iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

This is how institutional research staff described the new IPEDS admissions survey. The most recent year of data might be of sufficient quality for analysis, but older years will be full of guesses and many selective colleges are missing due to successful lawsuits. www.urban.org/research/pub...

Colleges described an unusually difficult reporting process at every stage of the collection.

Most institutions spent at least 250 staff hours on ACTS, well above the Department of Education’s original 200-hour estimate, and more than a quarter of institutions spent 400 hours or more.
Only about one in six respondents had all the undergraduate data ACTS asked for. Older records on student characteristics, admissions, and financial aid were commonly incomplete or missing entirely.
Just over half of survey respondents were very or extremely concerned about the accuracy of their submitted data. Definitions that were ambiguous and that shifted partway through the collection period undermined confidence further.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 28/09/2026

(1) My kids would totally do this. (2) See below.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 28/09/2026

I'm reading Inside Higher Ed as usual this morning and this ad pops up. It has so many signs of an AI-supported scam that a big ad vendor didn't catch. I feel bad for @insidehighered.com for getting taken for a ride by a company that is trying to scam readers.

A McDonald's ad for a "special meal" for "0$" running on Inside Higher Ed thanks to an ad vendor.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 27/09/2026

This is quite an anecdote about how our current Secretary of Education got the job. www.politico.com/news/magazin...

Linda McMahon was in her living room late one night, shortly after Trump won his second election, when her phone rang. Trump wanted to know if the woman who had led the Small Business Administration in his first term — and had been CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment before that — wanted to be his secretary of Education.

“Mr. President,” McMahon recalled telling him, “you know that I have not been in the world of education.”

“Well, you did graduate from college, didn’t you?” he responded, according to McMahon’s recollection.

Trump wasn’t looking for someone with education credentials. What he wanted instead was another business leader that would deliver a “return on investment” in the Department of Education. He also said her goal would be to put herself “out of a job” with the eventual downsizing of the department, she recalled.

“That’s not necessarily how I would expect to be courted,” she chuckled before accepting his request. McMahon would be the only one of two members from Trump’s first Cabinet — along with budget director Russ Vought — to be invited back for the second.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 25/09/2026

Employers want community colleges to train future employees, but they won't stop hiring away the faculty needed to train those employees. It's one of the biggest challenges facing workforce development in certain fields, and has been around for years (ex: nursing). lailluminator.com/2026/09/23/l...

Major companies investing in Louisiana are looking to the state’s community and technical colleges to supply their workforce, and they are also poaching the instructors who teach there, the school system’s leader said this week.

A series of major industrial projects are coming to Louisiana, touting numerous high-paying jobs that require specialized training, most notably the Hyundai steel plant in Ascension Parish, the Meta Hyperion data center in Richland Parish and a Space X launch facility in Vermilion Parish.

Their staffing demands are straining the state’s ability to train enough students to ensure the new jobs go to Louisianians, Louisiana Community and Technical College System President Richard Nelson told the Board of Regents at its monthly meeting Tuesday.

Another challenge for the system as it tries to fill those jobs is the companies hiring highly-skilled tradespeople from community colleges who are training the next generation of workers, higher education leaders said at a budget hearing Tuesday.

“We can’t produce 10 times, 100 times more welders or plumbers if everyone is poaching all of our faculty,” Commissioner of Higher Education Kim Hunter Reed said. “So that issue has to be resolved, and companies need to stand in partnership with us as we try to do this work.”

In addition to luring away faculty, Nelson said some companies are hiring students before they complete their training to meet their need for workers with even basic technical skills.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 23/09/2026

IHE's annual survey of provosts is always worth reading. I'm struck by the responses regarding research funding, where quite a few leaders think they can grow their share of a shrinking pool of funds instead of resetting research expectations. www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

To make up for declining research funding, specifically, some provosts said their institution is diversifying funding sources (31 percent), developing more industry partnerships (24 percent) and expanding grant-writing support (17 percent). Only 4 percent reported that their institution is reducing research expectations.

