Cofounder and CEO of Open Campus (opencampusmedia.org) — a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering higher education.
Articles by Scott Smallwood
[2509.17950] Dorabella Cipher as Musical Inspiration
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Three counties that tell the story of America's education divide
A newsletter about role of higher education in society — plus Open Campus developments. The education divide remains one of the most powerful forces in American politics. This understanding — mentioned on so many podcasts and cable news shows — has become so entrenched this fact may sound unfathomable: Back in 2000, Al Gore and George Bush split the 100 most educated counties in the country right down the middle. Now, of course, the Democrats win four out of five of them.
In Florida, public universities are leaving some behind
This newsletter is about the role of higher ed in society. Each week, we highlight how college is (or is not) working for citizens and communities. It goes out most Friday mornings — If someone forwarded this to you, you can sign up for your own copy here. Sign up for the newsletter A newsletter about role of higher education in society — plus Open Campus developments.
We’re expanding to Chicago
This newsletter is about the role of higher ed in society. Each week, we highlight how college is (or is not) working for citizens and communities. It goes out most Friday mornings — If someone forwarded this to you, you can sign up for your own copy here. Sign up for the newsletter A newsletter about role of higher education in society — plus Open Campus developments.
How does this tiny Colorado town send most students to college?
Sign up for the newsletter A newsletter about role of higher education in society — plus Open Campus developments. By Sara Hebel and Scott Smallwood This newsletter is about the role of higher ed in society. Each week, we highlight how college is (or is not) working for citizens and communities. It goes out most Friday mornings — If someone forwarded this to you, you can sign up for your own copy here.
Aroma of legitimacy
Sign up for the newsletter A newsletter about role of higher education in society — plus Open Campus developments. By Sara Hebel and Scott Smallwood This newsletter is about the role of higher ed in society. Each week, we highlight how college is (or is not) working for citizens and communities. It goes out most Friday mornings — If someone forwarded this to you, you can sign up for your own copy here.
Life without loans
Sign up for the newsletter A newsletter about role of higher education in society — plus Open Campus developments. By Sara Hebel and Scott Smallwood This newsletter is about the role of higher ed in society. Each week, we highlight how college is (or is not) working for citizens and communities. It goes out most Friday mornings — If someone forwarded this to you, you can sign up for your own copy here.
The trick of prestige
This newsletter is about the role of higher ed in society. Each week, we highlight how college is (or is not) working for citizens and communities. It goes out most Friday mornings — If someone forwarded this to you, you can sign up for your own copy here. The Weekly Dispatch Sign up for the newsletter A newsletter about role of higher education in society — plus Open Campus developments.
Who could be against social-mobility rankings?
Who could possibility be against social mobility rankings? In recent years — at least in the higher-ed policy wonk space — they have become the answer to every conversation about rankings and metrics and outcomes. What we need, the argument goes, is to focus on which colleges are really creating opportunity to move students from lower rungs on our economic hierarchy to higher ones.
Developing a Multi-Functional Water-Based Matting Agent
For the last few years, the do-it-yourself (DIY) market for home improvement materials has grown rapidly, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, the use of low-gloss matte paint has become popular with consumers. The end-use customer desires a robust paint that is easy to apply and maintain.
Inside Mississippi’s only class on critical race theory
This newsletter is about the role of higher ed in society. Each week, we highlight how college is (or is not) working for citizens and communities. It goes out most Friday mornings — If someone forwarded this to you, you can sign up for your own copy here. Open Minds Any debate about critical race theory in America can feel so pointless because it’s generally subject to shape-shifting, bad faith, misunderstanding, and competing definitions.
Is college admissions broken? Or working exactly as intended?
This newsletter is about the role of higher ed in society. Each week, we highlight how college is (or is not) working for citizens and communities. It goes out most Friday mornings — If someone forwarded this to you, you can sign up for your own copy here. Reforming Admissions “The race for numbers is over,” the college president wrote. “The race for quality has begun.
In Milwaukee, a college broadens access amid historical inequities, dropping enrollment
Four INN newsrooms spent several months reporting on community colleges in Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee and Minneapolis/St. Paul for the project Broken Ladder. The participants — Borderless Magazine, BridgeDetroit, Sahan Journal and Wisconsin Watch — explored the barriers facing community college students, who are often immigrants and people of color. Jasmin Treske had planned to go to college after graduating from South Milwaukee High School.
