Colleges Face New Pressures to Define Themselves

We’re kicking off our tenth season of Future U. And as a new school year gets underway, Jeff and Michael reflect on a slew of pressing issues facing higher ed. Forget the idea that every college has to be comprehensive. The new challenge for every college will be deciding what to offer and how to sell their value to increasingly skeptical students and parents. And college leaders must also contend with new directives from the Education Department, what to do about AI, a growing loneliness crisis on campus, and more. This episode is made with support from Ascendium Education Group.Chapters0:00 - Intro2:17 - Four Tests Colleges Should Have for Offering a Degree8:16 - The Challenge of Measuring Student Outcomes10:33 - Facing the Realities of the One Big Beautiful Bill13:00 - Is Coherence in AI Policy a Bug or a Feature?18:10 - MIT’s ‘Clarion Call’ About AI19:51 - Cheating Is Not the Problem21:02 - Is College Still Worth It?24:30 - College Is More Than Just Classes27:47 - Unpacking the Linda McMahon Letter29:50 - Colleges Try to Be Clearer About Price30:54 - Can AI Reduce Administrative Costs?32:16 - But Aren’t Students Still Clamoring to Go to College?35:31 - Is Dual Enrollment the Answer?38:41 - A Growing Student Loneliness Crisis40:26 - Will the University of California Bring Back the SAT?41:41 - Previewing Future EpisodesRelevant Links:“Leading Faculty in an AI Era,” by Jeff Selingo.“From Programs to Payoff,” by Jeff Selingo.“The Value of Live in a World of Abundant AI,” by Michael Horn on Substack.“For Those Who Think Earnings Premium Accountability Started With OBBB,” by Phil Hill in OnEdTech.“AI can now credibly complete most undergraduate assignments, MIT warns,” in The Washington Post.“McMahon’s ‘National Call to Action’ Draws Measured Response From Higher Education,” in US News and World Report.“UC Expedites Timeline for Determining Whether to Restore Testing Requirement,” in Inside Higher Ed.“Even College Students Have Stopped Hanging Out,” in The Atlantic.