College Matters from The Chronicle

• The Quarter-Century Project

  As 2025 comes to a close, higher education is at an inflection point. Political pressure, rising costs, and the dizzying pace of technological change are putting new stress on an already beleaguered system. It’s tempting at a time like this to obsess over the precarious present, but it’s worth pausing for a moment to consider the past. With the benefit of hindsight, what trends and developments of the past 25 years have proved to be the most consequential for higher education? More simply put: How in the heck did we get here? Related Reading Explore the Quarter-Century Project (The Chronicle) A Year of Challenges and Uncertainty, as Told Through Data (The Chronicle)  Behold, the Decade of Monsters and Men (The Chronicle)  U. of Richmond Leader Pushes City to Face Its Slave History (The Chronicle) Guests Edward L. Ayers, professor of the humanities and president emeritus at the U. of Richmond  Sarah Brown, senior editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education  Andy Thomason, assistant managing editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education

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• The Year in Teaching Was …

  It’s been a pivotal year for higher education, and that’s particularly true for college professors. The ubiquity of artificial intelligence, the enormity of political pressure, and the severity of financial constraints on many college campuses have conspired to create learning environments of profound unease and uncertainty. At the same time, many faculty members look at 2025 as a year when the promise of new technologies became more clear, and the strength of collegial communities became more crucial. Can a year like this be summed up in a single word? We’ll find out.   Related Reading:  Sign up to receive The Chronicle’s Teaching newsletter AI Has Joined the Faculty (The Chronicle)  How to Restore Joy in the Classroom (The Chronicle)   Grading is Broken (The Chronicle)  Guest:  Beth McMurtrie, senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education 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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• Using AI Without (Really) Cheating

  Nearly three years after ChatGPT first came on the scene, college students are using generative AI to help with myriad tasks. Outlining and brainstorming are a breeze. A tough concept, skimmed over by a professor during a lecture, can probably be explained succinctly by a chatbot. This kind of AI use is happening on college campuses across the country, and much of it wouldn’t be considered unethical. But the line between efficiency and academic dishonesty is blurry, and some experts are concerned that an AI-infused education could essentially rewire students’ brains. So, how do colleges weigh the promise of AI against its much-discussed perils?Related Reading: These Students Use AI a Lot — but Not to Cheat (The Chronicle)   The Cheating Vibe Shift (College Matters: Apple / Spotify)  Should College Graduates Be AI Literate? (The Chronicle)  Guest:Beth McMurtrie, 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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• Virginia Is a Battlefield

  One university president has resigned. Another is on the ropes. A new governor is heading into office, flipping party control to the Democrats. It’s all happening in Virginia, which has become a key battleground in a larger political war over higher education. This past summer, Jim Ryan resigned as president of the University of Virginia, hoping to stave off federal investigations of the university's diversity efforts. Now, Gregory Washington, president of George Mason University, is under fire for similar issues and fighting to keep his job. In tumultuous fashion, the commonwealth of Virginia has become a tinderbox of state and federal political fury — and there’s no clear end in sight.Related ReadingHouse Republicans Say George Mason Leader Broke the Law. His Lawyer Sees ‘a Political Lynching.’ (The Chronicle) Virginia Democrats Block College Board Appointees, Leaving George Mason’s Without a Quorum. (The Chronicle) The U. of Virginia’s President Was Targeted Over DEI. Now He’s Resigning. (The Chronicle)GuestJasper Smith, staff 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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• Has Harvard Gone Soft?

  One of the nation’s most selective institutions is sounding the alarm about grade inflation. According to a new report, A’s account for about 60 percent of all grades awarded in 2025 at Harvard College, which houses the university’s undergraduate program. That’s a big jump from 2005, when less than a quarter of grades were A’s. The report has provoked a frenzied response, validating for critics the notion that “elite” colleges aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, and that Gen Z students are delicate snowflakes who can’t handle tough grading. The truth, of course, is more complicated. But the report provides a fascinating portrait of how Harvard views its own role as a sorter of talent, and it shines a light on universal debates over grading that extend far beyond Cambridge, Mass.Related Reading What’s Up With Grade Inflation? (College Matters podcast)   The Great Campus Charade: Students Are Learning and Studying Less — Yet Grades Go Up (The Review)  Why Does the Trump Compact Talk About Grading? (The Chronicle) GuestBeth McMurtrie, 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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