Hunger on campus isn’t a joke about ramen
Two slices of pizza for breakfast. Two slices of pizza for lunch. Two slices of pizza for dinner. For more than a year, that’s how Aditya Sharma, a nursing student at North Hennepin Community College, planned his meals. Four INN newsrooms spent several months reporting on community colleges in Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee and Minneapolis/St. Paul for the project Broken Ladder.
Immigrant community college students struggle to find support during COVID
Every Tuesday and Thursday at 10:30 a.m., Lien Tang takes a break from her home care job in Evanston and turns her attention to her online English class. By then, she’s already missed the first two hours of the course she takes through a local community college. If Tang, 40, is lucky, her break lines up perfectly with her turn to read out loud to the class. If the professor calls on her any other time, she misses her opportunity to participate.
How does a Detroit community college student get ahead?
When Chasidey Willis graduated from Mumford High School in 2017, she developed a plan to graduate from college in a timely fashion. She enrolled at Wayne County Community College District and completed 16 to 18 credits each semester as a student-athlete while working part-time in a work study program. Sleep was a rarity. Four INN newsrooms spent several months reporting on community colleges in Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee and Minneapolis/St. Paul for the project Broken Ladder.
When the SAT feels like a lock, not a key
This newsletter is about the role of higher ed in society. Each week, we highlight how college is (or is not) working for citizens and communities. It goes out most Friday mornings — If someone forwarded this to you, you can sign up for your own copy here. The Anti-Tester Our latest episode of Bootstraps, our podcast series about merit in education, starts in an unlikely place: the 1983 Tom Cruise movie Risky Business.
‘It’s an emergency’
Climate change moves from the periphery to mainstream in international education. Plus, a snapshot of virtual exchanges and an FBI warning about visa fraud. A Focus on Climate Not long ago, Ailsa Lamont and a handful of colleagues who started CANIE, the Climate Action Network for International Education, were on the outside looking in, trying to focus greater attention on the climate crisis.
College board OK’s University of Mississippi funding controversial drug unit for another year
The University of Mississippi got the green light to continue funding a controversial drug unit that faced criticism for coercing college students into working as informants. On Thursday, the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees approved a request from UM to renew its interlocal agreement with Lafayette County and the city of Oxford to fund the drug unit commonly called the Metro Narcotics Unit for another year.
When anything could happen
This newsletter is about the role of higher ed in society. Each week, we highlight how college is (or is not) working for citizens and communities. It goes out most Friday mornings — If someone forwarded this to you, you can sign up for your own copy here. Rational Choice? Choice sits at the center of our higher-ed system. Should you go to a small college or a big state university? Should you major in biology or engineering or political science?
The racial and economic impact of Mississippi’s proposed financial aid program
In 2022, state lawmakers might consider revamping Mississippi’s state financial aid programs in a way that will change how thousands of students pay for college — and whether they even go. Under the proposed “Mississippi One Grant,” the state’s three current financial aid grants will be consolidated into a single program that will award aid using a formula of need plus merit.
A year of unprecedented declines
Sign up to get Latitude(s) What the annual international-student census does, and does not, tell us. And higher-ed groups call on the Biden administration to move forward on a national strategy for international education. Yes, international educators, 2020 was a horrible, no good, very bad year.
What do we even mean by merit?
This newsletter is about the role of higher ed in society. Each week, we highlight how college is (or is not) working for citizens and communities. It goes out most Friday mornings — If someone forwarded this to you, you can sign up for your own copy here. ‘True Merit’ and a Debate Over Aid We told you a few weeks ago about a big proposed change our reporter in Mississippi has been examining related to how the state awards financial aid.
An investment that will accelerate our growth
This newsletter is about the role of higher ed in society. Each week, we highlight how college is (or is not) working for citizens and communities. It goes out most Friday mornings — If someone forwarded this to you, you can sign up for your own copy here. A Model To Strengthen Local News At Open Campus our local network is built on a different idea of how to reinvigorate local news. At its core, it’s a collaboration.
What Build Back Better means for international education
Sign up to get Latitude(s) Fee increases could be coming for international students, but there’s good news for DACA recipients in a social-spending bill. What To Know About the Build Back Better Act A huge social-spending bill poised to win congressional approval would increase fees for international students while permitting DACA recipients to qualify for federal financial aid.
Follow our expanded national reporting
It’s been a busy week here at Open Campus HQ. We had our first in-person staff meeting, we’re finalizing a big announcement for next week, and we’re heading to California for a reporting trip and conference. So in the meantime, here are a few updates and three stories from the higher-ed beat that caught our eye this week. Plus, where to sign up to follow our new national reporters.