Amid all of the funding uncertainty, a quarter of all provosts said they are “somewhat” or “very confident” that the U.S. research enterprise will remain strong over the next decade. Though provosts at public doctoral institutions more frequently reported funding declines of more than 10 percent, they were more optimistic—43 percent said the research enterprise would likely remain strong.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 22/09/2026

Monocles are dropping across the 1% of higher education after the US News rankings changed more than normal this year after an earnings metric was added and student debt was removed due to stale data. I have done rankings for 15 years. Here are my thoughts. www.morningstar.com/news/marketw...

Nonetheless, the small movements among the top schools that so many in the media and higher education focus on are probably just noise.

"It should not be the case that moving up or down two spots in the rankings is changing what you do," Kelchen said. "But institutions, especially at the high end, are really concerned about status; this is a change that is outside of their control and they don't really like it."

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 21/09/2026

When students and families are contacting financial aid offices as frequently as during the FAFSA fiasco a few years ago, it's clear that implementing new federal loan limits on an extremely tight timeline has been a challenge. www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

At Saint Louis University, students and families have inundated the financial aid office with calls and emails, asking about the loan changes.

Alex DeLonis, assistant vice president of student financial services, said his office received 5,000 calls—the same call volume SLU experienced during the bungled launch of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid in 2024. Emails, he said, followed a similar pattern.

“We thought FAFSA simplification might have been an anomaly … but to have two pieces of legislation that have completely flipped things upside down and we’ve had to implement so closely together—it’s just a lot,” DeLonis said. “It’s hard to predict and plan when the rules change along the way.”

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 19/09/2026

The workforce Pell program is starting slowly (which I think is a feature, not a bug), as only about five programs have qualified since July 1 in spite of a lot of media attention. This tidbit from here in Tennessee made me chuckle. Implementation is tough. www.chronicle.com/article/work...

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 17/09/2026

This piece on how companies (and yes, this applies to higher education) getting rid of middle managers may backfire is well worth your time to read. If the positions are viewed as being too risky to take, there goes your leadership pipeline. www.wsj.com/lifestyle/ca...

Middle managers often act as informal therapists for their direct reports. The good ones are attuned to what motivates people on their teams and who works well with whom. They also serve as executive whisperers, translating the goals and strategies from bosses on high, while also acting as buffers for those higher up the ladder, sparing executives the headaches of petty issues.

Leaders who expect AI to free them to concentrate on major initiatives will ultimately inherit the personnel dramas and small decisions that deputies used to take off their plates. They may also find their grand plans don’t get executed when there are no rallying forces at the team level.

Get ready for the in-demand middle managers’ comeback tour in a few years’ time. The only question is, when companies realize they cut too deeply, will there be enough bosses willing and able to step up?

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 16/09/2026

Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky is opting out of federal student loans, which is likely driven by existing concerns about student debt and new concerns about passing the federal earnings test. Expect this to show up in an ED press release soon. www.insidehighered.com/news/institu...

Regardless of Asbury’s goals, Kelchen said that the Education Department, which has called on colleges and universities to help prevent students from overborrowing, will likely view the seminary’s shift away from loans as a success story.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 14/09/2026

This picture is worth several thousand words, but I also recommend reading the several thousand words in this piece on why people can't stop talking about one New England college. www.chronicle.com/article/high...

In Media Coverage, Harvard Stands Apart
The Chronicle reviewed higher-education coverage in five major national newspapers since President Trump’s inauguration. Harvard's 251 mentions work out to roughly one for every 250 students. Across the country's 15 largest colleges, 297 mentions amount to just one for every 3,180 students.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 14/09/2026

I'm struck by some of the responses from college presidents to this ACE pulse survey. There are a lot of people who are simply concerned with making enrollment numbers, even as the sector faces some crucial issues that affect everyone. www.acenet.edu/documents/pu...

A chart showing how college presidents view certain issues for their own institutions and for higher ed as a whole.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 12/09/2026

I just got a letter saying that my health insurance premium will go up by about 7.9 percent next year. It is lower than the national average (about 11 percent), but still way outstrips pay raises. This frustrates both employers and employees alike, and hits higher ed especially hard.

A letter saying that my health insurance premium is going up about 7.9 percent next year.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 12/09/2026

Happy Saturday morning! We made apple cinnamon raisin and regular White Lily biscuits.

