Marjorie Valbrun

The delays and calculation errors that are the hallmarks of the FAFSA debacle have thrown a monkey wrench in the college plans of thousands of recent high school grads and left them confused about whether or not they will get federal financial aid, and if so, how much. "I’m running around in circles to figure out what I’m supposed to do," said one student. A scholarship director described the mess as “a cruel joke with a never-ending spiral.” Check out our excellent reporting project, Faces of the FAFSA Fiasco, to watch the students provide frustrating firsthand accounts of the personal impact of this major federal agency fail. insidehighered.com/news/students/…

“Being Jewish is core to my identity... My family has experienced antisemitism, and so claims by some that I have collaborated with antisemitic people feel like personal affronts.” - Michael Schill on leading Northwestern U. during the student protests. insidehighered.com/news/governanc…

College leaders probably can't wait for the academic year to end. Student protests are getting uglier and more bellicose. Officials are loosing patience. Angry, emotional students mixing it up with aggressive campus cops seems like a recipe for trouble. insidehighered.com/news/students/…

Tabassum said she's shocked and "profoundly disappointed that the University is succumbing to a campaign of hate meant to silence my voice. I am not surprised by those who attempt to propagate hatred. I am surprised that my own university—my home for four years—has abandoned me.”

Asna Tabassum, USC's 2024 valedictorian who happens to be Muslim, won't be speaking at this year's commencement. USC officials cancelled her speech for "security reasons" and the "alarming tenor” of discussions about her selection as valedictorian. insidehighered.com/news/quick-tak…

Are plagiarism charges increasingly being weaponized against black scholars, especially black women in top administrative positions? Some academics think so. One blames "the poisonous patriarchy of higher education" and says it should be taken seriously. insidehighered.com/news/faculty-i…

The Biden campaign has its work cut out for it this election cycle. The strong support he got from black college students in 2020 isn't guaranteed this year, especially among HBCU students unhappy about his backing of Israel and the war in Gaza. insidehighered.com/news/instituti…

Fallout from the suicide of a Lincoln Univ. of Missouri administrator continues. Some alumni and students are angry the univ. prez was reinstated after being put on leave amid allegations that he bullied the administrator. An external review cleared him. insidehighered.com/news/workplace…

A sting operation by a Florida college illustrates how increased institutional reliance on third-party, web-based proctoring services present new, high-tech opportunities for college students to cheat – and to be blackmailed. insidehighered.com/news/students/…

Complaints by some Spellman women about sexual assaults by some Morehouse men are persistent. So are allegations that neither college is taking the problem seriously and are more interested in protecting the image of black men and Morehouse's reputation. insidehighered.com/news/students/…

A congressman's threat to withhold federal funding if Indiana U. doesn’t investigate reports of antisemitism on campus didn't go over well with faculty members. They saw it as a veiled attempt to limit academic freedom and politicize a sensitive issue. insidehighered.com/news/faculty-i…

But the center, and the university, have plenty of other "issues" with which to contend, including questions about BU’s commitment to DEI and whether the center gives it cover for “having optics of inclusivity but not actual practice of inclusivity.”

An internal audit of the expenditures of BU's anti-racist center "found no issues" with how finances were handled and refutes allegations of financial mismanagement by Ibram Kendi. insidehighered.com/news/diversity…

Thanks for the shout out @RepDotieJoseph. Congratulations to you too.

It attracted pilgrims from far and wide, and now it appears that religious copy cats at a few secular colleges are following suit. insidehighered.com/quicktakes/202…

Mixing religion and education is normal practice at Christian colleges, as is attending church services. But what happened at Asbury University over the past two weeks was far from normal. insidehighered.com/news/2023/03/0…

When NIMBYism stands on principle and past & present police practices. insidehighered.com/news/2023/02/1…

It's an understatement to call Mein Kampf a problematic book given its “rabid antisemitism.” But some Stanford students were troubled by a classmate's selfie of her reading the book, and according to some interpretation, seeming not to take it seriously. insidehighered.com/news/2023/01/3…

Belmont University, which solely employed Christian faculty members, plans to hire some Jewish professors. Supporters say the decision will promote religious inclusion at the institution. Critics believe it either goes too far or not far enough. insidehighered.com/news/2023/01/1…

Community colleges gained dual enrollment students but lost recent high school grads and adult learners at high rates in the first two years of the pandemic, according to a recent analysis of federal enrollment data. insidehighered.com/news/2023/01/1…