Inside Neg Reg and the 2026 Higher Ed Changes

Higher education has spent years hearing that affordability, student debt, and public skepticism are putting pressure on colleges and universities. What is different now is that those pressures are shaping federal action in ways that will directly affect Title IV funding, graduate program financing, accreditation reform, and institutional decision-making before July 1, 2026. In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Dr. Andy Vaughn, President and CEO of Alliant University and one of three higher education representatives on the 2025 Negotiated Rulemaking RISE Committee, about what the latest Neg Reg signals for colleges and universities and why institutions that have not started preparing are already behind. Drawing on Vaughn's firsthand experience in federal rulemaking and Dr. McNaughton's strategic perspective on higher education leadership, this conversation examines why this round of Neg Reg is different from prior cycles, why the One Big Beautiful Bill changed the operating landscape, and why the next major pressure point is likely to be accreditation reform tied to cost and value. The discussion also explores what these changes mean for graduate programs, why institutions need to involve faculty early in redesign decisions, and how leaders should be thinking now about financing, delivery costs, and institutional relevance in a rapidly changing environment. This conversation is especially relevant for presidents, provosts, CFOs, trustees, graduate enrollment leaders, and others responsible for institutional planning, financial sustainability, and academic strategy in a time of federal change. Topics Covered: Why this Neg Reg is different from prior negotiated rulemaking cycles How the One Big Beautiful Bill changed the Title IV and regulatory landscape Why student debt is the political driver, but cost of delivery is the deeper issue Why the accreditation Neg Reg is likely to focus on cost, value, and specialty accreditors How graduate and professional programs may be affected by financing gaps Why institutions should be modeling risk and redesigning programs before July 2026 Why faculty and program leaders need to be involved early in institutional response How AI is shifting from a compliance concern to a program quality and workforce issue Real-World Examples Discussed How Alliant began tracking Title IV changes before the bill passed and started preparing early Why some graduate programs may face private lending gaps with no strong historical baseline Examples of specialty accreditor requirements that can lock in delivery costs, including supervision expectations, program length, and student-to-faculty ratios The institutional challenge of lowering tuition when accreditation structures still drive high-cost delivery Why some institutions are still treating AI primarily as a containment issue instead of a graduate-readiness issue Three Key Takeaways for Higher Education Leadership Institutions should treat these federal changes as structural, not temporary, and plan accordingly. The real issue is not just tuition pricing. It is the cost of delivering programs under current academic and accreditation structures. Colleges and universities that start redesigning early, especially with faculty involved, will have more options than those that wait for the pressure to become financial damage. Read the transcript: https://changinghighered.com/2026-neg-reg-and-title-iv-changes-in-higher-education/ #HigherEducation #HigherEducationPodcast #NegReg

New data from Lumina Foundation and Gallup's Aligning Education and Work: What Employers Say Higher Education Must Deliver shows that employers still value college degrees — but have serious concerns about whether graduates are ready to use them. In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Dr. Courtney Brown, Vice President of Impact and Planning and Chief Data and Research Officer at Lumina Foundation, about what 2,000 employers told Gallup about higher education, why public confidence in colleges has collapsed from 60% to one-third of Americans in a decade, and what institutional leaders must do about it. Brown also discusses Lumina's new national goal: 75% of Americans in the labor force holding a credential of economic value by 2040, up from a current baseline of 43%. Topics Covered: What the new employer data shows about degree value, skills readiness, and preparation gaps Why public confidence collapsed and which concern ranks first, second, and third among those losing faith Why current students report dramatically different experiences than the general public perceives The 43 million stopped-out Americans and why the system failed them Why today's students are not a nontraditional population to accommodate around the margins What Lumina's new credentials-of-value framework measures and why attainment without economic value is no longer sufficient Three Key Takeaways for Leadership: Stop playing defense and lead with evidence. Transparency about outcomes builds credibility. Defensive posturing does not. Treat the skills gap as a question, not a verdict. Investigate what specific skills are missing before restructuring curriculum. Redesign for the students who are enrolling, not the ones who were. Flexibility, mental health support, and advising connected to career outcomes are completion infrastructure, not amenities. Read the transcript: https://changinghighered.com/2026-lumina-gallup-report-aligning-education-and-work/ #HigherEducation #WorkforceReadiness  #LuminaFoundation #HigherEdStrategy #ChangingHigherEdPodcast