The left tray is apple cinnamon raisin biscuits, and the right tray is regular biscuits.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 10/09/2026

That sound you heard was college leaders getting really nervous about this year's upcoming US News rankings. And the changes generally make sense given where the College Scorecard and Carnegie classifications have gone. www.usnews.com/education/be...

Combined with the previously announced category changes, which will reclassify one-fifth of institutions and expand rankings eligibility to a wider array of schools, the new metric and several additional methodological refinements are expected to produce more year-over-year movement in the rankings than either of the previous two editions.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 09/09/2026

The University of Utah is planning to reduce the size of their staff by five to fifteen percent over the next year. This matches my broader research showing that universities try to protect faculty and senior administration from cuts while cutting mid-level staff. attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff...

Building on these efforts, university leaders will closely review requests to create or fill new positions in operational areas being evaluated as part of the modernization work. The goal is to carefully manage workforce growth while organizational structures and staffing needs are being assessed.

At the same time, university leaders expect the U’s approximately 5,700-person, non-faculty and non-clinical (health care) workforce to become smaller over the next year — by 5 to 15%, or 285 to 855 positions — as work is consolidated, simplified or eliminated. The U’s current workforce includes just over 47,000 full-time and part-time positions. University of Utah Health is following a parallel path in coordination with the broader university effort.

According to Chief Financial Officer Gary McArthur, comparable modernization efforts in other organizations have resulted in staffing reductions of 5% to 15% within particular operational functions. He emphasizes that range provides context for planning; it is not a university-wide target, does not apply uniformly

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 08/09/2026

We canned up 24 quarts and 16 pints of apples: sauce, butter, and pie filling. Happy fall!

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 07/09/2026

This WSJ article buries the key point: even when the job market for non-college-educated workers is better than it has been for decades, the advantages for college graduates are still sizable. This chart at the end is key. Happy Labor Day! Gift link. www.wsj.com/lifestyle/ca...

A graphic showing that college graduates still have much higher labor force participation and lower unemployment rates than high school graduates.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 06/09/2026

Happy Labor Day weekend! We went and picked about 170 pounds of apples, so let the cooking and canning begin.

An apple tree loaded with delicious fruit.

Eight half-bushel bags of apples, each weighing about 22 pounds.

One and a half apple pies. Not pictured: the rest of the first pie that was quickly devoured.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 04/09/2026

This is from the House Republican who introduced a bill to expand the list of "professional" programs that qualify for higher federal student loan limits. Neither assertion is particularly true, but higher ed has been unable to break through with data. www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

Q: You’re running in what is expected to be one of the most closely watched battleground districts this fall. What concerns are you hearing from constituents on each side of the political spectrum when it comes to higher ed? Is this bill an attempt to address some of them?

A: There’s a few things about higher ed. One, obviously, is the overall cost. The cost of a four-year degree has gotten insane. The second thing is the fact that a lot of these kids are coming out of college without a job. So, the workforce aspect of this is paramount.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 01/09/2026

There is a lot made of faculty leaving the US to seek greener pastures and a friendly climate, but most other countries don't support research like America and jobs are scarce. I share this news with the Houston Chronicle. www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...

"Certainly, people would look to move institutions to a place that feels more politically safe and also has financial support,” Kelchen said. “I've seen one-offs and anecdotes of people doing that sort of thing, but the individuals who can tend to be the superstars of the field.”

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 01/09/2026

ED's Condition of Education report used to annually update data on the share of high school graduates going on to college, but this was last updated in 2024. The public is looking for up-to-date data, and pieces are now missing due to decreased staffing. www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...

That decline is exacerbated by a drop in the percentage of students who are choosing college right out of high school. In 2016, 70% of students went straight to a two- or four-year college, according to federal data. That rate fell to 62% by 2022, the last year for which data is available.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 31/08/2026

I'm not always the most cheerful person about the financial landscape of higher education, but I'm also a lot more optimistic than many pundits out there. Higher ed is facing serious challenges, but also has more resiliency than many realize. fortune.com/2026/08/31/c...

