Cecilia Orphan

How Ohio State’s free tuition program could impact other Ohio colleges The state's flagship institution will soon offer free tuition for in-state students for more students who begin at a regional campus.

I spoke w/ Amy Morona of @signalcleveland.bsky.social about
[RPUs] and Ohio State and said RPUs “have really thought about ‘how do we create a campus environment that’s supportive to first-generation college, low-income students [and] students who have children." signalcleveland.org/ohio-state-f...

How adequately does your state acknowledge and fund its broad access institutions? We created a scorecard to evaluate states, published and funded by @sheeoed.bsky.social (thanks, SHEEO!). Check it out here.

sheeo.org/wp-content/u...

Co-authors: Katie Kleinhesselink and Essa Njie

This feels like a ✨prime✨ week to close the book on Amazon.

The Evolving Role of Regional Public Universities | The City Club of Cleveland | June 27, 2025 Ohio’s regional public universities — including Cleveland State, and the Universities of Akron and Toledo — collectively serve more students than any single university in the state, including the stat...

I’m looking forward to discussing the vital role of Regional Public Universities at this City Club of Cleveland event!

Look, ma, I’ll be on WVIZ PBS! 📺

www.cityclub.org/forums/2025/...

I spoke w/@nbcnews.com about higher ed finance and research that hang in the balance with the current Trump Admin attacks.

"When you cut the research funding, that means [cancer-fighting] research will cease or it will be greatly diminished.”

Does anyone know/remember a published study (may have been in IHE/CHE) about the small number of institutions that are talked about in the media? Looking for a stat or two...

A University, a Rural Town and Their Fight to Survive Trump’s War on Higher Education The administration’s research funding and DEI cuts present an existential threat to regional public universities like Southern Illinois University, the economic backbone of the conservative rural regi...

I spoke w/@propublica.org reporter Molly Parker about the challenges facing Regional Public Universities during the Trump and said

"This is definitely one of those baby-in-the-bathwater moments..." as Trump goes after elite institutions but creates chaos for all. www.propublica.org/article/regi...

"They have a set of strategies to take down our institutions. The main part is to trick [liberals] because they don’t realize they’re going to come for the institutions no matter what. You want to show to the right wing that you’re a reasonable liberal, you can debate them. But they don’t care."

Also recommend this white paper that documents the importance of the 474 regional public universities across the US. It's from @ceciliaorphan.bsky.social and Mac Wetherbee at @thirdway.bsky.social. 4/ www.thirdway.org/report/regio....

ASHE Grads (@ashegrads.bsky.social) Official BlueSky account for @asheoffice Graduate Students. Join us for #ASHE2025 in Denver! Moderated by the Graduate Student Committee (GSC).

My advice to @ashegrads.bsky.social re: self care while conducting equity-focused research during this era? Spend time in spaces of innocence (w/children, pets, in nature), identify your sphere of influence and focus your energies there. This is a marathon. We must care for ourselves as we fight. 🥊

Nice plug for the important work from ARRC with @drkevinrmcclure.com, @drandrewk.bsky.social, & @ceciliaorphan.bsky.social

The growth in online grad programs makes sense given that RPUs often add these programs to serve their regions, and that many RPUs offer distance ed to serve adult learners in their regions. I appreciate this engagement w/our brief which brings more attention to this vital sector.

Diverging Fortunes in Public 4-year Institutions Regional Public Universities deserve more attention for their mission, but the trends aren't looking good

Phil Hill with EdTech used our Regional Public University (RPU) list to analyze enrollment and grad programs. He found that enrollment has declined slightly in the sector since 2012 (6.7%) and online grad programs have grown.

onedtech.philhillaa.com/p/diverging-...

New pub with @itspgr.bsky.social & Denisa Gandara examining how state policymakers in New Mexico frame their support or opposition to the New Mexico Opportunity Scholarship, a statewide promise program that has a flexible and generous design. #edusky #highered

epaa.asu.edu/index.php/ep...

Take action in support of Tribal Colleges and Universities! Call your Rep or Senator and read the script prepared by the American Indian College Fund.

standwith.collegefund.org/issues-impac...

