Tag: University

Practical Strategies for Interdisciplinary Teaching in Today’s University – Faculty Focus

Working in the College of Interdisciplinary Studies has shown me firsthand that our students face a world full of messy, tangled problems. Climate shifts, health crises, social divides, and tech changes do not fit neatly into one subject area. They need tools from many fields to tackle these issues. This teaching helps students blend ideas, think deeply across fields, and work well with people from varied backgrounds. Drawing from my experience teaching across subjects at Zayed University in Dubai, UAE, I want to share real ways teachers can build and run cross-subject courses that truly help students handle today’s complex world.

True interdisciplinary teaching goes beyond just putting different topics side by side. At our college, we have learned that it means weaving ideas, theories, and methods from many fields to examine a shared theme or question. This takes careful planning, a willingness to step outside your comfort zone, and a focus on working together. The aim is not to water down each subject but to strengthen them by showing how different ways of thinking can shed more light on tricky issues. I will share clear steps for building cross-subject courses, sparking talks across fields, checking how well students are blending ideas, and getting past common hurdles I have faced in my own teaching.

Building Interdisciplinary Courses: Choosing Scope and Mixing Knowledge

Creating a solid interdisciplinary course starts with a clear scope and thoughtful mixing of knowledge. In our college, we aim for courses where students see connections and blend insights rather than just stacking content from different fields. Often, this means finding a central theme, problem, or question that ties everything together. For example, a course on city growth might pull from earth science, social studies, money matters, and city planning. Choose fields that each add something vital to understanding your main topic. O’Sullivan (2025) suggests a “U-shaped learning” model for teaching across fields, focusing on two main skills: blending knowledge and putting it to work. This model shows learning as a path from understanding single subjects to gaining a mixed view that works in the real world.

Once you have set your central theme and chosen your fields, think about how to structure the course for sound mixing. In our college, we have succeeded in organizing units around sub-themes where different lenses are applied or using project-based learning where students work on complex problems that need input from many fields. Yang et al. (2024) studied adding interdisciplinary learning in nursing classes using games. They found this significantly boosted nursing students’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes, especially in talking with others, solving problems, and using what they learned. At our college, we map out how ideas from different fields will be introduced, how they relate, and how we will help students make these connections. This means readings from various fields, expert guest talks, or tasks that ask students to blend information from many sources.

Sparking Talks and Teamwork Across Fields

A sign of good interdisciplinary teaching is meaningful talk and teamwork among students from different backgrounds. In my classes, creating a space where students feel safe sharing ideas from their fields and respectfully engaging with different views is crucial. Teachers must be skilled guides, steering talks, handling conflicts, and helping students find common ground. Ways to boost cross-field talk include structured debates on complex issues, small group work with students from different fields, or case studies that need multiple viewpoints. The U-shaped learning model from O’Sullivan (2025) backs this kind of team learning since building people skills helps blend knowledge and put it to use.

Team projects have proven powerful for interdisciplinary learning. When students from different fields work on a shared problem, they must talk across subject lines, work through various approaches, and blend their varied skills and knowledge. Yang et al. (2024) found that mixing social service with cross-field learning in nursing exposed students to diverse challenges, which boosted their communication and problem-solving skills. In our interdisciplinary courses, we structure projects, so students take roles based on their field expertise while ensuring everyone helps blend the knowledge. Clear guidelines for group work, ways to handle conflicts, and checking individual work and group results are essential for successful interdisciplinary projects.

Checking How Well Students Blend Ideas

Checking student learning in an interdisciplinary course brings special challenges, as the goal is to test knowledge of single subjects and the ability to blend and use information from many fields. In our college, old testing methods, like exams on facts from one field, do not work well. Instead, we use assessments that show students’ ability to think critically, analyze deeply, and use mixed knowledge on complex problems. Examples include projects, research papers that blend sources from many fields, talks on solutions to real-world problems that use diverse views, or creating things (like policy briefs, design models, and media projects) that show mixed understanding. Yang et al. (2024) used number measures (tests before and after) and quality analysis of students’ thought journals to check course effectiveness and learning outcomes across fields.

Reflection also helps check interdisciplinary learning in our college. We ask students to think about their learning process, their challenges in mixing different views, and how their understanding has changed. This shows how they are developing cross-field skills. O’Sullivan (2025) notes that learning across fields involves building inner skills. Reflection tasks can help students develop these skills by pushing them to think deeply about their learning and the value of different field approaches. When creating assessments, our faculty ensure the scoring rubrics clearly state expectations and give students chances to show their skills meaningfully.