Running out of cash on hand is the clearest indicator that a college is at high risk of closure, he added, while consistent operating losses, enrollment declines and large withdrawals from endowments can also signal distress.

Kelchen expects an uptick in closures rather than a massive wave, with schools in rural parts of the Northeast and Midwest facing particularly strong headwinds.

For the colleges that remain open, that may mean becoming smaller institutions than they ever expected to be.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 31/08/2026

So far, only two programs have been approved for workforce Pell Grants, with many states and colleges taking a wait-and-see approach. I think that's a good thing, and I expect more programs to qualify in a few years. apnews.com/article/work...

“I think it’s going to take off pretty slowly, which I would say is more a feature than a bug,” said Robert Kelchen, a University of Tennessee professor who studies higher education. “That way we can make sure these are quality programs, they are in need, and they’re not just a pathway for programs to fly by night, take taxpayer dollars and not generate a return to students.”

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 30/08/2026

I talked with the Wall Street Journal for a piece on Syracuse's recent struggles. They're not selective enough or in a favorable location to enjoy the market power they used to have, and international student cuts hit them hard. Thus, recent budget deficits. Gift link. www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...

Moderately selective private colleges are caught in the middle. They aren’t elite enough to dictate the market, and they attract a student-body that is still concerned about the price tag, said Robert Kelchen, a professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, who specializes in education finances.

“The stream of students willing to pay something closer to full price is drying up,” Kelchen said. “Even if they’re not terribly concerned about how much it costs, they know that they can shop around and get a better deal.”

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 26/08/2026

Tonight's bedtime readings with the kids. Thanks for everything, Dolly.

A Little Golden Book about Dolly and then "Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come"--the last book that the Imagination Library sends kids when they turn five.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 24/08/2026

Folks, this is the state of big-time college football. At the very least, there is never a dull moment. www.espn.com/college-foot...

The executive director of Ole Miss' NIL collective said the FBI searched the Rebels' football office for recording devices after former coach Lane Kiffin left for SEC rival LSU following the 2025 regular season.

Walker Jones, who co-founded the Grove Collective, told the "Assorted Crackers" podcast that the FBI searched for bugs in the football offices at the Manning Center once Kiffin bolted for LSU after guiding the Rebels to an 11-1 record in the regular season and their first CFP berth.

"We actually had the FBI come through and walk the building for bugs and for everything," Jones told the podcast. "We knew kind of what was in Baton Rouge, and we knew how they operated. I remember getting on my knees and looking underneath the desk, like checking for, 'Is there some sort of bug in my office?'"

When asked why he was looking under his desk, said Jones: "Trust me, you don't know this guy [Kiffin] like I do."

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 24/08/2026

Here are some of the declines in international student applications and enrollment revealed in a lawsuit challenging new duration of status regulations that would limit the ability to offer some programs of study and create administrative bloat on campus. www.insidehighered.com/news/global/...

Institution Grinnell College
Enrollment data 15.8 percentage point decline in international student yield from fall 2023 to fall 2026
Institution University of Illinois Chicago
Enrollment data 50 percent decline in admitted international students over historic levels
Institution University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Enrollment data 25.1 percent decline in international graduate applicants from 2025 to 2026 cycle
Institution University of Maryland, Baltimore
Enrollment data 37.9 percent decline in new international student enrollment from fall 2024 to fall 2025. Thirty-two students admitted for fall 2026 have withdrawn applications, and 14 have requested to defer their admission.
Institution University of Maryland, College Park
Enrollment data anticipated 30 percent decline in new international graduate students year over year
Institution University of Wisconsin–Madison
Enrollment data 10.9 percent year-over-year decline in undergraduate applications, and 27 percent year-over-year decline in graduate applications. Five undergraduate students who put down deposits have since withdrawn.
Institution University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
Enrollment data 42 percent decrease in applications, 29 percent decrease in admissions and 38.7 percent decrease in enrollments year over year

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 21/08/2026

Today's Federal Register features a host of proposed changes to how ED issues grant proposals and reviews submissions. One key item is allowing for competitive preference for institutions that go below their federally negotiated indirect cost rate. www.federalregister.gov/public-inspe...

