College Matters from The Chronicle

Nearly four years after the introduction of ChatGPT, colleges and universities have propagated plenty of rules related to students’ use of AI. But what about administrators and faculty? Can they live by the same standards they’ve handed down? Should they? As more faculty and even some college leaders admit to using AI in their writing, charges of hypocrisy abound. News last week that Dartmouth College will investigate its provost for his use of AI has further intensified concerns that even the nation’s top institutions lack clear guidelines in this area. It’s also brought urgency to a deeper question: If everyone is using AI to write, what constitutes an original work?

Related Reading

What Even is an Author? (The Chronicle)

When AI writes the words, who is the author? (Nature Africa)

The Dartmouth’s provost investigation (The Dartmouth)

Why I Want More AI at Dartmouth (The Atlantic)

Guest

Andy Thomason, assistant managing editor 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.

University of Texas at Austin football fans have good reason to be happy right now. After narrowly defeating the Ohio State University Buckeyes earlier this month, the Longhorns are sitting pretty at No. 1 in the college football rankings. But all is not well in Austin. The morning after the Longhorns’ big win, a Republican political candidate posted an inflammatory message on X, expressing dismay at a photo of students of South Asian descent celebrating in the stands. Bo French, who is running for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, has stirred a tempest, suggesting that students of color have overrun the flagship university and “displaced” more deserving “Americans.” The controversy has ratcheted up tensions over immigration, diversity, and admissions in a state where some students from immigrant families say they feel unwelcome. It’s also shed light on the power of football fandom to shape a culture and define a community.

Related Reading

Hook ‘Em, But Not All of ‘Em (The Daily Texan)

‘A Slap in the Face’: How UT-Austin Axed a DEI Division (The Chronicle)

Disappearing White Students (College Matters)

Bo French’s social-media post (X)

Guests

Thomas Oates, professor of journalism and American studies at the University of Iowa

Pauline Strong, professor of anthropology and past president of the UT-Austin chapter of the American Association of University Professors

Isaiah Williams, news editor of The Daily Texan

For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

Jodi Kantor, whose reporting for The New York Times helped expose years of sexual-misconduct allegations against Harvey Weinstein, has been thinking a lot lately about the next generation. What will a fulfilling career look like a decade from now? How worried should college graduates be about AI gobbling up entry-level jobs? And how can employers, including universities, do a better job of stopping workplace harassment, which can derail careers before they even start? Kantor doesn’t have all the answers, of course, but she’s using her platform to start a more focused conversation about the future of work for college-educated people.

Related Reading

How to Start (Jodi Kantor)

A Year of Reckoning (The New York Times)

The Consequences of Faculty Sexual Misconduct (National Bureau of Economic Research)

She Left Harvard. He Got to Stay. (The Chronicle)

Guest

Jodi Kantor, investigative reporter for The New York Times

For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

Angela Duckworth, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, burst onto the scene more than a decade ago with a seemingly simple theory about successful people. They are incredibly determined, Duckworth argued, exhibiting that quintessentially American trait called “grit.” In her new book, Situated, Duckworth says that people have enormous power to change their “situations,” ensuring success by reducing distractions and bolstering connections with mentors. But what about low-income students for whom changing a "situation" is harder than turning off a cell phone? Is Duckworth’s blueprint for success applicable to everyone? Or is it just helpful advice for the already-privileged few?

Related Reading

Situated: Find the People and Places That Bring Out Your Best (Angela Duckworth)

U. of Michigan's Plan to Pass/Fail Freshmen Draws Ire — and Cheers (The Chronicle)

Has Harvard Gone Soft? (College Matters)

Guest

⁠Angela Duckworth⁠, psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania

For more on today’s episode, visit chronicle.com/collegematters. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.

Is the student reading crisis real? Is AI panic justified? What’s next for the partisan battles over higher education? Each week, The Chronicle of Higher Education’s podcast delves into the thorniest issues facing colleges and universities. Through interviews with newsmakers and conversations with Chronicle staff, College Matters delivers sharp insights and deep analysis of the biggest stories in higher ed.

Catch up on previous episodes

⁠Are the Kids Alright? We Asked Ian Bogost ⁠

⁠Higher Ed Is as American as Apple Pie ⁠

⁠Dan Ariely Emailed With Epstein for Years. He Has (Mostly) No Regrets.⁠

For more on today’s episode, visit ⁠chronicle.com/collegematters⁠. We aim to make transcripts available within a day of an episode’s publication.