Wrapping Up

Crossing the space between fields through good interdisciplinary teaching is essential for preparing students to handle today’s complex world. By carefully designing courses that focus on mixing knowledge, sparking rich talk and teamwork, and using fitting assessment methods, teachers can create life-changing learning experiences. The insights from research on interdisciplinary learning models (O’Sullivan, 2025) and the proven benefits of mixed approaches in fields like nursing (Yang et al., 2024) offer valuable guidance. While interdisciplinary teaching brings unique challenges, the rewards of boosting students’ critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork skills are tremendous. In our College of Interdisciplinary Studies, we have seen how these practical methods create a complete learning setting, giving power to the next wave of thinkers and leaders who will tackle our world’s most pressing challenges.

Dr. Zeina Hojeij is a Professor at the College of Interdisciplinary Studies at Zayed University, where she has served since 2013, specializing in educational leadership and administration. With a doctorate in Educational Leadership from Saint Louis University, USA, and extensive experience in academic administration, she has held several key leadership positions, including Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Academic Director for the General Education Program. A certified UAE Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA) Reviewer and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Prof. Hojeij combines her expertise in curriculum development with a strong research portfolio, having secured over 2 million AED in research grants over the past 10 years. Her research focuses on educational technology, leadership development, and teaching innovation. She has taught and coordinated undergraduate and graduate courses in Education and interdisciplinary education while maintaining a ten-year commitment to teacher mentoring with the Al Jalila Foundation. She holds multiple professional certifications, including Blackboard Certified Associate, Accredited Facilitator, Certified Online Instructor, and CELTA & CELTYL certifications. Her dedication to educational innovation is further evidenced by her recent Harvard Business School Online Design Thinking and Innovation certification. Fluent in English, Arabic, and French, Prof. Hojeij brings a global perspective to her work in advancing educational excellence, regularly presenting at international conferences and publishing in peer-reviewed journals.

References

O’Sullivan, G. (2025). U-shaped learning: A new model for transdisciplinary education. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12(182). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04478-8

Yang, B.-H., Lo, K.-W., Li, Y.-S., & Chao, K.-Y. (2024). Effects of integration interdisciplinary learning on student learning outcomes and healthcare-giving competence: A mixed methods study. BMC Nursing, 23(583). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-02260-w

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July 18, 2025
Practical Strategies for Interdisciplinary Teaching in Today’s University – Faculty Focus

Working in the College of Interdisciplinary Studies has shown me firsthand that our students face a world full of messy, tangled problems. Climate shifts, health crises, social divides, and tech changes do not fit neatly into one subject area. They need tools from many fields to tackle these issues. This teaching helps students blend ideas, think deeply across fields, and work well with people from varied backgrounds. Drawing from my experience teaching across subjects at Zayed University in Dubai, UAE, I want to share real ways teachers can build and run cross-subject courses that truly help students handle today’s complex world.

True interdisciplinary teaching goes beyond just putting different topics side by side. At our college, we have learned that it means weaving ideas, theories, and methods from many fields to examine a shared theme or question. This takes careful planning, a willingness to step outside your comfort zone, and a focus on working together. The aim is not to water down each subject but to strengthen them by showing how different ways of thinking can shed more light on tricky issues. I will share clear steps for building cross-subject courses, sparking talks across fields, checking how well students are blending ideas, and getting past common hurdles I have faced in my own teaching.

Building Interdisciplinary Courses: Choosing Scope and Mixing Knowledge

Creating a solid interdisciplinary course starts with a clear scope and thoughtful mixing of knowledge. In our college, we aim for courses where students see connections and blend insights rather than just stacking content from different fields. Often, this means finding a central theme, problem, or question that ties everything together. For example, a course on city growth might pull from earth science, social studies, money matters, and city planning. Choose fields that each add something vital to understanding your main topic. O’Sullivan (2025) suggests a “U-shaped learning” model for teaching across fields, focusing on two main skills: blending knowledge and putting it to work. This model shows learning as a path from understanding single subjects to gaining a mixed view that works in the real world.

Once you have set your central theme and chosen your fields, think about how to structure the course for sound mixing. In our college, we have succeeded in organizing units around sub-themes where different lenses are applied or using project-based learning where students work on complex problems that need input from many fields. Yang et al. (2024) studied adding interdisciplinary learning in nursing classes using games. They found this significantly boosted nursing students’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes, especially in talking with others, solving problems, and using what they learned. At our college, we map out how ideas from different fields will be introduced, how they relate, and how we will help students make these connections. This means readings from various fields, expert guest talks, or tasks that ask students to blend information from many sources.

Sparking Talks and Teamwork Across Fields

A sign of good interdisciplinary teaching is meaningful talk and teamwork among students from different backgrounds. In my classes, creating a space where students feel safe sharing ideas from their fields and respectfully engaging with different views is crucial. Teachers must be skilled guides, steering talks, handling conflicts, and helping students find common ground. Ways to boost cross-field talk include structured debates on complex issues, small group work with students from different fields, or case studies that need multiple viewpoints. The U-shaped learning model from O’Sullivan (2025) backs this kind of team learning since building people skills helps blend knowledge and put it to use.

