#higher-education — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #higher-education, aggregated by home.social.
-
Peak education >
Universal ideals >
Now it's ignorance#Haiku #OneHaikuADay #WritersCollective #writingcommunity #BackToHaiku #Education #College #University #University OfAkron #BuchtelCollege #HIgherEducation #Ignorant #Ignorance #DumbedDown #Summer #USA #Photography #2026
September 13, 2026 -
New CalFresh Rules Expand Food Aid For California Students https://www.diningandcooking.com/us/6899/ #calfresh #California #CaliforniaFood #FoodInsecurity #HigherEducation #Print
-
Stony Brook University: Announcing Our New JSTOR Digital Collections Portal!. “Stony Brook University Libraries is thrilled to announce a major milestone in our ongoing mission to preserve, digitize, and share our cultural heritage collections with the world: our brand-new JSTOR Digital Collections portal is live! Through this portal, three of our collections are now freely accessible on […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/09/13/stony-brook-university-announcing-our-new-jstor-digital-collections-portal/ -
‘The show choir definitely helped me’: the dos and don’ts of joining student societies
By Amee Joshi and Alfie PackhamSigning up for university clubs and societies is a surefire way to meet like-minded people, boosting your social life and your CV at a stroke
#Highereducation #Studentexperience #Youngpeople #Universities #Students #Studentengagement #Society #Education #TheGuardian #AmeeJoshi #AlfiePackham
-
DATE: September 13, 2026 at 06:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Federal science funding cuts push young U.S. researchers to consider moving abroad
Recent policy changes and budget reductions by the federal government have created immediate hurdles for young scientists building their careers in the United States. A new survey published in Frontiers in Sociology suggests that these abrupt funding disruptions have severely impacted the professional trajectories of early career researchers, pushing many to consider leaving academia or moving to other countries. The findings indicate how sudden halts in research funding can destabilize the long-term scientific workforce.
In early 2025, the Trump administration instituted rapid policy shifts across the academic landscape. Federal science budgets faced proposed double-digit percentage reductions, hundreds of existing research grants were abruptly frozen or terminated, and some diversity and climate programs were paused. Most basic scientific research in the United States happens at universities, relying heavily on federal grants. Agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation allocate taxpayer money to academic laboratories, paying for scientific equipment, experimental materials, and researcher salaries.
When this funding stops, the people most immediately affected are early career researchers. This group includes undergraduate students, doctoral candidates working on their dissertations, and postdoctoral fellows, who are scientists completing additional training before seeking permanent faculty positions. These trainees typically depend directly on grant money for their livelihoods. Even before recent disruptions, a study covered by PsyPost in 2024 showed that many graduate students already face extreme financial stress because their stipends fail to cover basic living costs.
Sudden budget reductions tend to have long-lasting effects on the training pipeline. For instance, a 2026 computer modeling study indicated that abrupt cuts to federal health research funding create setbacks in scientist training that take decades to recover from. As an immediate reaction to the 2025 federal science funding cuts, a 2025 report indicated that universities across the country began shrinking graduate student admissions.
To better understand how the current generation of young scientists is experiencing these shifts, researchers led by Crystal Hammond at the University of California, Riverside, and Adriana Bankston at the STEM Advocacy Institute conducted a rapid-response survey.
The research team collected their data online during May and June of 2025, while the effects of the funding changes were still actively unfolding. They utilized two separate questionnaires. The first survey was a brief, qualitative tool that gathered personal stories and accounts of advocacy actions from six participants. The second survey was more comprehensive, collecting both quantitative data and open-ended responses from 30 early career researchers. The scientists recruited participants through academic mailing lists, social media, and direct outreach to university contacts.
In the comprehensive survey, 60 percent of respondents were doctoral students, 13.3 percent were undergraduate students, and 13.3 percent were postdoctoral researchers. The majority of the participants studied life sciences, such as biology or neuroscience, and most worked at large, public research universities. The respondents relied heavily on federal support for their work. About 63 percent reported that their research was funded by the National Institutes of Health, while 20 percent relied on the National Science Foundation.