AI in higher education is no longer just a technology issue. The larger question is whether colleges and universities will redesign learning so students develop judgment, critical thinking, and decision-making skills in a world where AI can already generate summaries, essays, and plausible answers on demand. In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with France Hoang, Founder and CEO of BoodleBox, about how higher education leaders can think more clearly and more strategically about AI. Hoang explains why AI should be used to augment human capability rather than replace it, and why educators matter even more in a world where AI can get students only part of the way. Drawing on examples from the classroom and across campus operations, Hoang outlines how colleges can move from AI independent to AI enabled and eventually toward AI native models of learning and work. He also explains why colleges need to redesign assignments, rethink pedagogy, and focus more intentionally on the development of domain expertise, reflection, and higher-order thinking. This episode is especially relevant for presidents, provosts, boards, CIOs, and academic leaders who need to make decisions about teaching, student support, workforce preparation, and institutional implementation in an AI-enabled environment. Topics Covered Why AI is forcing higher education to rethink what students should learn when AI can already do much of the visible academic work Why AI often produces a B-minus answer and why domain expertise still matters How the loss of routine entry-level work may weaken the apprenticeship path for graduates Why colleges need to redesign assignments around judgment, application, and reflection How faculty can use simulations, case studies, and human-AI collaboration in the classroom What AI independent, AI enabled, and AI native mean for institutional strategy How AI can support advising, counseling, and career services without replacing human connection Why AI adoption is as much a training, culture, and change-management issue as it is a technology issue Real-World Examples Discussed A marketing course at Point Loma where students build an AI assistant from their own class notes and use it in case studies and simulations A writing program at Pikes Peak State College where students compare their own writing with AI-generated writing and reflect on the differences A reimagined history assignment that uses role-based simulation instead of a traditional reading-and-essay model Institutional examples that show how colleges can move toward more applied, AI-enabled, and AI-native learning environments Three Key Takeaways for Higher Education Leaders Leaders need to know where their institution currently sits on the AI continuum, from AI independent to AI enabled to AI native. AI adoption is as much a training and human resource issue as it is a technology issue, so institutions need to invest in people as much as platforms. A culture of innovation, experimentation, and collaborative implementation will outperform a purely top-down rollout. This episode offers a practical framework for higher education leaders who want to move beyond AI policy and think more seriously about how learning, assessment, student support, and institutional strategy need to change when AI can already do much of the lower-level work. Read the transcript: https://changinghighered.com/ai-in-higher-education-teaching-human-judgement/ #HigherEducation #ArtificialIntelligence #HigherEducationPodcast

Jeff Dinski helped start Cold Pizza at ESPN, the morning show that eventually became First Take. On a daily show, ratings are everything. You either produce something people want to watch, or you do not last. He carried that discipline into edtech, and it is the lens through which he looks at higher education: are you really giving students what they need, or are you producing what is convenient for you?   In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton and Jeff Dinski, Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer at Ellucian, the largest edtech company in the world serving roughly half of all U.S. colleges and universities, dig into the structural forces behind higher education's confidence crisis, what Workforce Pell Grants will actually change, and what institutional strategy has to look like from here.   This conversation is especially relevant for presidents and boards who want a clear-eyed, outside-in read on what students are demanding, where the federal policy environment is heading, and which institutions are best positioned to adapt.   Topics Covered:   •       Why the confidence crisis has bipartisan roots and why neither political party has done higher education any favors •       Why student pathways are becoming individualized and what that means for program design and delivery •       Real examples of institutions where undergraduates do actual corporate work, not fetch-coffee internships, as part of their degree programs •       What Workforce Pell Grants will fund for the first time and which institutions are best positioned to benefit •       Why the DBA vs. research PhD distinction matters for building workforce-aligned faculty pipelines •       The Silicon Valley master's program model: tenured faculty for foundational content, industry adjuncts for advanced applied coursework •       Why smaller private institutions face the steepest challenges and what community colleges are doing right •       Two strategic tenets every president and board should act on now   Real-World Examples Discussed:   •       Programs where freshmen through seniors do real corporate job functions as part of their degree requirements •       A Silicon Valley master's program that deliberately splits teaching between tenured faculty and cutting-edge industry practitioners •       Business schools' long-standing use of practitioners alongside academics as a model the broader curriculum can adopt •       Ellucian's Journey platform, built to help institutions launch and scale non-degree and continuing education programs   Three Key Takeaways for Leadership:   1.    Experiment with non-degree courses now. Workforce Pell Grants will fund new program types at scale and institutions with existing capacity will be first to benefit. 2.    Find workforce partners you trust. Aligning curriculum with employer needs requires real relationships with real hiring managers, not assumptions about market demand. 3.    Create conditions for faculty innovation. The early adopters already exist at most institutions. Find them, support them, and let their demonstrated impact bring others along.   This episode offers a practical, outside-in perspective on the structural choices facing higher education and a concrete framework for how institutions can respond before circumstances force their hand.   Read the transcript: https://changinghighered.com/higher-education-disruption-workforce-pell-student-as-consumer/   #StudentSuccess #HigherEducation #HigherEducationPodcast #WorkforceDevelopment #EdTech

Accreditation is often treated as a compliance cycle, but SACSCOC is signaling a faster-moving, more transparent operating posture that will affect how institutions plan change, document quality, and explain outcomes to the public. In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Dr. Stephen L. Pruitt, President of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), about substantive change reforms, standards revision planning, outcomes transparency, and what institutional leaders should be watching right now. Topics Covered Substantive change reforms approved in December, including eliminating more than half of existing categories, shifting others to presidential review, and reducing approval times to as little as one week Why SACSCOC is emphasizing student benefit as a decision lens for institutional change The vice president liaison model and how it supports institutional navigation of SACSCOC processes The planned three-member rapid response team concept and when it may be used Law or Lore and why written requirements versus institutional assumptions can create unnecessary friction Standards revision planning, including public drafts and how feedback is incorporated The dynamic public-facing dashboard planned for spring and what it may make more visible Torch Awards and how outcomes signals relate to public trust and accountability Workforce alignment, affordability pressure, and the pathways from high school through postsecondary to careers Credit transfer as a public trust issue and why it is often perceived as a money grab Serving working adults as a design requirement, not an add-on Real-World Examples Discussed Georgia film-industry growth and the need to stand up new majors and degrees quickly Gwinnett Tech's advising approach that helps students sequence coursework to earn certificates along the way Workforce shifts such as autonomous trucking pilots and how programs could expand beyond a single credential to broader skills Three Key Takeaways for Higher Ed Leadership Faster change pathways increase the value of disciplined internal governance and clean documentation of readiness. Student benefit and measurable outcomes are becoming a more visible way institutions will need to justify change and demonstrate quality. Transparency tools and outcomes signaling will influence how stakeholders judge institutional credibility, affordability, and workforce relevance. Read the transcript https://changinghighered.com/sacscoc-accreditation-substantive-change-standards-2026/ #Accreditation #SACSCOC #HigherEducation #HigherEducationPodcast

Higher education's public trust problem is not something presidents can fix with better messaging. In this conversation, AAC&U President Dr. Lynn Pasquerella describes a structural squeeze on institutional independence that shows up as academic freedom fights, curriculum mandates, and growing skepticism about higher education's value. In episode 300 of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Dr. Pasquerella about why liberal education is often misunderstood, why academic freedom is inseparable from institutional autonomy, and why presidents and boards need to treat this moment as a governance and mission issue, not a temporary political cycle. Pasquerella explains how these pressures tend to escalate incrementally, why institutions lost control of the public narrative, and what it takes to rebuild credibility through community anchoring, transparency, and a renewed public-good case for higher education. This conversation is especially relevant for institutional leaders navigating legislative interference, polarized stakeholder environments, and the operational consequences of eroding trust. Topics Discussed Why academic freedom and institutional autonomy erode incrementally What Supreme Court precedent signals about academic freedom and university self-governance Why liberal education is about intellectual freedom, not partisan ideology How higher education lost the public narrative and why marketing is not the solution Moral distress and moral injury in the presidency under coercive mandates Belonging uncertainty, cognitive bandwidth, and the institutional impact of student wellbeing Community anchoring as the practical path to rebuilding trust How institutions can reimagine learning without abandoning rigor Real-World Examples Discussed Legislative interference that dictates curriculum and constrains shared governance. The closure of a college as a community-level loss, not only an institutional event. How belonging signals show up later as persistence, completion, and learning outcomes. Why transparency about tradeoffs affects institutional credibility How community advisory input can keep programs aligned with civic and workforce needs. Three Key Takeaways for University Presidents and Boards Treat academic freedom and institutional independence as a board-level governance priority, because erosion is gradual and easy to normalize. Rebuild trust through consistent community presence and usefulness, not positioning statements. Address belonging and wellbeing as institutional effectiveness variables, because belonging uncertainty reduces cognitive bandwidth and performance. Read the transcript and the accompanying post: https://changinghighered.com/moral-distress-belonging-presidential-leadership-in-higher-ed/ #HigherEducation #HigherEducationPodcast #AcademicFreedom #PublicTrust #LiberalEducation