Team projects have proven powerful for interdisciplinary learning. When students from different fields work on a shared problem, they must talk across subject lines, work through various approaches, and blend their varied skills and knowledge. Yang et al. (2024) found that mixing social service with cross-field learning in nursing exposed students to diverse challenges, which boosted their communication and problem-solving skills. In our interdisciplinary courses, we structure projects, so students take roles based on their field expertise while ensuring everyone helps blend the knowledge. Clear guidelines for group work, ways to handle conflicts, and checking individual work and group results are essential for successful interdisciplinary projects.

Checking How Well Students Blend Ideas

Checking student learning in an interdisciplinary course brings special challenges, as the goal is to test knowledge of single subjects and the ability to blend and use information from many fields. In our college, old testing methods, like exams on facts from one field, do not work well. Instead, we use assessments that show students’ ability to think critically, analyze deeply, and use mixed knowledge on complex problems. Examples include projects, research papers that blend sources from many fields, talks on solutions to real-world problems that use diverse views, or creating things (like policy briefs, design models, and media projects) that show mixed understanding. Yang et al. (2024) used number measures (tests before and after) and quality analysis of students’ thought journals to check course effectiveness and learning outcomes across fields.

Reflection also helps check interdisciplinary learning in our college. We ask students to think about their learning process, their challenges in mixing different views, and how their understanding has changed. This shows how they are developing cross-field skills. O’Sullivan (2025) notes that learning across fields involves building inner skills. Reflection tasks can help students develop these skills by pushing them to think deeply about their learning and the value of different field approaches. When creating assessments, our faculty ensure the scoring rubrics clearly state expectations and give students chances to show their skills meaningfully.

Wrapping Up

Crossing the space between fields through good interdisciplinary teaching is essential for preparing students to handle today’s complex world. By carefully designing courses that focus on mixing knowledge, sparking rich talk and teamwork, and using fitting assessment methods, teachers can create life-changing learning experiences. The insights from research on interdisciplinary learning models (O’Sullivan, 2025) and the proven benefits of mixed approaches in fields like nursing (Yang et al., 2024) offer valuable guidance. While interdisciplinary teaching brings unique challenges, the rewards of boosting students’ critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork skills are tremendous. In our College of Interdisciplinary Studies, we have seen how these practical methods create a complete learning setting, giving power to the next wave of thinkers and leaders who will tackle our world’s most pressing challenges.

Dr. Zeina Hojeij is a Professor at the College of Interdisciplinary Studies at Zayed University, where she has served since 2013, specializing in educational leadership and administration. With a doctorate in Educational Leadership from Saint Louis University, USA, and extensive experience in academic administration, she has held several key leadership positions, including Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Academic Director for the General Education Program. A certified UAE Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA) Reviewer and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Prof. Hojeij combines her expertise in curriculum development with a strong research portfolio, having secured over 2 million AED in research grants over the past 10 years. Her research focuses on educational technology, leadership development, and teaching innovation. She has taught and coordinated undergraduate and graduate courses in Education and interdisciplinary education while maintaining a ten-year commitment to teacher mentoring with the Al Jalila Foundation. She holds multiple professional certifications, including Blackboard Certified Associate, Accredited Facilitator, Certified Online Instructor, and CELTA & CELTYL certifications. Her dedication to educational innovation is further evidenced by her recent Harvard Business School Online Design Thinking and Innovation certification. Fluent in English, Arabic, and French, Prof. Hojeij brings a global perspective to her work in advancing educational excellence, regularly presenting at international conferences and publishing in peer-reviewed journals.

References

O’Sullivan, G. (2025). U-shaped learning: A new model for transdisciplinary education. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12(182). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04478-8

Yang, B.-H., Lo, K.-W., Li, Y.-S., & Chao, K.-Y. (2024). Effects of integration interdisciplinary learning on student learning outcomes and healthcare-giving competence: A mixed methods study. BMC Nursing, 23(583). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-02260-w

Source link

July 18, 2025
Closed Limestone University Owes Students Money

Limestone University, which shuttered abruptly in May after years of financial woes and a failed fundraising effort, owes nearly $400,000 to students affected by the closure, The State reported.

Tuition refunds reportedly promised by university officials have not yet been disbursed.

Altogether, Limestone owes $381,405 to 281 students, according to a report submitted to the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education by a consulting firm managing the university’s assets. A representative from that firm, Aurora Management Partners, declined to tell the newspaper when students may be reimbursed, noting that their agreement was confidential.

While students are due an average of more than $1,350 each, some are owed more.

