Student Affairs NOW Current Campus Context: Reflections, Tensions, and Hopes for Higher Ed
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Aug 20, 2025 In this insightful discussion, Dr. Felecia Commodore, an expert on leadership in education, Dr. Brendan Cantwell, who focuses on higher education policy, and Dr. Demetri L. Morgan, specializing in student activism, tackle the pressing issues in higher ed today. They reflect on recent governance changes and the accountability needed for underrepresented communities. The trio delves into funding challenges, political dynamics affecting international students, and evolving student expectations, emphasizing collaboration and dialogue among university leaders.
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Funding And International Student Shockwaves
- NSF and NIH grant cancellations are reshaping institutional fiscal models and will have long-term effects on research capacity.
- International student policy shifts and enforcement actions are reducing enrollments and straining campus finances and community diversity.
Policy Changes That Reshape Student Debt
- The recent major reconciliation bill tightens student loan forgiveness and caps graduate borrowing, altering access to graduate and professional education.
- These changes will likely reduce public support for higher ed and strain states' budgets, pressuring public institutions.
Coordinated Policy Playbooks Emerge
- Think tanks and manifestos (e.g., Manhattan Institute, Project 2025) are explicitly using sector destabilization to advance alternative higher-ed models.
- Political appointee moves and accreditation fights reveal coordinated strategy to reshape governance and policy levers.