Hi all!

Election Day brings yet another reminder of how deeply divided our country is. Not surprisingly, that divide is also starkly visible on college campuses, as Hechinger’s higher education reporter Olivia Sanchez recently found out. 

Over the last few years, clubs for college Democrats and Republicans have been frayed by the pandemic and political disagreements, she reports. 

Our quest to learn more about these groups came while reporting our new College Welcome Guide. It’s a trove of data on what life is like on more than 4,000 college campuses, including graduation rates, the climate for free speech, incidence of hate crimes, services for veterans and LGBTQ+ resource centers. It also shows how state laws affect college students.

Separately, we have a great tool that helps decode the real cost of a college education: Tuition Tracker. And here’s yet another great way to find out what is really going on in higher education, at a time when many are frustrated by high costs and too little transparency: our new podcast with GBH news, called College Uncovered.

You will learn, and you may also laugh. Regardless, we’d love to hear from you. Let us know what you think, and please remind others that the work we do is not free: It helps enormously to have new newsletter sign-ups and, even more importantly, new members.
 

Reporter’s Notebook: Why are campus political groups so hard to track down?

Turmoil in national political parties has echoes in college Republican and Democrat groups

Beyond the Rankings: The College Welcome Guide

Go beyond test scores and rankings to find out what the culture on campus is like

Tuition Tracker

Revealing the trust cost of college

PROOF POINTS: Schools’ mission shifted during the pandemic with healthcare, shelter and adult ed

A federal survey indicates that a majority of public schools have adopted aspects of the community model

OPINION: Uplifting Palestinian American students makes everyone safer    

Fearful of being falsely accused of antisemitism, educators often erase Palestinian experiences from school discussions – and that harms us all

Transit for toddlers: More bus stops needed near Head Start centers

Transportation is big barrier for participation in the early-childhood program

OPINION: It is time to pay attention to the science of learning

Teachers need to learn more about cognitive research