Michael Thielen, a former graduate student affected by the closure, told the newspaper that Limestone owes him more than $4,000, but he hasn’t heard from officials in almost two months. He bemoaned the university’s lack of accountability and transparency.

“Everyone has washed their hands of this,” Thielen said.

The private Christian university was one of the more jarring closures of the year, given how quickly it folded amid clear warning signs of financial distress, as noted in its latest audit.

In April, Limestone officials punted on the closure decision, indicating they were in talks for a $6 million lifeline that would keep the university open. But that funding source never materialized, prompting a reversal from leadership and the abrupt closure of the 180-year-old institution.

Former employees also sued Limestone recently over how it handled mass layoffs.

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July 17, 2025
Morningside University to Absorb St. Luke’s College

Morningside University in Iowa is absorbing nearby St. Luke’s College, officials announced.

St. Luke’s, which is focused on nursing and other health-care professions, is part of Unity Point Health, a hospital system with locations in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. It will merge with Morningside in a deal that is expected to be finalized in late 2026, pending regulatory approvals.

The two institutions have previously collaborated on bachelor’s degrees in radiologic technology and respiratory therapy, according to the announcement. Now Morningside will expand its health-related degree offerings as part of the merger, adding associate degrees in the above fields, an associate of science in nursing and an accelerated bachelor of science in nursing.

Morningside, the larger of the two institutions, enrolled 2,056 students last fall. Nursing is one of the university’s most popular majors with 113 students in that field, according to its fact book.

“Our commitment to excellence in nursing education is stronger than ever as we prepare to greet the talented students of St. Luke’s College,” said Jackie Barber, dean of the Nylen School of Nursing and Health Sciences at Morningside, in a news release. “We are excited to expand our program and offer these students support to help their academic journeys.”

Morningside interim president Chad Benson called the merger “pivotal” for the nursing program.

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July 17, 2025
5 Top Strategies Your University Needs NOW
Institutions need to optimize their website content for AI-powered search results.

Search is dramatically evolving—and fast. Generative AI (Gen AI), especially Large Language Models (LLMs), are completely reshaping how information is processed, synthesized, and delivered. This changes how prospective students are influenced and impacts your institution’s visibility.

For today’s prospective college students, “search” is far more than a simple tool to find the best university; it’s what they do first to find the information they need during all stages of their college journey. In a world overflowing with options, your university’s visibility and prominence in these evolving search results can be the deciding factor in whether you’re even on a student’s radar.

I’ve recently had several conversations with university leaders, and one thing is clear: maximizing discoverability in this new, AI-powered era is top of mind. This blog is a direct result of those conversations and aims to cut through the noise to explain the why, what, and how of AI-driven student search.

The WHY: Generative AI-Powered Search

Generative AI (Gen AI) is the powerful application of machine learning that is transforming how information is created, compiled, and presented. Gen AI’s ability to create, summarize, and discover new information is precisely why it has become so crucial to modern online searching.

At the core are LLMs like ChatGPT and Gemini that are trained on massive amounts of data to understand and generate human-like language. These models enable students to ask complex, conversational questions like: “Which MBA program is best if I’m working full-time and want to study online?”

LLMs understand the intent behind that question—not just the words. That’s a huge leap from traditional keyword-based search. And the Gen AI is pulling from a vast range of sources, summarizing information, and delivering fast, context-rich answers with relevant links.

The WHAT: AI is Transforming Student Search

1. The rise of conversational search

Search is no longer just about typing in a few keywords and scrolling through results. Today’s prospective students are asking real questions, using full sentences, and expecting immediate, tailored answers whether it’s on Gemini, Siri, or ChatGPT.

In 2025, over 20% of the global population is already using voice search like Siri and Alexa. Many of these searches are like natural conversations—they’re specific, urgent, and detailed. That means your website content needs to be structured to answer these questions directly and naturally.

Your content needs to do more than just match keywords; it needs to thoroughly and thoughtfully answer the actual questions behind what students ask the Gen AI tool. Otherwise, your university could remain hidden from the Gen AI tools students use most.

2. Google AI overviews and AI mode: A new front page

Google’s AI Overviews (AIOs) are fundamentally changing the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) and content visibility by providing AI-generated summaries at the top. Instead of showing multiple blue links, AIOs serve up AI-generated summaries right at the top—pulling from multiple sources and citing them directly. If your content is cited in the summary, your visibility increases. If not, you might be left out entirely.

Soon, these summaries will be able to have paid ads in them. As part of the release in Google Marketing Live 2025, ads will appear directly within these AI Overviews, creating new high-visibility placements that are essential for maintaining paid visibility. You need to start planning to include AIO ads as part of your paid media strategy. Visibility is no longer about just bidding on keywords—it’s about being where the AI puts attention.