Free speech on campus is not an abstract constitutional issue—it's a governance challenge for presidents and boards. In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton is joined by Dr. Sean Stevens, Chief Research Advisor at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), to examine the current state of campus free speech and what institutional leaders must do to protect open inquiry under increasing political and social pressure. Drawing on FIRE's national research and campus speech databases, Stevens outlines the sharp rise in government-involved attempts to sanction speech, the growing prevalence of self-censorship among faculty and students, and the structural pressures reshaping intellectual life on U.S. campuses. The conversation moves beyond partisan framing and focuses on leadership responsibility: preserving disciplined pluralism, reinforcing institutional neutrality, and ensuring that students graduate prepared to engage competing ideas with rigor and intellectual humility. Some of the key topics covered in this episode include: The increase in campus speech sanction attempts involving government actors Faculty and student self-censorship trends and what the data reveals Why exposure to competing perspectives is an educational obligation Institutional neutrality as protection for viewpoint diversity The distinction between protected speech and prudent speech in the social media era Practical steps presidents and boards can take to strengthen expressive rights policies Three Takeaways for University Presidents and Boards: Defend expressive rights consistently—even when doing so is politically uncomfortable. Leadership credibility depends on principled application. Recognize that sustained political and social pressure can narrow intellectual culture—and counter that contraction intentionally. Preserve disciplined pluralism as a core academic value. Students must be able to hear, analyze, and argue competing perspectives without fear. This episode provides a strategic lens for higher education leaders navigating campus speech controversies while protecting the fundamental mission of scholarship and inquiry. Listen now or read the transcript: https://changinghighered.com/free-speech-in-higher-education-fire-on-institutional-integrity-and-mission/   #HigherEducation #FreeSpeech #CampusLeadership #AcademicFreedom #BoardGovernance #ChangingHigherEdPodcast

Higher education is under mounting pressure to prove its value. But the data institutions need to respond already exists — most are just not using it strategically. In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Melba Amissi, Chief Customer and Operations Officer at the National Student Clearinghouse, about how the Clearinghouse's cross-institutional data can help college presidents and boards navigate the accountability, affordability, and workforce alignment challenges reshaping higher education. Drawing on a career in financial services, fraud analytics, cybersecurity, and operational transformation, Amissi brings an outsider's perspective to higher ed — one grounded in measurable outcomes and data-driven decision-making. She and Dr. McNaughton explore why institutions must embrace non-linear student pathways, improve credit mobility, strengthen employer partnerships, and lead with transparency to maintain public trust and institutional viability. This conversation is especially relevant for institutional leaders grappling with how to demonstrate return on investment, serve the growing stop-out population, and align programs with workforce needs in a rapidly shifting political and economic landscape. Topics Covered: The National Student Clearinghouse's role beyond compliance reporting — as a strategic benchmarking and analytics resource Why 42 million adults with some college and no credential represent both a challenge and an opportunity How credit mobility and articulation agreements affect enrollment competitiveness The Workforce Pell negotiated rulemaking process and its implications for program design Why workforce alignment should be an "and," not an "or" alongside liberal education How the FAFSA will now warn students about institutions with poor earnings-to-cost outcomes The rising Higher Education Price Index and its compounding effect on institutional costs Real-World Examples Discussed: Franklin University's articulation agreements with over 1,400 institutions, enabling five-minute credit evaluations for transfer students Paul Quinn College's work-integrated model partnering students with Southwest Airlines and other employers Tennessee's statewide talent pipeline that maps graduate competencies directly to employer needs Microsoft's partnership with Miami-Dade College community colleges to build cybersecurity workforce programs Oregon's systemwide credit transfer framework as a model for state-level interoperability Three Key Takeaways for Leadership: Transparency is a survival strategy — proactively share graduation rates, employment outcomes, and student debt data to build trust and stay ahead of regulatory mandates. Align programs with workforce needs through employer partnerships, stackable credentials, and continuous program assessment to demonstrate measurable ROI. Demonstrate real impact — show students, families, and stakeholders the tangible outcomes of your institutional strategies. Bonus Takeaway from Dr. McNaughton: Embrace diverse and non-linear student pathways. The traditional four-year linear journey is no longer the norm — institutions must design systems that serve students from all walks of life and keep the focus on student outcomes. This episode offers a data-grounded look at why higher education's most urgent challenges — cost, accountability, and public trust — require leaders who are willing to use the information already at their disposal to drive strategic change. Read the transcript: https://changinghighered.com/racking-stop-outs-transfers-and-roi-across-the-full-student-journey/ #HigherEducation #HigherEdROI #HigherEducationPodcast #StudentSuccess #WorkforceAlignment 

