The Chronicle of Higher Education

If you've ever felt like you and your employer were out of sync, there were probably some warning signs that led you to that belief. Manya Whitaker has advice on what to look out for to know if a job is the wrong fit for you. A telltale sign that you and your employer are a poor fit is if you're facing health concerns. "You may fail to deal with such health concerns because they’ve become so common that you consider them a part of the job. But you should not sacrifice your physical or emotional well-being," says Whitaker. Read more advice: https://chroni.cl/3WqIRCX

Online-program manager 2U filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Thursday after more than a year of financial turmoil, casting doubt on the future of online education at dozens of colleges. The bankruptcy news was anticipated by some sector experts, due to 2U’s $1-billion debt, largely stemming from its 2021 acquisition of the massive open online course provider edX for $800 million in 2021. Experts had highlighted the company’s financial strain, noting looming payment deadlines, declining stock prices, and difficulties in parts of its business, including boot camps. Here's what to watch for:

As protests spread in Bangladesh and a nationwide curfew is imposed, students at American colleges worry about the safety of family and friends back home. https://chroni.cl/3A65gwB

In Advice: The full value of a history degree for careers outside of higher ed is not always clear to students or employers. The discipline's future depends on changing that.

George Mason University's new board is inheriting clashes with faculty over tenure decisions and proposed requirements on diversity and inclusion. But now, the board has a supermajority of members with ties to Project 2025 and the Heritage Foundation. Bethany Letiecq, the Virginia AAUP leader, believes that conservative board members have been “field-testing their strategy” on contentious issues before they’ve had a majority. “Now they can really run their game.”

The push away from "academic probation" and toward "academic notice" is rooted in concerns about the criminal-justice connotations of the first term, which experts say could discourage struggling students from getting help.

Throughout higher education, the apparent consensus is that the 2025-26 FAFSA would be better late than broken. The National College Attainment Network (NCAN) and four other associations wrote a letter to the Education Department on Tuesday saying that the FAFSA must be fully functional for students and colleges this fall — even if its arrival is delayed by two months. “We are wrestling with the trade-off between timeliness and functionality, and have concluded that the consequences of releasing a product that does not come with full end-to-end functionality for students, families, state agencies, and aid administrators would be too great," the letter reads.

Did you miss our Academic Leadership Crash Course earlier this year? We’re partnering with Carolyn Dever and George Justice to offer this dynamic, fast-paced course for aspiring academic administrators again this August. Here’s what previous participants said about the program: “A thoughtful, complete, and well-designed introduction to the world of academic administration. Entirely worth the investment of time and financial resources.” “I recommend this course to anyone interested in pursuing a leadership role. Carolyn and George provided an engaging experience that offered concrete advice and helpful suggestions.” For more information on the program content and to register, visit our website: https://chroni.cl/4c0y07k

Do you work for an interim admin who works for an interim admin who works for another interim admin? You’re not alone. Here’s why that scenario is far from rare.

Saint Augustine's University wins an important fight over accreditation. But the battle is not over. A small HBCU, Saint Augustine's University lost its membership in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) in December 2023 after a series of financial issues. An audit found that the university didn’t keep accurate and up-to-date accounting records, failed to submit Pell Grant and direct student-loan data on time, and neglected to properly account for hours worked and wages earned in the federal work-study program. The financial crisis grew so dire that this past spring the university didn’t pay its employees, prompting an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor. Now, the university has until December to prove itself fiscally sound enough to rejoin the SACSCOC, a move that will ensure its accreditation going forward.