Weekly Briefing: The 2023 Higher-Ed Forecast

We can't predict the future, but we can connect some dots. ADVERTISEMENT [Weekly Briefing Logo]( Did someone forward you this newsletter? [Sign up free]( to receive your own copy. You can now read The Chronicle on [Apple News]( [Flipboard]( and [Google News](. Here’s what’s trending in higher ed. Every year, Chronicle editors and reporters gaze into a giant crystal ball to predict what the next year, or next few years, will be like. Just kidding; we don’t require clairvoyance to work here. But we do take stock of the forces shaping our sector to understand what the future may hold, better known as “[The Trends Report]( Though we can’t examine everything happening, here are five trends that stuck out: 1. Flagship institutions are seeing growing enrollment numbers while [public regional colleges are in a slump](. Regional public institutions are less renowned than their flagship counterparts. When their enrollments drop along with state support, these workhorse institutions are in a tough spot. 2. Students want and expect [more flexibility]( the ability to submit assignments online, flexible deadlines, and asynchronous lectures. For professors, this may mean more time and effort. Many also face pressure from administrators to support retention and improve graduation. Meanwhile, some instructors fear that the new, extensive flexibility may undermine learning. 3. Colleges across the country are emphasizing [belonging](. It’s both a buzzword for institutions and a way to emphasize the best ways to welcome students to campus. There’s a clear shift happening too: In years past, colleges blamed retention problems on students’ deficits. As pressure to keep enrollments up continues, more administrators want to know what happens when large numbers of students don’t graduate. Some administrators have decided that a “sense of belonging” can help improve these numbers. 4. College applications are changing. A growing number of institutions, state systems, application platforms, and tech companies are experimenting with [direct admission](. This means prescreened students are encouraged to apply and will be guaranteed enrollment at a college if they do. While some leaders say they want to simplify the application process, some colleges need every last applicant, and they see this method as a new form of lead generation. 5. Colleges across the country are updating their curricula to inspire action [against climate change](. Courses focus broadly on sustainability and how that squares with environmental, economic, and social goals. One of the bigger challenges for integrating climate issues across the curriculum is making sure faculty members are comfortable teaching something as complex and emotionally fraught as climate change. There are, of course, more trends still developing, like graduate-student organizing, the unpredictability of master’s programs that colleges have come to rely on, and the politicians who pivot to becoming college presidents. [You can read about those trends and others here](. ADVERTISEMENT NEWSLETTER [Sign Up for the Teaching Newsletter]( Find insights to improve teaching and learning across your campus. Delivered on Thursdays. To read this newsletter as soon as it sends, [sign up]( to receive it in your email inbox. Lagniappe. - Learn. Here’s why a star player[left millions of dollars]( on the table. (The New York Times) - Read. For decades impostor syndrome has evolved into a catch-all term for when one feels like one doesn’t belong. Now, [critics and even the originators of the term]( are questioning it. (The New Yorker) - Listen. You’ve heard about AI and ChatGPT. But now tech companies [are racing]( to come out with a viable AI product. (The New York Times) —Fernanda SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHRONICLE Enjoying the newsletter? [Subscribe today]( for unlimited access to essential news, analysis, and advice. Chronicle Top Reads FOR SOME, A 2ND SCHOOL SHOOTING [‘We Have a National Crisis’: How Michigan State Responded to a Mass Shooting]( By Sylvia Goodman [STORY IMAGE]( In the aftermath of violence that killed three students, members of the campus community reflected on their roles in a nation struggling with what to do about guns. THE REVIEW | OPINION [Women Do Higher Ed’s Chores. That Must Change.]( By Liz Mayo [STORY IMAGE]( From the mundanely sexist to the lawsuit-worthy, service work is inequitable. DATA [Big Drops in Enrollment Hit Colleges in the First Fall of the Pandemic. Who Was Able to Bounce Back?]( By Brian O’Leary and Audrey Williams June [STORY IMAGE]( Search our database to see whose enrollments recovered, whose started clawing their way back, and whose kept falling. 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