The survey data provides evidence that the funding disruptions caused widespread professional distress. Half of the participants rated the professional impact of the cuts as severe, scoring the disruption an eight or higher on a ten-point scale. Another 40 percent rated the impact as moderate. When asked about specific negative consequences, participants reported a variety of issues, with 20 percent specifically noting that their stipends or benefits had been cut or delayed, and 10 percent reporting hiring freezes or rescinded job offers.
Looking to the future, the participants expressed widespread anxiety about their scientific careers. Ninety percent of respondents worried about their long-term job prospects in research. Over half of the sample, 56.7 percent, reported that they would not be able to complete their current research projects. Because of these barriers, 60 percent of the early career researchers said they were considering moving to another country to pursue their scientific goals.
The funding cuts also affected the broader well-being of the academic community. Nearly three-quarters of respondents reported that the budget changes negatively impacted their mental health and wellness. Additionally, 56.7 percent of participants said the disruptions harmed their sense of belonging in the sciences. Faced with these compounding pressures, 56.7 percent of the surveyed early career researchers indicated that they were considering leaving academic research entirely.
The qualitative responses offered more detail about the specific challenges these researchers faced. Graduate students described how canceled grants delayed their dissertation timelines, meaning they would run out of funding before they could finish their degrees. Postdoctoral researchers recounted how fellowships aimed at increasing diversity in the sciences were terminated abruptly. In response to these challenges, participants reported engaging in various forms of advocacy, such as organizing campus rallies, writing to their elected representatives, and trying to educate the public about the importance of scientific research.
The findings are in line with research covered by PsyPost in 2020. That earlier study examined perceptions of political interference and scientific integrity among federal agency scientists rather than funding cuts and career viability among university trainees, but it similarly found widespread disruption to researchers under the Trump administration.
As with all research, there are a few things to keep in mind when interpreting these findings. The sample size of the survey was small, with only 30 participants completing the quantitative questionnaire. The authors utilized a rapid-response format with a short data collection window to capture immediate reactions, meaning the results are not a nationally representative sample of all scientists. Because the researchers used convenience sampling, it is possible that individuals who were most severely affected by the budget cuts were more motivated to participate.
Additionally, the demographic makeup of the respondents was fairly narrow. The majority of participants were White scholars working in the life sciences at research-intensive institutions. The effects of federal funding disruptions might look different for scholars in the humanities, social sciences, or at smaller colleges with different financial structures. Future studies with larger and more diverse groups of participants will be needed to fully capture how these policy shifts are reshaping the broader higher education landscape.
The study, “Early career researcher responses to 2025 United States federal science funding disruptions: a rapid-response pilot survey,” was authored by Crystal Hammond, John Patrick Flores, Siara Rouzer, Kassandra Fernandez, Amy Ralston, and Adriana Bankston.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #FederalFundingCuts #EarlyCareerResearchers #STEMOutreach #SciencePolicy #ResearchFunding #AcademicCareers #MoveForScience #STEMAdvocacy #HigherEducation #BrainDrainUSA
-
Oh FFS. What is Labour’s problem with #HigherEducation? 🤨
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:7gyt7nd3kkuakmanckayk2px/post/3mvez4ilkus2a -
Rise of the student commuters: weighing the costs of living at home or in halls
By Tess ReidyChanging social trends and creative timetables are making it more likely for students to stay at home while they study. Is campus life on the way out?
#Education #Studenthousing #Studentfinance #Universities #Students #Youngpeople #Parentsandparenting #Highereducation #Lifeandstyle #Money #Society #TheGuardian #TessReidy
-
UK government to offer clearer guidance on student loans after repayment row
By Hilary OsborneCriticism of three-year threshold repayment freeze prompts update to guidance warning terms and conditions could change
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/sep/13/student-loans-repayments-university-students-guidance
#Studentfinance #Students #Money #Highereducation #Education #Borrowingdebt #Highereducationpolicy #Labour #UKnews #Politics #TheGuardian #HilaryOsborne
-
UK government to offer clearer guidance on student loans after repayment row https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/sep/13/student-loans-repayments-university-students-guidance #StudentFinance #Students #Money #HigherEducation #Education #BorrowingDebt #HigherEducationPolicy #Labour #UkNews #Politics
-
Philosophy is what is left over when you bracket out common sense and expertise
From Richard Rorty’s Philosophy as Cultural Politics pg 125:
#commonSense #expertise #higherEducation #Philosophy #pragamatism #richardRortyContemplating this failure helps one realize that philosophy is what is left over after one has bracketed both common sense and all the various expert cultures It was never supposed to be such a culture. Whenever it has attempted to become one it has degenerated into scholasticism, into controversies which are of no interest to anyone outside the philosophical profession. The idea that either literary criticism or philosophy should become an expert culture is a result of unfortunate attempts to squeeze these areas of culture into a university system tailored to the needs of lawyers, physicians, and natural scientists.