Proposed changes to § 75.228, which would allow the Secretary to give
competitive preference to applicants who charge lower indirect costs than their negotiated
rate, would provide the Department with greater flexibility to ensure that Federal funds
are directed toward the activities and outcomes most central to a program’s purpose. This
authority would enable the Department to give competitive preference in competitions for
applicants who charge lower indirect costs, based on the unique objectives and design of
individual grant programs, particularly where program goals are best advanced by
maximizing resources available for direct services, evidence-based interventions,
capacity-building activities, or other programmatic investments. By establishing the
competitive preference in the application notice, applicants would have clear expectations
before applying, promoting consistency, fairness, and informed budgeting across all
competitors. This flexibility would also strengthen the Department’s stewardship of
Federal funds by allowing it to align funding structures with program objectives and
ensure that available resources are used as effectively as possible to achieve intended
outcomes.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 20/08/2026

A new report states that the number of full-time staff fell by seven percent between 2024 and 2025. That seems reasonable. But I'm baffled by an estimated increase in tenure-line faculty of seven percent--the largest increase in at least a decade. www.chronicle.com/article/coll...

Robert Kelchen, a professor and head of the department of educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, said that while the decline in the number of staff was notable and expected given the sector’s uncertainty in the last couple of years, the increase in tenure-track faculty numbers was very surprising and “seems almost implausible.”

During such times of uncertainty, one would expect to see non-tenure-track faculty numbers grow more than tenure-track, Kelchen said. “The only possible explanation for this is these were searches that were well under way and almost completed by the time that DOGE came to research funding in February 2025. That could explain some of it.”
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Kelchen was also surprised by how much the numbers for faculty and staff diverged over the course of a year. “I don’t have an explanation for that,” he said.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 19/08/2026

PhD recipients from the biggest research universities are economic engines in their local communities. Major cutbacks in enrollment (which will likely continue next fall, too) will contribute to slower GDP growth due to reduced innovation. www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...

Another response has been to pull back investment in young talent. Major American research universities admitted 15% fewer students to Ph.D. programs this fall compared with a year earlier, according to data from 55 universities that are members of the Association of American Universities. It marks the second consecutive year of substantial reduction for doctoral programs.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 15/08/2026

To celebrate school starting and my kids' love of waffles, I splurged on a hotel-style waffle maker. 10/10, would recommend.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 13/08/2026

St. Michael's College in Vermont received permission from a court to lift restrictions on how it spends $30 million of its remaining endowment funds. It can make sense to use all available funds for one last big effort to change, but it's often a red flag. www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2...

Though college officials have alluded to the endowment as a financial backstop, Plumb has not mentioned the petition to tap restricted funds in his recent public communications. That’s not surprising, said Robert Kelchen, a professor of higher education at the University of Tennessee who studies college finances.

Struggling schools “are generally not advertising that they're pulling out of their endowment,” he said.

While the move is often a last resort, Kelchen said St. Michael’s decision may be reasonable if it supports a realistic turnaround strategy.

“The question is,” he said, “Is their plan actually reasonable?”

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 12/08/2026

I'm in my fourth consecutive weekday of retreats, so it's time to have my annual Mello Yello.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 12/08/2026

This is about how much big-time athletics programs are paying running backs (a midtier position), not university presidents. Football spending in the Power Four is truly remarkable. www.espn.com/college-foot...

"I think $500,000 to $600,000 is the sweet spot for a lot of teams where they can get a really good one and they don't feel like they're overpaying too much," one agent said.

Multiple Big Ten staffers surveyed by ESPN said they believe the top of the market is between $1 million and $1.2 million. The 2027 recruiting class could raise that bar.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 12/08/2026

It's often hard to reuse college campuses (especially in rural areas), but I'm a big believer in the value of place. www.google.com/amp/s/www.cs...

“Just the act of interacting with others on challenging topics does wonders to develop remarkable people,” says Robert Kelchen, professor and head of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 11/08/2026

It's been a full week of meetings already, so time to open up a can of the good stuff.

A can of Bush's apple pie baked beans. A Tennessee tradition since...last month?

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 09/08/2026

Just because it's possible doesn't mean that it should be done. However, it does make me want to go back and watch the Simple Life show from two decades ago.