3. The accuracy challenge with LLMs

LLMs, which are also the technology powering AI Overviews, are powerful, but not perfect. They generate answers quickly, but if they lack real-time data, they can “hallucinate” or produce outdated info. Think of it this way—while your institutional content can become part of an AI’s knowledge base, the accuracy and strength of the AI’s responses are heavily dependent on your website’s structure for AI discoverability and the completeness and timeliness of your content on key pages like academic programs, faculty profiles, research archives, financial aid and student success stories.

However, students do not just take the face value of a summary. They want to dive deeper. Interestingly, AI assistants often pull from forums like Reddit or Quora. That’s a signal: clarity, authenticity, and helpfulness now compete with traditional authority. If your content sounds genuinely human and directly answers real student questions, it’s more likely to be cited by these tools and trusted by prospective students.
Talk with our digital marketing and enrollment experts

RNL works with colleges and universities across the country to ensure their digital marketing is optimized and filling their academic programs. Reach out today for a complimentary consultation to discuss:

Search engine optimization

Digital marketing

Lead generation

Digital engagement throughout the enrollment funnel

Request now
The HOW: Strategic Content for the AI Era

We are firmly in the age of Search + Chat. For universities’ content creators and marketing teams, this means adapting your strategy to a hybrid model where optimizing for both traditional search engines and AI citations is crucial. It’s no longer about ranking high on Google; it’s about being part of the conversation students are having with AI.

Just as prompt engineers craft inputs for LLMs, your content needs to “prompt” search AI effectively. This means creating well-structured, meaningful content that makes it easy for AI to understand and cite your information. This adds a layer of sophistication to content optimization, moving us toward what some call Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). Think of it as SEO, reimagined for an AI-first search environment.

Top 5 GEO Strategies You Can Focus on Now

1. Topic-focused content

Move beyond program name focus to cover broader topics comprehensively, addressing full student intent. For example, instead of just “Best Online MBA,” create content around “Which MBA program is the best while balancing a full-time job?” or “career paths in business analytics” or “balancing graduate studies with work.” This helps AI understand the full context, making your university’s degree program’s content relevant for diverse student queries.

2. Answer-focused structure

Use short, digestible sections with clear, question-based headings. For example, “When are the application deadlines for fall 2025?” or “How do I schedule a campus tour?” Include plain-text facts and data-driven claims (e.g., graduate employment rates, program rankings, faculty research impact). Content with specific data is 40% more likely to appear in LLM responses.

3. Build authority (E-E-A-T)

AI models favor content that signals Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust. For universities, this means transparently displaying faculty qualifications, publishing original research, program rankings, and highlighting alumni success, through testimonials. Strong E-E-A-T signals trustworthiness to AI, crucial for students making significant educational decisions. This isn’t just for humans, it’s how AI decides your credibility.

4. Structured data and schema markup to speak AI’s language

Think of schema markup as a universal translator for your website. It’s code you add to your pages that tells AI models and search engines what specific pieces of information mean, not just what they say. For example:
- You can mark up your academic programs as “Courses,” detailing credit hours, learning outcomes, and faculty.
- Your events (like campus tours or info sessions) can be identified as “Events” with dates, times, and locations.
- Faculty profiles can be marked as “Persons,” highlighting their name, title, department, and research interests.
- Testimonials can be flagged as “Reviews,” complete with star ratings and reviewer names.
Why this matters: When AI understands the precise context of your content, it can extract accurate information more effectively. This dramatically boosts your visibility in AI Overviews, rich snippets, and voice search.

5. AI crawler accessibility

For AI models to learn from your website, they first need to be able to “read” it. This means ensuring your university’s websites and program pages are fully accessible to AI crawlers.
- Check your robots.txt file: This file tells web crawlers (including those used by AI) which parts of your site they can and cannot access. Make sure it’s not inadvertently blocking important academic programs, admissions details, or faculty research sections.
- Handle JavaScript-heavy elements: Many modern university sites use JavaScript for interactive elements like program finders, application portals, or dynamic course catalogs. If not set up correctly, AI crawlers might not “see” the content generated by this JavaScript. Consider Server-Side Rendering (SSR) or Static Site Generation (SSG) to ensure this critical content is visible to crawlers.
If AI crawlers can’t access your academic program content, it won’t be discoverable by AI- powered search.

Final Thoughts: Show Up Where It Counts

The AI-driven evolution of student search isn’t a distant prediction—it’s happening now. My conversations with campus partners consistently confirms this: AI isn’t replacing traditional student search, but profoundly reshaping how students search, find, trust, and act on information.

The smartest path forward isn’t choosing between Google and AI chat tools. It’s using both. This is a powerful convergence where AI assistants deliver fast, personalized insights, while Google Search provides foundational depth, structure and authority.