-
Revealed: the university courses students regret – and those they don’t
By Richard AdamsWe looked at graduates’ satisfaction levels after leaving university – and while most were happy, up to a third wish they’d picked a different subject
#Highereducation #Students #Universities #Employability #Universityexcellence #Universityteaching #Education #Youngpeople #Graduatecareers #Society #Money #Workcareers #TheGuardian #RichardAdams
-
Is university still worth it? What you need to know before committing
By Sally WealeWith AI, an unsettled jobs market and rising student costs, it’s crucial to make the most of your experience
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/sep/12/how-to-make-university-worth-it
#Highereducation #Graduatecareers #Studentfinance #Universities #Students #Youngpeople #Employability #Workcareers #Education #Money #Society #UKcostoflivingcrisis #TheGuardian #SallyWeale
-
AI may be denting computer science graduates’ job prospects, UK data shows
By Richard Adams Education editorEconomics graduates also appear to be affected as demand for them falls in well-paid roles in finance
#Students #Highereducation #ComputerscienceandIT #Economics #AIartificialintelligence #Employability #Graduatecareers #Universities #Universityguide #Education #Workcareers #UKnews #TheGuardian #RichardAdamsEducationeditor
-
The Guardian University Guide 2027 – the rankings
By Guardian StaffFind a course at one of the top universities in the country. Our league tables rank them all subject by subject, as well as by student satisfaction, staff numbers, spending and career prospects
#Universityguide #Education #Students #Highereducation #Universities #TheGuardian #GuardianStaff
-
AI may be denting computer science graduates’ job prospects, UK data shows https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/sep/12/ai-computer-science-graduates-job-prospects-uk-data #Students #HigherEducation #ComputerScienceAndIt #Economics #AiArtificialIntelligence #Employability #GraduateCareers #Universities #UniversityGuide #Education #WorkCareers #UkNews
-
Illinois universities report modest enrollment shifts | Illinois https://www.diningandcooking.com/us/1980/ #HigherEducation #Illinois #IllinoisDining #IllinoisFood #IllinoisRestaurants
-
Mail on Sunday ends up funding state school scholarship via payout to MP
By Richard Adams Education editorLabour’s Catherine Atkinson says she will give students £5,000 paid to her by paper that falsely accused her of concealing private school education
#UniversityofDerby #Derby #Students #MailonSunday #DailyMailGeneralTrust #Schools #Law #Socialmobility #Highereducation #Education #UKnews #Media #Nationalnewspapers #Mediabusiness #Newspapers #Newspapersmagazines #TheGuardian #RichardAdamsEducationeditor
-
Mail on Sunday ends up funding state school scholarship via payout to MP https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/sep/11/mail-on-sunday-funds-state-school-scholarship-via-payout-to-mp #UniversityOfDerby #Derby #Students #MailOnSunday #DailyMailGeneralTrust #Schools #Law #SocialMobility #HigherEducation #Education #UkNews #Media #NationalNewspapers #MediaBusiness #Newspapers #NewspapersMagazines
-
How Ron DeSantis politicized Florida’s higher education by placing his loyalists at the top
By Richard Luscombe in MiamiTerm-limited, hard-right governor instituted an ideological infiltration of universities by placing allies in powerful posts
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/11/ron-desantis-florida-higher-education-takeover
#Florida #RonDeSantis #Highereducation #Education #USnews #USuniversities #TheGuardian #RichardLuscombeinMiami
-
How Ron DeSantis politicized Florida’s higher education by placing his loyalists at the top https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/11/ron-desantis-florida-higher-education-takeover #Florida #RonDesantis #HigherEducation #Education #UsNews #UsUniversities
-
The risks of integrating AI too rapidly into higher education
I thought this was an interesting announcement from Surrey. I certainly see the appeal of being able to publicly say you’re doing this:
Rather than introducing AI as an additional skill, Surrey is undertaking a systematic redesign of every degree programme. This transformation will ensure that, as AI becomes embedded across society and the economy, Surrey students retain deep disciplinary expertise, develop critical judgement, and understand the implications of deploying AI within their field. In a course on voting behaviour, for instance, students are given a simple brief: pick an election, ask ChatGPT to explain the result, then interrogate whether AI got it right – testing its response against established theories of political behaviour, datasets from the British Election Study and published academic research. Students are enabled to identify and explain where the AI is vague or inaccurate, so that AI is not a shortcut but a prompt for deeper analysis.