An Alexa ad for kitchen cookware sets by Paris Hilton.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 09/08/2026

I'm not a fan of receiving this targeted ad. Yes, my back is stiff and I used a BlackBerry for a decade, but come on!

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 03/08/2026

Today marks the start of my sixth year as a faculty member at UTK, my second term as department head here, and my fourteenth year as a professor overall. I'm getting grayer by the year, but am still having a lot of fun.

Me starting year six here, quite a bit grayer but still happy.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 02/08/2026

Tonight was homemade pizza night, featuring sauce made from garden herbs and vegetables.

A sheet pan pizza with salami, homemade sauce, mozzarella cheese, and green peppers from the garden.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 29/07/2026

Well, this is quite a statement. Let's just say that I'm glad that my dating days were very limited and two decades ago. www.wsj.com/lifestyle/re...

But romance is different from other trackable behaviors like sleep or flatulence. Some love gurus say there is an element of humanity that can get lost in the spreadsheet cells.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 28/07/2026

This is quite a nugget in a deep dive into feuding conservative factions in Florida public higher education. This piece is well worth your time to read. www.chronicle.com/article/flor...

One of Bell’s most valuable advocates was an unlikely political surrogate: Nick Saban, the famed Crimson Tide football coach who has golfed with Trump and DeSantis at the president’s West Palm Beach club.

Saban had worked alongside Bell throughout much of his presidency in Tuscaloosa and immediately vouched for him when UF announced his candidacy, assuring Gator Nation in the university’s news statement that Bell had been “in the locker room after almost every game,” and was a committed supporter of athletics. Praise like that from sports royalty goes a long way in a town like Gainesville, where football wins account for a sizable chunk of the Gator-in-chief’s report card.

The coach’s involvement extended far beyond a testimonial. After Linda McMahon, the U.S. education secretary, publicly questioned Bell’s candidacy, Saban privately contacted the White House to make Bell’s case, according to three Republicans familiar with the discussions. It remains unclear whom Saban spoke with or whether the appeal directly influenced the administration’s response. Whatever role it played, McMahon never publicly revisited the issue.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 25/07/2026

I talked with the Associated Press about Howard's decision to drop 502 incoming students who had not paid their registration fees on time. apnews.com/article/howa...

Robert Kelchen, a professor of higher education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, said colleges generally try to walk a fine line in making sure students can enroll, but also making sure students pay their bills.

Howard “either had students who owed a lot of money and they didn’t think a lot of students would pay, or potentially, they have a really big incoming class and they can replace those students,” Kelchen said.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 22/07/2026

A new survey of parents finds that most want their kids to pursue some type of education after high school, although they're worried about affordability. And that "job training or certification" category? That's largely done by higher education. www.insidehighered.com/news/student...

A chart summarizing what parents want for their kids right after graduating high school.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 19/07/2026

There are few things more enjoyable than finishing up mowing (team reel mower!) at sunset.

Zinnias, marigolds, and other flowers enjoy a steamy July evening.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 18/07/2026

I enjoy being there for my kids as much as possible while also juggling my day job. It's also why I'm in no hurry to move up the administrative ladder. www.wsj.com/lifestyle/re...

Potty-training consultants, who work intensively with toddlers over several days, charge anywhere from $600 to $4,500. Private bike-riding lessons, the kind of thing many parents handle on a Saturday afternoon, can run $80 to $450 per session. Don’t want to pack your kids up for summer camp? You can hire someone for $125 an hour. For families who want full-time dedicated staff, a travel nanny costs $120,000 to $170,000 a year; a private governess, a tutor who blends academics with social development, can today reach $200,000.

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 17/07/2026

My research (coming out soon!) finds that colleges try to preserve faculty positions when making cuts. Cutting staff is still painful, but it's the most politically expedient option. Gift link. www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...

Colleges and universities nationwide face a battery of financial challenges, from federal research cuts to declining student populations. Schools are trying to become more flexible as workforce and student needs grow more unpredictable, said Robert Kelchen, a professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville who specializes in education finances. Administrative and support-staff jobs are “the least painful area to cut,” he said.

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