Melik Khoury is the rare college president whose essay about higher ed went viral. He argued that while college leaders and professors tell themselves their mission is about students, the governance structures and incentives instead serve its workforce. On this episode, Jeff and Michael talk with Khoury about his work transforming the institution he leads, Unity Environmental University. And they hear the challenges he faced in a sector where people often assume that tradition is regulation. This episode is made with support from Ascendium Education Group.

0:00 - Intro
2:00 - A Turnaround Story at Unity
4:42 - Colleges Are Designed to Serve Employees, Not Students
TKTK - What Sparked a Viral Essay About College Structures
9:03 - How Unity Changed Its Model
13:57 - Can Other Colleges Easily Follow Unity’s Example?
16:20 - When to Stop an Experiment That Isn’t Working
19:17 - Higher Ed Is At a Crossroads
21:58 - How Will AI Change Higher Ed?
26:40 - When Tradition Seems Like Regulation
32:30 - Leaders Are Unprepared for Change
34:40 - Colleges Need Bold Action
37:15 - Presidents Should Use Their Skills As Educators to Sell Change
40:40 - The Best College Leaders Are Leaning In On AI
43:56 - Wrap-Up

“The Lie at the Center of Higher Education,” by Melik Khoury on Substack.

“The Library Card Fallacy,” by Melik Khoury on Substack.

“We Outgrew the Butterfly. Now We Are Building an Octopus,” by Melik Khoury on Substack.

“Reimagining the Academy: Unity Environmental University on Breaking the Higher Ed Mold,” in AcOps Magazine.

A donor recently gave $3 billion to Carnegie Mellon University, in part to build a new campus in Florida. It’s just the latest example of colleges staking out new territory far from their main campuses. Jeff and Michael give their analysis of the trend, as they reflect on a range of recent developments in higher education. Other topics this episode include the enrollment crisis at Syracuse University, a report out of Cornell on the purpose of the university, and how colleges can balance academic rigor and student success. This episode is made with support from Ascendium Education Group.

0:00 - Intro
1:56 - What Should Students Still Have to Work Through?
6:39 - Balancing Mastery Learning and AI
9:55 - Knowing When to Bring In AI
10:49 - Rethinking Assessment
12:12 - A Case Study on Northeastern’s Co-Op Program
18:57 - Geography’s Increasingly Role In Higher Ed
26:03 - Colleges Face New ‘Enterprise Risks’
30:34 - Sponsor Break
31:17 - Colleges Look to Clarify Their Purpose
27:31 - Do Colleges Really Prepare Students for Jobs?
35:26 - Judgement Requires Knowledge
38:14 - Moving ‘Beyond Silos’
41:33 - Making Pathways Dependable
43:51 - Wrap-Up

“Northeastern University: A New Model for Higher Education?,” Harvard Business School cast study.

“Why some universities are gobbling up campuses all over the place,” by Michael Horn in The Boston Globe.

“After Missing Its Enrollment Goal, Syracuse is Questioning Everything,” in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

“MIT’s Ad Hoc Committee on AI Use in Teaching, Learning, and Research Training Report,” by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“The State of Higher Education 2026,” by Jeff Selingo.

“The Future of the American University,” a report from Cornell University.

For this season’s roundtable with leading higher ed reporters, Jeff and Michael focused around a key question: What are insiders at colleges missing about the changing public perception of the sector? Our guests — Hilary Burns of The Boston Globe and Jay Caspian Kang of The New Yorker — both offered a sobering critique that might surprise some college leaders. The reporters also wondered whether the traditional business model could hold up to mounting financial pressures. This episode is made with support from Ascendium Education Group.

0:00 - Introduction
2:19 - What Insiders Miss About the Moment in Higher Ed
5:25 - Higher Ed Stories That Spark the Most Feedback
11:18 - Will College Continue to Be Worth It?
14:20 - Are Co-ops a Fad or a Lasting Trend?
17:53 - A ‘Flashing Red Light’ for Higher Ed
21:04 - ‘These Towns Would Be Really Boring’
22:12 - The State of Higher Ed in New England
24:06 - The Continuing Lure of College
38.12 - What’s Coming for Higher Ed?
31:00 - A Looming Reckoning for Boston Colleges?
32:56 - What’s Happening With International Students?
34:09 - How Research Cuts Will Impact Colleges
34:53 - Is the Era of Colleges for Exploration and Ideas Over?

College Town newsletter, from The Boston Globe.

“The Reason Dozens of Mass. Colleges Could Close (Hint: It's Not Trump),” by Hilary Burns, in The Boston Globe.

“The Despair of the Professor in the Age of AI,” by Jay Caspian Kang in The New Yorker.

“Higher Ed Leaders Fear International Students Will Stop Coming Amid Research Cuts,” by Hilary Burns, in The Boston Globe.

“Will A.I. Make College Obsolete? / Eight Predictions,” by Jay Caspian Kang, in The New Yorker