robertkelchen.com - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

The Department of Health and Human Services and ED just issued another letter against Harvard as they try to get a settlement with the university.

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I wrote some thoughts on how public higher education is rapidly splitting into red-state and blue-state versions, and it's going to be very hard for leaders to cross that growing divide. robertkelchen.com/2025/06/30/p...

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Expecting more of this in higher ed. St. Ambrose University named as Mount Mercy University corporate owner iowacapitaldispatch.com/2025/06/27/s...

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I was live on Morning Edition at 5:30am Eastern to talk about UVA President’s resignation under pressure from the Trump administration. I was a touch nervous and hopeful didn’t sound like a dope.

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A new NBER working paper by @jscottclayton.bsky.social and colleagues finds large personal and intergenerational benefits to the next iteration of CUNY ASAP. This is critical research in the field of financial aid. www.nber.org/papers/w33956

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If the Senate version of the endowment tax passes, not only will universities pay much less than the House proposed, but many fewer colleges will pay the endowment tax than pay it currently.

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The tweaked Senate version of the budget reconciliation bill would apply gainful employment by comparing the earnings of graduates of a program to earnings of individuals with a high school diploma (or a bachelor's degree), instead of former students. It's more feasible from a data perspective.

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There are several changes to the endowment tax in the final version of the Senate reconciliation bill. The most significant one is that the tax would only apply to institutions with 3,000+ students, which will spare ~40 institutions, including one that is of special interest to many in the GOP.

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Ah, no. No they won’t fill the gap. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/28/u...

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My travels this summer took me to the former campus of Iowa Wesleyan University, which closed in 2023. The local school district took over much of the campus, which is about the best possible outcome.

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Breaking: Jim Ryan’s message to the UVA community.

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This breaking story has quick takes from me and @robertkelchen.com

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ED unveils materials for Monday's NegReg session seeking to revise PSLF regulations. The docs include committee members, protocols, the agenda, a discussion draft, and the recent executive order concerning PSLF: www.ed.gov/laws-and-pol...

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I think we're at the point where public university presidents are expected to resign whenever a new governor comes into office from a different political party. Trump pushing James Ryan to resign at UVA is important, but it happened in part because VA's governor is also Republican.

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Article said he had planned to step down at the end of next academic year, but he moved up the timeline. I am not sure I buy that.

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It's not just books. It's really anything. Parents will try to opt out of media, assemblies, field trips, etc. It'll be chaotic in some schools and districts.

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My travels this summer took me to the former campus of Iowa Wesleyan University, which closed in 2023. The local school district took over much of the campus, which is about the best possible outcome.

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Because red-state public university presidents would get fired, as would private college presidents with a less than sympathetic board. Only leaders of institutions that are politically insulated can afford to speak up. Wesleyan is one of those.

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Confused about what student aid provisions are and and which are out of the BBB? Here’s a helpful guide. www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

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Cornell College (IA) sent out financial aid estimates to 19,000 potential applicants for fall 2026. They get guaranteed tuition discounts and priority housing and registration if they apply and deposit by Sept 1. It's an interesting strategy to try to get students to commit before the FAFSA opens.

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As an old-fashioned limited government person, it is unfathomable for the federal government to micromanage a university. But conservatism has changed a lot from 20 years ago.

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Inbox: The University of Tennessee System is joining six other red-state public university systems (led by North Carolina) to explore a new accreditation option for public higher education.

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This is the joint effort between North Carolina and Florida...a potentially big deal (if accreditation continues to exist).

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I talked with @insidehighered.com about the potential implications of caps on federal grad student loans on students and universities. It's just one more massive change to graduate education, alongside research cuts, international student drops, and tight state budgets.

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Oh do I have thoughts about this and will flesh them out in the morning... www.forbes.com/sites/adammi...

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I led the Digest at NCES, and I’m so happy to see this getting more coverage. Digest provides nearly all the underlying data for COE and also other reports, like Indicators of School Crime and Safety. It’s used for policy, research, grant making, journalism, and so much more.

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A grand jury in Knox County has indicted University of Tennessee protesters who participated in on-campus demonstrations more than a year ago, protesting Israeli actions in Gaza. From @angeladennisnews.bsky.social.

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Thread in the am but if you want the main takeaway: The 2024 Digest of Education Statistics (under the current administration) includes just 27 tables by the (Congressionally mandated) deadline—far fewer than the nearly 270, on average, published in prior years www.brookings.edu/articles/the...

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ED is launching a $14 million grant competition to promote American history seminars (applications due just a month later), with preference given to universities with freestanding civics institutes. It's a bonus for the Southern flagship publics that have already gone this route.

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments