Robert Kelchen
@robertkelchen.com
5.5K followers 450 following 3.3K posts
Professor & department head, University of Tennessee, Knoxville. I study higher ed finance, accountability, and financial aid. Washington Monthly rankings data editor. Dad, gardener, and baker. Personal account. https://robertkelchen.com/
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Reposted by Robert Kelchen
byberkowitz.bsky.social
During 2019 football season -- last one before the pandemic -- there were two college head coaches making over $8 million, none making over $9.5M.

This season, nine coaches are making more than $10 million, with another now at an annualized total of $10M.
sportsdata.usatoday.com/ncaa/salarie...
Highest Paid College Football Coaches & Salaries - USA TODAY
Ever wondered who the highest paid coach in college football is? Find out today with USA TODAY's complete salary data.
sportsdata.usatoday.com
robertkelchen.com
That's wild. We have local schools for a reason in most of the country.
robertkelchen.com
As a small-town Midwesterner with a PhD in education policy, I know the world of competitive high schools exist...but I still can't process it. Growing up, the options were the local public high school or a regional Catholic school. I went to the public school and turned out okay-ish.
These Parents Are Willing to Pay Up to $15,000 to Get Their Kids Into High School
Getting into high school—private and public—is more competitive than ever. Parents are paying up.
www.wsj.com
robertkelchen.com
And the faculty in your higher education program!
Reposted by Robert Kelchen
cantb.bsky.social
Student number controls
timeshighered.bsky.social
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is expected to announce plans to cut the number of UK university places by about 100,000 annually by reintroducing student number controls, reports Patrick Jack #edusky
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/badenochs-number-caps-plan-would-cut-100000-university-places
Reposted by Robert Kelchen
austinslaughter.bsky.social
This is a terrific paper looking at which programs are likely to fail the new earnings threshold established by the OBBA

www.american.edu/spa/peer/upl...
Bar graph showing the percentage of students in low-earning programs by credential type. Undergrad certificates: 24%; associate's: 3.9%; bachelor's: 0.6%; grad certificates: 3.1%; master's: 2.9%; doctoral: 0.3; professional: 4.7%; total (with undergrad certificates): 3.7%; total (without undergrad certificates): 1.8%.
Reposted by Robert Kelchen
kdonnn.bsky.social
so much more was to come from
the NCES longitudinal studies, especially high school which has been a mainstay since the 1970s.

HS&B:22 was planned to follow students through 12th grade and after, through postsecondary and career transitions.
robertkelchen.com
I was in a meeting yesterday with a bunch of people in suits. I show up in a polo shirt and khakis.
robertkelchen.com
@dcollier74.bsky.social and I are trying to be counterexamples!
robertkelchen.com
It's tough when red-state public university presidents put their jobs at risk when their association signs onto anything.
robertkelchen.com
The Trump administration is again exploring selling off part of the federal student loan portfolio. But that can only be done if the sale doesn't cost taxpayers money, and most of the portfolio is worth less than the book value of the loans.

www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
Experts caution that any sale comes with potential pitfalls for both taxpayers and borrowers.

Preston Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said selling off student loans was a dubious idea that made little fiscal sense. Private investors, he said, wouldn’t be willing to pay more than the loans are worth. Even if the goal is to shrink the portfolio and ease administrative costs, he said, it likely isn’t worth it.
robertkelchen.com
Individual colleges should know their international student enrollments by now (and a few numbers are coming out), but we won't have a solid national number for at least 4-6 months. The available data sources all tell parts of a potential story, but have notable flaws.
International Student Arrivals Drop 19%
Some experts note that the entry data contradicts enrollment increases shown in SEVIS data—while others say the declines are even more extreme than the arrivals data indicates.
www.insidehighered.com
robertkelchen.com
And the Cubs and Brewers are saying, "Hold my Spotted Cow."
robertkelchen.com
What an ending to the Dodgers-Phillies game (and I don't have a horse in that series). Baseball is awesome!
robertkelchen.com
@cantb.bsky.social and I shared some thoughts/concerns about the proposed higher education compact in this @chronicle.com piece. But I still think that quite a few red-state publics would sign up, if for no other reason than state legislatures would expect it.
Trump Says Signing a New ‘Compact’ Will Benefit Colleges’ Finances. It Could Also Do the Opposite.
Despite the promise of more federal dollars, several provisions could upend an already precarious business model.
www.chronicle.com
Reposted by Robert Kelchen
tennesseelookout.com
Knoxville College has named former Knox County Commissioner Dasha Lundy, DPT, as its new interim president, marking the return of a familiar leader at one of the most pivotal moments in the institution’s 150-year history. From @[email protected].
Historic HBCU Knoxville College names Dasha Lundy interim president as it rebuilds • Tennessee Lookout
Knoxville College's Board of Trustees has named Dasha Lundy, Ph.D., as interim president of the historically Black school.
tennesseelookout.com
robertkelchen.com
It's also telling how few people were willing to go on the record for this piece. I don't have IES funding and am tenured, so that likely helps me feel more comfortable.
robertkelchen.com
I shared a few thoughts on the concerns I see with cuts to the Department of Education's data and research capacity, although there are also a few green shoots that are worth watching.
Months After Deep Cuts, Education Researchers See Reason for Cautious Optimism
New hiring and talk of modernization led one researcher to say, ‘I am more hopeful than I was three months ago.’
www.the74million.org
robertkelchen.com
This is a really helpful summary of last week's negotiated rulemaking session on defining professional programs that get higher student loan limits, as well as looking forward to the committee's upcoming discussions.
ED Opens Door to Student Loan Cap Negotiations
The department made some progress toward its student loan overhaul in negotiated rule making, but big questions remain about borrower limitations and repayment plans.
www.insidehighered.com
Reposted by Robert Kelchen
mattbrown.bsky.social
Unironically this is like, one of the most important things ag colleges can do these days. Get on TikTok and post! God bless the weirdos (complimentary) of the extension services.
robertkelchen.com
It's on my to-buy list.
robertkelchen.com
It appears that two hedge fund leaders are behind the letter that the Trump administration sent to nine selective universities this week.
Ideas from Mr. Rowan’s group were quietly circulating in higher education circles by early March, when a handful of administrators and lawyers passed around an unsigned draft of what was then labeled a “university support and eligibility agreement.” Some knew that Mr. Rowan was helping to drive the document as others speculated about its origins. And just about all of them were left to wonder whether the document would become a blueprint for the Trump administration.

What emerged from the government on Wednesday closely resembled the Rowan group’s wintertime document.

Crucial portions of the government’s proposal this week are repeated verbatim from the draft document. The two documents, for example, stipulate that “all monies advanced by the U.S. government during the year of any violation shall be returned to the U.S. government.”
Reposted by Robert Kelchen