Ask yourself: Is your content part of that journey? Is it fresh, factual, and findableAI and traditional search? For higher ed marketing and enrollment management professionals seeking to make a lasting impact, the answer is clear: Be the answer in both places.

At RNL, we’re committed to helping universities stay discoverable throughout the entire funnel—from awareness to inquiry to application and enrollment. We care deeply about the student journey too, and we know how critical it is for students to find the right-fit institutions at the right time. That’s why we stay agile—continuously evolving our strategies to meet students where they are and help institutions show up early, stay relevant, and convert when it counts.
Talk with our digital marketing and enrollment experts

RNL works with colleges and universities across the country to ensure their digital marketing is optimized and filling their academic programs. Reach out today for a complimentary consultation to discuss:

Search engine optimization

Digital marketing

Lead generation

Digital engagement throughout the enrollment funnel

Request now
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July 17, 2025
University of Southern California signals layoffs amid $200M budget gap
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Dive Brief:
- The University of Southern California plans to use layoffs and other budget austerity measures to tackle a $200 million operating deficit and gird against a massive blow to federal funding, Interim President Beong-Soo Kim said in a community message on Monday.
- On top of USC’s growing budget shortfall, which ballooned from $158 million in fiscal year 2024, officials are now grappling with federal headwinds affecting the outlook for research support, student financial aid and international enrollment, Kim said.
- Lower federal research funding could cost the highly selective private university $300 million — or more — each year, Kim said. “To deal decisively with our financial challenges, we need to transform our operating model, and that will require layoffs,” he said.
Dive Insight:

Kim pointed out that USC isn’t alone in making painful budget decisions — but said that didn’t make the news any easier to hear. Indeed, many other well-known research universities have also been tightening their budgets and signaling layoffs amid the Trump administration’s widespread federal grant terminations.

That includes Stanford University, a fellow California college, and Brown University, in Rhode Island, which have both signaled potential staff reductions as they contend with federal funding shifts. Boston University, another private nonprofit, recently cut 120 employees and eliminated an equal number of vacant positions to deal with those challenges.

Kim did not disclose how many employees the university plans to lay off, and a USC spokesperson did not provide more details in response to questions Tuesday. But Kim said in his message to faculty and staff that USC has also taken other measures to shore up its budget.

The university will forego merit raises for the 2026 fiscal year, has ended certain services from third parties, and tightened discretionary and travel spending. It’s also planning to sell unused properties, streamline operations and adjust pay for the most highly compensated employees.

Kim, however, said it wasn’t feasible to bank on increased tuition revenue, drawing down more on the university’s endowment or taking out additional debt.

“Each of these ‘solutions’ would simply shift our problem onto the backs of future generations of Trojans,” Kim said, referring to the university’s mascot and student body nickname.

He also noted that the university could not likely count on federal funding returning to prior norms. “While we will continue to advocate for the vital importance of research and our academic mission, we cannot rely on the hope that federal support will revert to historical levels,” he said.

Kim’s message comes just two weeks into his tenure as the college’s interim leader, making it one of his first acts.

USC depends heavily on federal research funding. In fiscal 2024, the university received $569 million for federally funded research, according to a recent FAQ posted to its website. Overall, the university brought in nearly $7.5 billion in operating revenue that year and had $7.6 billion in operating expenses.
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July 16, 2025
University funding tied to antisemitism action – Campus Review

Universities could be subject to a ’report card’ that assesses their responses to antisemitism, which could result in cut funding, according to Australia’s antisemitism envoy’s report released on Thursday.

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July 14, 2025
Prabhas Moghe, Rutgers University – The PIE News

Introduce yourself in three words or phrases.

I am an educator, an innovator, and a scholar.

What do you like most about your job?

Oh gosh, I love my job. I think what I really enjoy is the expanse, the scope, the landscape, it’s huge. I love that we are not just solving problems, we are actually defining them.

Best work trip/Worst work trip?

The best work trip? I have had so many good ones. This (APAIE 2025, Delhi, and overall India tour) has been a great work trip.

But I also had a fantastic trip to London with my foundation president. We went together and ran a workshop on “friend-raising”, instead of just fundraising, the idea is to build genuine relationships. UK universities were trying to learn it, and since US universities are a bit ahead in that area, we worked with them. That was really fun.

I also went to South Korea on a work trip. I love South Koreans, and I love the country, but they made me work so hard. The person who planned the trip, god bless her, packed the schedule so tight that I did not get even one hour of sightseeing.

It was a 14–15 hour flight to Seoul, and the trip ended up being the kind of hard work that South Koreans put in every single day.

If you could learn a language instantly, which would you pick and why?

