AKA Review - 03.27.2026

From Substack

Yes, This Time Is Different: Artificial Intelligence and the Reinvention of the University

By Steven Mintz

The 20th century expansion of access and scale that democratized higher ed failed on many dimensions of student success. Past technologies promised tutorial-like individualization for the masses but never reshaped learning fundamentally. AI will, the author argues. He lays out clearly how institutions can use the technology to deliver personalized learning at scale that will provide faculty time to offer mentorship and integrate their research into teaching—activities that truly shape successful graduates. Read this article

From University World News

U.S. Leads Worldwide Decline in Academic Freedom

By Nathan M. Greenfield

This comparative look at academic freedom worldwide disaggregates what the term means in order to explain why and how academic freedom is declining in Western nations—and in the U.S. more quickly than any other country. One reason American higher ed has long been a magnet for international students and faculty is its relative freedom from censorship and research restrictions. Retreats from that in the Trump administration may represent a significant disadvantage in the worldwide competition for top students and scholars. Read this article

From The Wall Street Journal

These Schools Want Civil Discourse on Campus. Even That Is Up for Dispute.

By Pamala Paul

The author examines the controversial status of half a dozen of the 45 schools of civic life established at public and private universities in the U.S. since 2017. These have their roots in the "nationwide civic-thought movement, led by" conservative politicians, academics, and liberals "alarmed by progressive overreach." While aligned with the traditions of liberal arts education, they alarm faculty and students for their unusual autonomy, outpouring of funding from conservative sources, and the degree to which their goals jibe with those of the Trump administration. Read this article

From The Atlantic

Stop Meeting Students Where They Are

By Walt Hunter

"Novels aren’t possible to teach…because students won’t (or can’t) read them." Ignoring this advice, and the bromide to "meet them where they are," the author taught a literature course that spent days or weeks on a single author, giving students time to read by changing the way they wrote. To his surprise, they read everything. Pollyanna as it might sound, this is a compelling description of why reading matters and how to "help students grow into the difficulty of reading" by taking time back from activities that monetize their attention in real time. Read this article

From The Chronicle of Higher Education

Is AI Making Us Stupid? Cal Newport Is Worried

By Evan Goldstein

In this witty, snarky, and illuminating interview, Cal Newport, philosopher of productivity and Georgetown professor of computer science discusses how AI will change higher ed, email as "digital water torture," and Professor In Exile Syndrome. He is less concerned that AI will take our jobs than that it will erode our capacity to think. Central to pedagogically sound use of AI, he argues, is the line between augmenting and automating thought—the latter eliminating the "cognitive strain" central to all human experience and big ideas. Read this article