Commentary and analysis on today’s most pressing concerns and innovative practices in higher education policy and research. Staffed by ACE’s Research and Government Relations departments, along with guest posts from ACE members and other scholars working in the field to define and assess the critical challenges facing colleges and universities. Together, these posts provide college leaders and public policymakers with the latest on issues such as access, financial aid, data, Congress and the administration, re-imagining diversity and equity on campus, and public higher education finance.

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Featured Posts

Centering Equity in Student Mental Health Task Forces: Lessons Learned From the University of Michigan

Based on their work with the University of Michigan’s Rackham Graduate School Task Force on Graduate Student Mental Health, Sara Abelson, Meghan Duffy, and Janelle Goodwill identify eight ways that university mental health task forces can center equity in their work.

Four Misconceptions About International Students in the U.S.

Policies and practices that make international students and scholars feel unwelcome are just part of the problem for this population during stressful times. Another is the myths such policies that reinforce a generally unwelcoming climate in this country, write Haelim Chun and Jung Hyun Choi.

Department of Education Should Not Leave Needy Students Out in the Cold in Midst of a Pandemic

The Trump administration has rejected the opportunity to do the right thing by all students in distributing CARES Act emergency grants. We must hope that Congress does not allow them to do it again.

Department of Education’s Final Section 117 Information Collection Request Continues to Overstep Statutory Authority

The Education Department has chosen to dismiss the higher education community’s previously expressed concerns about the new reporting requirements for foreign gifts and contracts, releasing a new reporting portal on June 22. The first deadline under the new system is July 31.

Teaching for Social Solidarity: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in a Time of COVID-19

Teaching during the pandemic is demonstrating that the challenges from COVID-19 go beyond the drastic health and economic consequences we are confronting—they are also social. The primary lesson is simple: in a time of physical distancing, social solidarity is more important than ever.

Shared Leadership As a Strategy for Leading in a Time of Crisis and Beyond

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many faculty and campus leaders have begun working together in new ways, unlocking a new capacity for collaboration and innovation that we did not know we had. How can we keep this sense of common purpose after the crisis passes?