Robert Kelchen

JULY 5, 2023

I joined Twitter back in February 2013, when I was in the final stages of completing my PhD at Wisconsin and looking for an academic job. Since then, I can’t emphasize enough how valuable Twitter has been to me professionally. I have made connections with wonderful people, started research collaborations, and disseminated my work to policymakers and journalists.

Industry 100

Industry Management Research IT 100

Robert Kelchen

JUNE 30, 2023

In a conclusion to one of the most consequential Supreme Court sessions in many years, the Court released an opinion today on the Biden administration’s proposed plan to forgive up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt per borrower. After dismissing one case due to lack of standing from the plaintiffs, the Court voted 6-3 to block forgiveness in the second case (giving standing based on the servicer MOHELA).

Administration 279

Administration Higher Education Management Admissions 279

Robert Kelchen

JUNE 15, 2023

I have the pleasure of teaching my PhD class in higher education finance again at Tennessee this summer. Our students take classes year-round, and I am offering the class in a condensed five-week format this summer to best meet the needs of our students. That means a lot of reading for all of us in a short period of time, but I’m excited as always for this class.

Finance 113

Finance Higher Education Budget and Finance Management Education 113

Robert Kelchen

APRIL 25, 2023

I was just starting to wonder when the U.S. Department of Education would release a new year of College Scorecard data, so I wandered over to the website to check for anything new. I was pleasantly surprised to see a date stamp of April 25 (today!), which meant that it was time for me to give my computer a workout. There are a lot of great new data elements in the updated Scorecard.

Education 200

Education IT 200

Robert Kelchen

JANUARY 19, 2023

The U.S. Department of Education recently announced that they will be creating a list of low-value postsecondary programs , and they requested input from the public on how to do so. They asked seven key questions, and I put together 3,000-plus words in comments as a response to submit. Here, I list the questions and briefly summarize my key points. Question 1: What program-level data and metrics would be most helpful to students to understand the financial (and other) consequences of attending a

Federal Government 100

Federal Government Libraries Government IT 100

Robert Kelchen

JANUARY 19, 2023

Within a couple of hours of posting my comments on the Department of Education’s proposal to create a list of programs with low financial value, I received multiple inquiries about whether there was a user-friendly dataset of current debt-to-earnings ratios for programs. Since I work with College Scorecard data on a regular basis and have used the data to write about debt-to-earnings ratios, it only took a few minutes to put something together that I hope will be useful.

IT 189

IT 189

Robert Kelchen

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

It’s the second Monday in September, so it’s time for the annual college rankings season to conclude with U.S. News & World Report’s entry. The top institutions in the rankings change little from year to year, but colleges pay lots of attention to statistically insignificant movements. Plenty has been written on those points , and plenty of digital ink has also been spilled on U.S.

Research 100

Research Admissions Education 100

Robert Kelchen

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

For the first time in the lifetimes of many Americans, inflation has become a legitimate concern. In the last year, the Consumer Price Index increased at a 6.2 percent clip —a rate not seen this century. Trends in inflation over the last two decades (BLS graphic). The higher education industry is far from immune from the effects of an inflationary cycle that was largely unexpected even a few months ago.

Development and Fund Raising 130

Development and Fund Raising Finance Higher Education Recruitment 130

Robert Kelchen

DECEMBER 16, 2021

NOTE: This post was updated on February 2, 2022 to reflect substantial changes between the initial and final Carnegie data releases. Every three years, Indiana University’s Center on Postsecondary Research has updated Carnegie classifications–a key measure of prestige for some colleges that helps define peer groups. Much of the higher education community looks closely at these lists, and doesn’t hesitate to share their opinions about whether they are correctly classified.

Higher Education 100

Higher Education Research Community College Management 100

Robert Kelchen

JANUARY 3, 2022

I am beyond excited to be back in the (virtual) classroom this spring, as I get to teach a course for the first time since spring 2020. I am teaching a remote synchronous PhD class in higher education finance as my first course at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Department heads here are expected to teach one course per year, and it was great to be asked to teach this course.

Finance 113

Finance Higher Education Budget and Finance Management Education 113

Robert Kelchen

APRIL 5, 2022

Multiple news outlets are reporting that the Biden administration will announce a fifth extension of the federal student loan repayment pause that began in March 2020 shortly, with this extension going through the end of August 2022. This news doesn’t seem to make anyone truly happy, with borrower advocates and many progressives advocating for an extension through the end of 2022 and/or outright student debt forgiveness.

Administration 130

Administration Education IT 130

Robert Kelchen

JUNE 9, 2022

During the last year or so, inflation has grabbed the attention of the American public. The price of just about everything is way up, with gas prices, food, and rent grabbing the nation’s attention. As I write this piece, the most recent inflation rate checks in at 8.3% , which is leading the Federal Reserve to increase interest rates and also likely increases the risk of a coming recession.

Food 100

Food Higher Education Administration Education 100

Robert Kelchen

JULY 15, 2022

One of the defining features of life in higher education for full-time faculty, administrators, and graduate students has been the academic conference. Navigate your university’s travel and reimbursement process (if you’re lucky) to spend a few days attending presentations, sharing your work, and connecting with colleagues at a generic conference hotel or convention center with overpriced beverages and questionable carpet designs.

Professional Development 113

Professional Development Finance Hospitality Food 113

Robert Kelchen

AUGUST 28, 2022

In the midst of a fairly busy week for higher education ( hello, Biden’s student loan forgiveness and income-driven repayment plans! ), the National Center for Education Statistics began adding a new year of data into the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. I have long been interested in cost of attendance figures, as colleges often face intense pressure to keep these numbers low.

Higher Education 100

Higher Education Education IT 100

Robert Kelchen

NOVEMBER 28, 2022

It’s safe to say that leaders in higher education typically have a love/hate relationship with college rankings. Traditionally, they love them when they do well and hate them when they move down a few pegs. Yet, outside of a small number of liberal arts colleges , few institutions have made the choice not to cooperate with the 800-pound gorilla in the college rankings industry– U.S.

Alumni 100

Alumni Higher Education Research Industry 100

Robert Kelchen

DECEMBER 19, 2022

It’s definitely the holiday season here at Kelchen on Education HQ (my home office in beautiful east Tennessee). My Christmas tree is brightly lit and I’m certainly enjoying my share of homemade cookies right now. But as a researcher, I got an early gift this week when the U.S. Department of Education released the latest round of data for the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System ( IPEDS ).

Finance 100

Finance Community College Media Faculty 100