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

Universities can build all the AI infrastructure they want, but if faculty aren't on board, none of it lands in the classroom. Recent surveys make clear what many academic leaders already sense but rarely say out loud: there's a real and widening divide between faculty skepticism and administrative impatience on AI. The question isn't who's right. It's how you close the gap. In this episode, Jeff and Michael explore this topic with Pradeep Khosla (Chancellor, University of California, San Diego), Sonya Christian (Chancellor, California Community College System), and James Frazee (VP and CIO, San Diego State University). This episode is made with support from Google.

0:00 - Episode Trailer
2:20 - Intro
3:36 - Why Are Students Both Using, and Booing AI?
6:10 - How Should College Leaders Talk About AI?
10:05 - Is Inconsistency in AI Policy a Feature or a Bug?
12:52 - Using Data to Drive Faculty Discussions on AI
14:33 - Invest in People, Not Just Tools
16:33 - Helping Faculty Feel Safe to Try AI
20:24 - Can Colleges Afford AI In Times of Budget Crisis?
23:26 - Encouraging All Disciplines to Try AI
26:30 - Do Professors Trust Administrators on AI?
30:14 - Sponsor Break
30:44 - AI’s Impact on the Value of the Degree
34:48 - How is AI Really Impacting the Job Market?
38:08 - The Future of Assessment
42:38 - Does Traditional Faculty Governance Work for AI?
45:46 - What Professors Do That AI Can’t
46:41 - When Industry Moves Faster Than Education
49:12 - The Importance of Faculty Development in AI
52:15 - Closing Thoughts on AI at Colleges

“AI Is Routine for College Students, Despite Campus Limits,” Lumina | Gallup.

AI in Action video series at California State University System.

“Cal State students widely use AI tools, but mistrust results and fear job impact,” in EdSource.

Higher ed has spent four years managing AI through policies, restrictions, and isolated pilots. That approach bought time, but is time running out? Students are caught in a patchwork of incoherent expectations, and the labor market is shifting faster than the curriculum. In this episode featuring Andrea Goldsmith (President, Stony Brook University), Klara Jelinkova (VP and CIO, Harvard University), and Sandra Loughlin (Chief Learning Scientist, EPAM Systems), Jeff and Michael dig into what colleges can do to move from fragmented experimentation to a coherent, campus-wide AI strategy that preserves the right level of friction for students. This episode is made with support from Google for Education.

0:00 - Intro
4:33 - Should Colleges Forge More Coherent AI Policies?
9:29 - What Are the Cost and Benefits of the Patchwork Approach to AI?
12:06 - A Case for a Coherent AI Strategy at Colleges
15:33 - A Case Against Standardization in AI
18:08 - How Can College Leaders Measure AI Progress?
20:46 - The Importance of Stopping Some AI Pilots
20:24 - How to Make Decisions When AI Changes So Rapidly
23:59 - Sponsor Break
24:29 - Should Colleges Build, Buy, or Partner on AI
27:54 - Should Undergrads Learn AI From Day 1?
31:41 - What Research Shows About AI and Learning
34:12 - Convincing Students to Build Human Skills
38:49 - Do Selective Colleges Need to Change?
41:24 - How Can Colleges Show They Teach Durable Skills?
43:50 - Is Higher Ed Ready to Fully Assess Learning?
46:26 - How Will Colleges Deal With the Costs of AI?
48:26 - AI Could Help Some Colleges Leapfrog Others
50:50 - Colleges That Get AI Right Will …
52:15 - Closing Thoughts on AI at Colleges

“Why College Could Matter More than Ever in the AI Era,” by Michael Horn.

We’re kicking off our tenth season of Future U. And as a new school year gets underway, Jeff and Michael reflect on a slew of pressing issues facing higher ed. Forget the idea that every college has to be comprehensive. The new challenge for every college will be deciding what to offer and how to sell their value to increasingly skeptical students and parents. And college leaders must also contend with new directives from the Education Department, what to do about AI, a growing loneliness crisis on campus, and more. This episode is made with support from Ascendium Education Group.

0:00 - Intro
2:17 - Four Tests Colleges Should Have for Offering a Degree
8:16 - The Challenge of Measuring Student Outcomes
10:33 - Facing the Realities of the One Big Beautiful Bill
13:00 - Is Coherence in AI Policy a Bug or a Feature?
18:10 - MIT’s ‘Clarion Call’ About AI
19:51 - Cheating Is Not the Problem
21:02 - Is College Still Worth It?
24:30 - College Is More Than Just Classes
27:47 - Unpacking the Linda McMahon Letter
29:50 - Colleges Try to Be Clearer About Price
30:54 - Can AI Reduce Administrative Costs?
32:16 - But Aren’t Students Still Clamoring to Go to College?
35:31 - Is Dual Enrollment the Answer?
38:41 - A Growing Student Loneliness Crisis
40:26 - Will the University of California Bring Back the SAT?
41:41 - Previewing Future Episodes

“Leading Faculty in an AI Era,” by Jeff Selingo.

“From Programs to Payoff,” by Jeff Selingo.

“The Value of Live in a World of Abundant AI,” by Michael Horn on Substack.

“For Those Who Think Earnings Premium Accountability Started With OBBB,” by Phil Hill in OnEdTech.

“AI can now credibly complete most undergraduate assignments, MIT warns,” in The Washington Post.

“McMahon’s ‘National Call to Action’ Draws Measured Response From Higher Education,” in US News and World Report.

“UC Expedites Timeline for Determining Whether to Restore Testing Requirement,” in Inside Higher Ed.

“Even College Students Have Stopped Hanging Out,” in The Atlantic.