Definitely Mandarin and Spanish. I was foolish enough to promise a class at the University of Puerto Rico that, “next time I visit, I promise I will give you the lecture in Spanish”, so it ain’t happening. But I do take pride in speaking multiple languages, I would say I am fluent in at least five. I even started learning Mandarin with Rosetta Stone (language learning software). I didn’t get too far, but I absolutely love how the language sounds.

What makes you get up in the morning?

I think what drives me is a genuine passion for the work. There’s just so much to be done.

As the chief academic officer at Rutgers, my role is about having a deep, self-aware understanding of the institution, in ways that few others might. While everyone else is focused on their specific responsibilities, I am constantly looking at the institution as a whole.

How do we stay true to our mission? How do we improve? How do we gain recognition? And how do we move the needle on our academic standing?

These are broad, complex challenges, but that’s what makes the work so meaningful.

Champion/cheerleader which we should all follow and why?

There are so many influential people now, and they each teach you something different. I have learned a lot from Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel Peace Prize winner, especially his approach to life.

For instance, I was really impressed by Jennifer Doudna after reading her biography, The Code Breaker, which is written by Walter Isaacson.

I am actually very intrigued by Isaacson himself, someone who writes about others so insightfully. He’s also written about Steve Jobs. The way he pieces together these stories is fascinating.

In The Code Breaker, what struck me was how science and research are portrayed as incredibly competitive fields. And yet, the breakthroughs often come in these magical, nonlinear moments, when the right people come together with the right tools, and suddenly, something clicks.

That idea of serendipity, of miraculous intersections, it really resonated with me. No one creates miracles alone; you need a village.

The book also shows how intensely competitive some of these research groups can be.

But more than anything, what stood out was the brilliance, the hard work, and the value of good observers, people who can see the bigger picture. I think we need more of those champions.

Best international ed conference and why

I think this is a very cool conference (APAIE 2025). I was walking around the booths, and was at a roundtable with several presidents and vice-chancellors. It’s really exciting because this is not what higher education looked like 20 or 30 years ago.

What you see here today is different countries like Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the UK coming together. It’s like the whole world is showing up and saying, “Come be a part of us”.

Worst conference food/beverage experience

I was at a meeting at the World Biomaterials Congress, I think it was in Chengdu, China.

We went out to eat, and let’s just say where we ate you’re pretty much eating reasonably raw food. That was pretty challenging.

I mean I love Chinese food, I love Sichuan food, but that was challenging.

Book or podcast recommendation for others in the sector?

Definitely The Code Breaker by Isaacson, I would recommend that to people. I think it’s a pretty interesting book. If you are looking for something educationally oriented, then there’s Building Research Universities in India by Pankaj Jalote.

I’m very impressed with how he’s drawn on the research in terms of how things have changed over the last hundred years, how India’s research landscape has changed.

I am listening to a whole bunch of podcasts. Dementia Matters, a podcast about Alzheimer’s disease and other causes of dementia, is something I am really liking.

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July 11, 2025
George Washington University hints at layoffs amid federal policy upheaval
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Dive Brief:
- Faced with an “unsustainable compounding deficit,” George Washington University is freezing hiring and could lay off employees down the road, the private Washington, D.C.-based institution said in a community message Tuesday.
- The hiring freeze applies to positions funded directly by the university and is set to last at least until Oct. 1. GWU also plans to review large procurement contracts, cut back on capital spending, and tighten budgets for travel, events and entertainment, among other moves.
- Despite earlier budget-tightening measures, senior university leaders said the outlook for the upcoming fiscal year has deteriorated since April. Officials plan to present a full fiscal 2026 budget to the university’s governing board in early September.
Dive Insight:

In their announcement, university President Ellen Granberg, Interim Provost John Lach and other officials cited political, economic and demographic challenges that are exacerbating GWU’s budget pressures.

On the policy front, they pointed to the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to limit funding for indirect research costs, such as facilities, utilities and other overhead, to federal grant awardees. While federal courts have paused or struck down those moves at four federal agencies, they have created deep financial uncertainty for many universities.

The officials also pointed to “significant changes in the overall federal research landscape,” which has big implications for the university, a major nexus for federal grants. In fiscal 2024, GWU spent a total of $471.6 million in federal grants from a wide array of federal agencies and other grantors.

Along with research funding disruption, officials pointed to a slowdown in visa processing and President Donald Trump’s recent move to ban or restrict travel from 19 countries. They described these changes as “constraints on our ability to enroll international students.” In 2024, GWU enrolled 3,661 international students, according to institutional data.

Moreover, the university, with its deep ties to the D.C. area, is beginning to see domestic enrollment impacts from the Trump administration’s massive slashes to federal agency workforces, as well as general financial uncertainty among American consumers.

