor vetting practices. Institutions are increasingly assessing donors’ reputations and national-security exposure after cases such as Bard’s disclosures about efforts to solicit funds from Jeffrey Epstein and Florida A&M’s fallout from an invalid pledge. Universities are reshaping gift-acceptance policies and due diligence procedures to protect institutional reputation and research teams. At the same time, schools are targeting families as a strategic philanthropy channel: campus advancement teams report higher engagement when parents are integrated early in the student lifecycle. The CampusESP Family Survey found one-third of families feel more connected to their student’s college than to their own alma mater, and several institutions reported meaningful increases in first‑year family giving after integrated outreach.
...and 5 more selected Higher Education stories in today’s full edition — or archive.
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