Risk Management

Free Report: How Colleges Can Defend Against Cyberattacks

By Lee Gardner June 8, 2023

Colleges are under constant attack by hackers who grow more organized and sophisticated all the time. A successful defense requires vigilance, the right personnel, and resources.

Illustration depicting a megaphone meshed with an Ionic-style column

Speaking Out

Presidents Are Changing Their Tune on Free Speech

By David Jesse May 3, 2023

More college leaders are denouncing would-be censors on the left and the right. Why now?

A memorial for University of Arizona professor Thomas Meixner is seen outside the school's Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences building in Tucson, Ariz., on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. Authorities say Murad Dervish, a former graduate student accused of fatally shooting the professor on campus earlier this month, has been indicted on seven felony charges including first-degree murder. (Terry Tang, AP)

'Systemic Issues'

U. of Arizona Admits Failures Leading Up to Professor’s Death

By Kate Hidalgo Bellows and Sarah Brown March 27, 2023

The university’s president accepted responsibility for a series of institutional mistakes, shortly after the professor’s family filed a $9-million claim.

Karen Petree, left, a 2007 Baylor University graduate reads an open letter to the administration about the about improvements the school should make on handling sexual assaults, Friday, June 3, 2016, in Waco, Texas. The group held a moment of silence during the rally Un-silence the Survivors, where they read an open letter to the administration about improvements on how the school should handle sexual assaults.

Risk Management

Multimillion-Dollar Payouts Are on the Rise in Sexual-Misconduct Lawsuits. Colleges’ Insurers Have Had Enough.

By Elissa Welle March 1, 2023

As more victims accuse colleges of failing to protect them from abuse, higher ed is becoming the third rail of risk management.

Photo-based illustration featuring a politician on one side and transposed on the other side a teacher writing on a redacted whiteboard.

Campus Speech

‘This Is How Censorship Happens’

By Nell Gluckman February 2, 2023

How vague laws and heightened fears are creating a repressive climate on campus.

Flowers decorate a memorial for Thomas Meixner, who was fatally shot on campus

Assessing Threats

A Professor Was Killed While Walking to His Office. Faculty Say It Was an Institutional Failure.

By Kate Hidalgo Bellows February 1, 2023

A faculty committee at the University of Arizona criticized its “glaring” shortfalls in response to warning signs before a professor was shot and killed on campus last fall.

Students at a candlelight vigil to commemorate the lives of four Dartmouth College students who died during the 2020-21 academic year.

'A Complicated Balancing Act'

Colleges Face More Pressure to Keep Students With Mental-Health Conditions Enrolled

By Carolyn Kuimelis December 8, 2022

A new lawsuit against Yale University comes amid increased scrutiny of higher-ed policies for leaves of absence.

SAN JOSE, CA - DECEMBER 08: Katie Meyer #19 of the Stanford Cardinal defends the goal against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the Division I Women's Soccer Championship held at Avaya Stadium on December 8, 2019 in San Jose, California. Stanford defeated North Carolina in a shootout. (Jamie Schwaberow, NCAA Photos, Getty Images)

Due Process and Accountability

A ‘Reckless’ Disciplinary Process Contributed to Stanford Goalie’s Suicide, Lawsuit Says

By Sylvia Goodman November 28, 2022

Katie Meyer’s family accuses the university of “institutional bullying.” Stanford calls that charge “false and misleading.”

A law enforcement blocks access to the crime scene where 3 people were killed and 2 others wounded on the grounds of the University of Virginia on November 14, 2022 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The suspect is believed to be a student at the university and is still at large as the campus remains in a shelter in place lockdown.

Campus Safety

‘I’m So in Shock’: In One Day, UVA and U. of Idaho Are Rocked by Separate Tragedies

By Marcela Rodrigues and Sylvia Goodman November 14, 2022

At the University of Virginia, a student has been charged with murdering three others; at the University of Idaho, details remain murky on four student deaths.

Illustration showing a series of mortarboards getting smaller and smaller

Disappearing Students

The Shrinking of Higher Ed

By Karin Fischer August 12, 2022

In the past, colleges grew their way out of enrollment crises. This time looks different.