Regional Public Universities: Expanding Higher Education's ROI for Students and Communities

🗣️Regional public universities offer greater upward mobility than any other type of institution. For many Americans, RPUs provide access, affordability, and quality education, paving the way for economic stability and job security. More from @ceciliaorphan.bsky.social & Mac Wetherbee

We describe how different types of RPUs create value for their regions and students. We conclude with policy recommendations that at the time, seemed great but now seem downright fantastical but are still worth stating.

Thanks to @bencecil.bsky.social for the invite to write about RPUs!

I truly believe that Regional Public Universities provide the best possible answer to questions about what value/ROI higher education provides society, which is why I co-wrote a @thirdwayedu.bsky.social brief about them.

New publication 🚨!

www.thirdway.org/report/regio...

@drandrewk.bsky.social and I had a wonderful time visiting Western Carolina University, a rural-serving Regional Public University, to help campus leaders think about how to tell their stories of impact and transformation. @arrc.bsky.social

Colorado’s Joe Garcia plans to retire after 25 years in higher education Garcia said his own college education helped him realize a career he never knew was possible.

I am grateful for Joe Garcia's leadership and service to Colorado. Sad to see him retire, but I know his legacy will live on. Happy retirement, Joe!

www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/202...

Administration, Practice, and Scholarship in Medicine with Dr. Sylk Sotto Mile Higher Ed Podcast · Episode

A new episode of Mile Higher Ed podcast just dropped. "Administration, Practice, and Scholarship in Medicine" a conversation with a DUHigherEd graduate Dr. Sylk Sotto.

open.spotify.com/episode/4f86...

How Change Unravels: The Failure of Ideal-centered Organizational Change at Regional Comprehensive Universities This multiple-case study examined the factors promoting or impeding ideal-centered change efforts focused on reclaiming the founding civic commitments of three Regional Comprehensive Universities. ...

I researched the failure of ideal-centered change and found that failure occurred when campuses failed to create ongoing cultural engagement with the ideal, involve naysayers, or assess the effects of the change.

Perhaps lessons for the attacks on DEI?

www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Glad my @arrc.bsky.social colleagues thought to download IPEDS data last week. This is wild.

I think as much attention to what is happening as possible is a good thing. But I also understand the need to focus attention on other priorities. It does feel like a firehose moment, though. But then I started a political awareness club in high school so this speaks to my own bias.

Which is probably a good thing?

The image features a dark blue silhouette of the state of Georgia on a white background. At the top of the silhouette are five simplistic human figures in a row; four are white, and one on the far right is gold. Below these figures, in large white text, is a statistic reading "Nearly 3 out of 4." In smaller text beneath, it states, "adults living in Georgia’s Appalachian counties struggle with basic math." To the right of the silhouette, the text "Appalachian Learning Initiative" appears in dark blue. Further down on the right, the text "APPLI is building solutions" is displayed. At the bottom left, there's a logo for the Appalachian Learning Initiative and a website link "www.appli.org." Icons for various social media platforms are at the bottom right, with the mention to follow "@APPLIOrg." The source of the statistics is noted as the National Center for Education Statistics, 2020.

#DidYouKnow?

Nearly 3 out of every 4 adults (73.3%) living in #Georgia's #Appalachian counties struggle with basic #Math.

Learn more by visiting our page about #GA on our website:

www.appli.org/georgia

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One small thing we can do for now, to help set up an infrastructure for organizing: join the @aaup.bsky.social. They have officially declared they will be more aggressive in defending academic rights

New report: Too many communities lack broad-access colleges A new report found that millions of Americans don’t have any colleges with high acceptance rates nearby, or they have only one, causing geographic disparities in college access.

A recent report suggests tuition discounts for nearby out-of-state students to expand college access. @ceciliaorphan.bsky.social says that broad-access institutions often do much more for their communities than confer degrees.

@saraweissman.bsky.social , @insidehighered.com

"[W]e’re looking at rank cowardice, as in Northeastern University’s decision to purge any public-facing information that even references [DEI]. I suppose this suggests that Northeastern was not particularly committed to these things, as they are setting a land speed record for “obeying in advance.”