Even more pressure on graduate enrollment could come amid the elimination of Grad PLUS loans and caps on total student borrowing, brought on by the massive budget bill passed by Republicans and signed by Trump last week.

But GWU had financial challenges before Trump took office. As Granberg, Lach and other officials noted, revenue growth averaged 6.1% from fiscal 2022 through 2024 while expenses grew 6.8%.

“While this difference might not seem significant, its cumulative effect is an unsustainable compounding deficit,” they said.

That budget gap resulted from pre-Trump structural challenges in the higher education world, including rising costs and declining master’s degree enrollments.

Between 2018 and 2023, GWU’s total fall graduate student enrollment declined 9.2% to 14,181 students, according to federal data. The officials pointed to declines in international student enrollment, which began at the university before Trump’s newest travel bans and “at this point can no longer be viewed as temporary.”

University leaders in April announced a pause on merit-based salary increases and a 3% budget cut across units. But the challenges have only deepened since then.

Now officials aim for deeper budget cuts for fiscal 2026, “which we recognize will likely lead to some reductions in the number of staff and certain faculty positions, a step we have tried to avoid but cannot any longer,” they said Tuesday.
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July 9, 2025
Florida university system’s board to vote on creation of accrediting agency
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Dive Brief:
- The State University System of Florida’s governing board plans to vote Friday to approve the creation of the Commission for Public Higher Education, a new accreditor formed by the state university system and five other Southern public higher education networks.
- The state’s Legislature has devoted $4 million to the Florida governing board to help with startup costs for the new accreditor, according to CPHE’s business plan. The accreditor expects the other five university systems to devote a similar level of resources to the effort.
- CPHE hopes to begin accrediting six institutions by June 2026 and to become recognized by the U.S. Department of Education by June 2028. Accreditors must operate for two years before the Education Department will recognize them.
Dive Insight:

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the formation of the new accreditor for public colleges in late June, criticizing diversity, equity and inclusion standards at existing agencies and framing the effort as a way to focus more on student outcomes.

The new accreditor’s business plan echoes those aims.

“CPHE will laser-focus on student outcomes, streamline accreditation standards, focus on emerging educational models, modernize the accreditation process, maximize efficiency without sacrificing quality, and ensure no imposition of divisive ideological content on institutions,” it states.

Still, the new agency is a long way off from getting the Education Department’s recognition, which is required before its accreditation can grant colleges access to federal financial aid. The business plan notes that the Education Department usually takes at least two years to recognize a new accreditor after it submits its application, which it plans to submit in 2026.

The Education Department currently recognizes about two dozen institutional accreditors, according to a federal database.

Colleges that want to be accredited by CPHE will be able to retain their current agency while the new accreditor seeks the Education Department’s recognition, according to the business plan. Once it becomes federally recognized, colleges can make CPHE their primary accreditor and shed their other agency, if they wish.

The founding members of the new accreditor are the State University System of Florida, the Texas A&M University System, the University System of Georgia, the University of North Carolina System, the University of South Carolina system and the University of Tennessee System.

Each system will appoint someone to sit on CPHE’s board of directors, which will establish accreditation standards and policies.

The new accreditor will also create a paid Interim Review Committee, which will conduct peer reviews of colleges and make recommendations to the board of directors about accreditation actions. The committee will report to CPHE’s board of directors and include academic experts, auditors and compliance officers.

The business plan credits recent federal policy changes for making it easier for colleges to jump to new accrediting agencies.

That includes a regulatory change during President Donald Trump’s first term that removed regional restrictions on the nation’s seven major accreditors, meaning they each can now represent colleges nationwide instead of only those located in their traditional geographic territories.

The business plan also points to May guidance from the Education Department to make it easier for colleges to switch accreditors and revoked more rigorous Biden-era policies on changing agencies. It also mentions a recent executive order from Trump that in part aims to streamline the process for recognizing new accrediting agencies.

The Education Department said it will decide on accreditation change requests within 30 days. If the agency doesn’t respond by that deadline, colleges will receive automatic approval unless they don’t meet the eligibility requirements.

One higher education expert has described the deadline as a “30-day rubber stamp,” arguing that it takes time and expertise to conduct such reviews. Yet the procedural changes are coming even as the Education Department attempts to shed roughly half of its staff.

Colleges will not be eligible to switch if they’ve faced accreditor sanctions within the last two years. However, they will be able to switch for a litany of other reasons, including objecting to their current accreditors’ standards.

Both Florida and North Carolina legislators have passed laws in recent years requiring public colleges to switch accreditors each cycle, which usually run between six to 10 years. The changes came after each state’s public university systems publicly spat with their accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

SACSCOC accredits each college within the six founding members’ university systems. However, some institutions in Florida and Texas have begun the process of switching to new agencies, according to CPHE’s business plan.
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July 9, 2025