Every student – from foundation year through to postgraduate – will develop applied, discipline-specific AI capability as a core part of their studies. Surrey graduates will be equipped to shape how AI is used, challenged and governed in real-world contexts – ensuring that they remain trusted, capable and competitive in a labour market reshaped by AI.
What does “discipline-specific AI capability” mean though? My concern is that the current commercial landscape is so profoundly uncertain (given token economics etc) that a masterplan about what capacities to equip graduates with is doomed to failure. You either specify ‘capability’ in abstraction from current tools and risk a lack of practical relevance or you specify it in terms of current tools and risk being rendered out of date when those tools go through a rapid shift in terms of access, resourcing and capabilities. It’s not tenable to do nothing. But I think doing too much, all at once, risks being counter productive by locking in approaches and techniques which risk obsolence.
There is a stated commitment that AI “will be used selectively and purposefully, only where it improves educational outcomes, while ensuring that core competencies, from clinical reasoning and legal judgement to engineering design and creative practice, are preserved and strengthened”. I agree! But this is work which needs careful learning design, it needs identification of best practice, it needs willing colleagues. It’s a long-term direction of travel, rather than an outcome. I just don’t see how you do it without having an army of learning designs working 24/7 with academic teams suddenly full of time for development.
#AI #higherEducation #skills #Surrey #tokenEconomics -
That'll be $100k per credit hour, please.
-
Moravian University: Moravian University Launches AI Lab to Model Ethical Innovation. “Moravian University announced the official launch of its AI Innovation Lab, a hands-on physical and collaborative space where students from any academic discipline can test ideas, learn emerging technologies, and build practical AI tools to address real-world challenges.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/09/10/moravian-university-moravian-university-launches-ai-lab-to-model-ethical-innovation/ -
Critiquing
Archer, E. (2017) ‘The Assessment Purpose Triangle: Balancing the Purposes of Educational Assessment’, Frontiers in Education, 2. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2017.00041. -
Indonesian foragers may have sucked on mind-altering nuts 25,000 years ago, research finds
By Ian Sample Science editorAnalysis of two skeletons reveals tooth wear and traces of psychoactive substance in what may be earliest known evidence for human drug taking
#Science #Palaeontology #Drugs #Indonesia #Worldnews #AsiaPacific #Research #Highereducation #TheGuardian #IanSampleScienceeditor
-
Indonesian foragers may have sucked on mind-altering nuts 25,000 years ago, research finds https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/sep/09/indonesian-foragers-mind-altering-nuts-research-finds #Science #Palaeontology #Drugs #Indonesia #WorldNews #AsiaPacific #Research #HigherEducation
-
Bright minds, a scholarship, required visa and universities waiting for them. But also physically trapped in #Gaza because our xenophobic minister of migration (yes. enough people voted for that to become a reality) is painting a picture of the hordes of other (equally bright, ambitious and desperate) people who will no doubt be attracted by what might turn out to be just the right thing to do for people in need.
Feel free to sign the petition...
#education #highereducation #humanrights
https://c.org/GWGyTZPXPP
