Student Aid

Drew Cloud Is a Well-Known Expert on Student Loans. One Problem: He’s Not Real.

His website, the Student Loan Report, is widely cited by news media for its surveys on loan debt, and Cloud is quoted at length. But both he and his organization are facades.

Curriculum

What Is ‘STEM’? The Definition Is Evolving

Recognizing the increasing presence of technology and mathematics in academic disciplines could help international students hoping to stay and work in the United States.

Adjunct Labor

Want to Be a 'Volunteer Adjunct?’ Southern Illinois U. Is Hiring

A dean's email asking department chairs to recruit alumni for unpaid teaching positions ignited a social-media firestorm. The university says it was misunderstood.

Students

Why the End of Greek Life at Penn State Is ‘Still a Distinct Possibility’

At a conference on the future of fraternities and sororities, Eric J. Barron, president of Penn State, expressed frustration with Greek life as well as cautious optimism on its reform.

The Chronicle Interview

Why This Philosopher Wants Her Students to Ask Someone Out, in Person

Kerry Cronin offers Boston College freshmen extra credit for putting down their phones and planning a date. She’d like them to feel awkward and vulnerable, and maybe less lonely.

Technology

Strada Education Network to Add Labor-Market Company Emsi to Its Portfolio

The organization will expand its holdings to embrace a company whose services are used by more than a thousand colleges in career centers, in alumni offices, and in academic planning.

The Adult Student: The Population Colleges — and the Nation — Can’t Afford to Ignore

America’s adult students have long been an afterthought in higher education. But demographic changes and economic pressures will soon require institutions to expand their horizons. This Chronicle report explores the growing imperative for colleges to support the adult-student movement.

Special Reports

Why Researchers Shouldn’t Share All Their Data

Too much self-exposure might compromise a career. It might also muddle one’s message.

First Person

What It Felt Like to Lose My Deanship

“We’re going to go in a different direction,” the provost said — one that clearly didn’t include me.

Lingua Franca

Why ‘the Coed’ Vanished From Campus Language

Allan Metcalf looks back to the time when the word referred not only to a gender-neutral campus, but to a female student.