Agile change management in higher education is no longer optional. Institutions are navigating continuous disruption from AI, shifting student expectations, workforce pressures, and internal cultural resistance. The challenge leaders face is not how to implement change once, but how to build the institutional ability to adapt continuously. In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Dr. Christine Janssen Founder and CEO of Edstutia, an immersive learning company focused on adult learning, about why higher education must move from traditional change models to an agile, iterative approach to leadership, teaching, and institutional strategy. Drawing on her experience in both higher education and entrepreneurial environments, Janssen explains why institutions struggle when they treat change as a project rather than an operating condition. McNaughton and Janssen outline how agile thinking, faculty adaptation, and a willingness to experiment have become essential leadership capabilities for presidents, boards, and faculty alike. Some of the Topics Covered: ·      Why traditional change management models no longer match today's environment ·      How agile, iterative approaches help institutions adapt faster than governance cycles ·      Why AI is exposing weaknesses in traditional teaching and assessment methods ·      The role of faculty culture as both a barrier and a solution to meaningful change ·      Why preparing students for uncertainty requires faculty to be comfortable with it ·      How institutions risk becoming the "yellow cab" in a world expecting "Uber-level" responsiveness Real-World Examples Discussed: ·      How AI forces faculty to redesign assignments and assessment methods ·      Why student evaluations often measure the wrong outcomes ·      How other industries were disrupted by ignoring customer expectations ·      Examples of leaders who prioritize faculty development and innovation Three Key Takeaways for Higher Education Leadership 1.     Institutions must change how they think about change before they can change behaviors. 2.     Faculty partnership and professional development are essential to institutional adaptability. 3.     The greatest risk to higher education is waiting to see what others will do. This episode offers higher education leaders a practical framework for understanding why many institutional struggles stem not from isolated issues, but from an outdated approach to change itself. Read the transcript:  https://changinghighered.com/agile-change-management-for-higher-education-leaders/   #HigherEducation #ChangeManagement #HigherEducationPodcast    

In this episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Jeff Meade, Founding Director of the Every Quinnite is an Entrepreneur program at Paul Quinn College, about how the institution has embedded entrepreneurship into the operating model of the college itself. Rather than treating entrepreneurship as an elective or a business school track, Paul Quinn uses it as a structural solution to some of higher education's biggest challenges: workforce readiness, student engagement, institutional costs, and student debt. As one of only eight federally recognized work colleges in the United States, Paul Quinn requires all resident freshmen and sophomores to work on campus in meaningful operational roles. By junior and senior year, students transition into paid positions with corporate partners such as Southwest Airlines and Goldman Sachs. At the same time, every freshman completes a required entrepreneurship course during summer bridge, and students begin building and pitching real venture ideas that can receive seed funding from the college. Jeff explains how this model allows the college to lower tuition by redesigning its business structure, how corporate partnerships create a true workforce pipeline rather than traditional internships, and how entrepreneurship is used to teach students to become entrepreneurs of their own lives. This conversation is especially relevant for institutional leaders looking for practical ways to improve workforce readiness, reduce student debt, strengthen retention, and break down academic silos without adding new programs or increasing costs. Topics Covered: How the federal work college model changes both student engagement and institutional costs Why Paul Quinn lowered tuition by changing its operating model rather than increasing discounting How campus work transitions into paid corporate roles for juniors and seniors The required summer bridge entrepreneurship course for every freshman How student ventures are integrated into multiple academic disciplines The role of faculty leadership development through supervising student workers Why partnerships, both external and internal, are central to the model How a seed fund is designed to be self-sustaining through student venture revenue Real-World Examples Discussed: A student learning grant research and development by working directly in the entrepreneurship department Students working in enrollment management and representing the college at recruitment events Corporate partners sponsoring pitch competitions and hiring students into paid roles Students earning income that both offsets tuition and builds professional experience Freshmen pitching business ideas based on problems they see in their own communities Three Key Takeaways for Leadership: Partner with other institutions, corporations, and entrepreneurs rather than trying to build everything internally Design entrepreneurship and experiential learning models to be self-sustaining, not cost centers Make entrepreneurship universal across the student body so it becomes part of the institutional DNA Dr. McNaughton's Bonus Takeaway: Partnerships must exist internally across departments as well as externally to prevent silos and fully integrate the model This episode provides a clear example of how entrepreneurship can function as an institutional design strategy, not just a curricular offering. Read the transcript: https://changinghighered.com/entrepreneurship-to-redesign-college-operating-model/    #HigherEducation #StudentSuccess #WorkforceReadiness #Entrepreneurship