A tale of two international enrollment trends
Sign up to get Latitude(s) International graduate enrollments are rebounding, but the number of foreign undergrads in the U.S. continues to fall. What’s going on? Plus, a survey unpacks the China Initiative’s impact on scientists, and I open up my reporter’s notebook. A Tale of Two Trends Preliminary fall enrollment data shows two very distinct and divergent trends for international undergraduate and graduate students.
U. of Texas at El Paso’s enrollment decreases for second year in a row
For the second year in a row, the University of Texas at El Paso has seen a decrease in enrollment after more than two decades of growth. Overall enrollment at UTEP dropped 3.5% — or by 876 students — from the fall 2020 semester. A total of 24,003 students are enrolled this fall, according to figures UTEP officials released to El Paso Matters this week. Last year, UTEP saw a 1.2% enrollment decrease from 2019, the first time the school saw a decline in 21 years.
For first-gen teachers, the path of higher-ed leads back into the classroom
Sign up to get First Gen I’ve always said that if I wasn’t a writer, I’d be a teacher. As someone who thinks a lot about education and my own personal journey through K-12 and higher education, I know that I owe a lot to the teachers and educators who were there along the way. At the start of the new school year, I got the opportunity to interview an educator for a New York Times Magazine issue on lessons from the last two years of virtual school.
Who deserves the bigger slice of state financial aid?
This newsletter is about the role of higher ed in society. Each week, we highlight how college is (or is not) working for citizens and communities. It goes out most Friday mornings — If someone forwarded this to you, you can sign up for your own copy here. In Mississippi, Shifting Aid Dollars How should a state dole out its limited money for college financial aid? That’s the basic question at the center of a new legislative proposal in Mississippi.
Playing the grade game
This newsletter is about the role of higher ed in society. Each week, we highlight how college is (or is not) working for citizens and communities. It goes out most Friday mornings — If someone forwarded this to you, you can sign up for your own copy here. Sorting and Ranking Remember back when you were scrapping for grades, worried about what that tough class might do to your GPA? Anxious that those months of study would be boiled down to a single letter?
New legislation would allow U.S. colleges to continue incentive-based student recruiting overseas
Sign up to get Latitude(s) New bills could reverse an anti-agent provision, Taiwan embarks on educational diplomacy to the U.S., and a look at how neo-nationalism affects universities. A Potential Fix A pair of bills have been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that would allow American colleges to continue incentive-based student recruitment overseas. The pieces of legislation are largely technical corrections to a recently passed veterans-education measure.
Ohio awards $1.7 million to boost FAFSA completions
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, is a big deal. Students who complete the form have a chance to earn state or federal financial aid for their education after high school. Plus, looking at completion rates can serve as an indicator of who is — and isn’t — planning on enrolling in college. Those rates fell during the pandemic.
What people get wrong about community colleges
This newsletter is about the role of higher ed in society. Each week, we highlight how college is (or is not) working for citizens and communities. It goes out most Friday mornings — If someone forwarded this to you, you can sign up for your own copy here. An Enormous Role Good luck predicting what might happen in Congress right now. But if President Biden gets his way, the federal government would send tens of billions of dollars to states to make tuition free for students at community colleges.
As emphasis on transfer students grows, Cleveland State and Cuyahoga Community College streamline the process
Ohio’s colleges have long been keeping tabs on the state’s shifting demographics as the number of graduating high school seniors in the state is projected to continue to drop. The pandemic amplified enrollment worries, too, as numbers fell at colleges here in Northeast Ohio and across the country last fall. Community colleges were among those hit the hardest. There has been a growing emphasis on transfer students. College presidents are talking about expanding pipelines.
Where education and jobs intersect
This newsletter is about the role of higher ed in society. Each week, we highlight how college is (or is not) working for citizens and communities. It goes out most Friday mornings — If someone forwarded this to you, you can sign up for your own copy here. The Promise of Economic Opportunity We started a new project back in June focused on covering the connections between education and work.
El Paso Community College enrollment continues to decline
Despite classes resuming last month for the new academic school year, El Paso Community College is still working on bringing students back. “We saw excellent gains in enrollment (but) we’re not exactly where we want to be,” Carlos Amaya, interim vice president of Student and Enrollment Services said about the 24,375 students enrolled for the fall semester. Enrollment for the current fall semester dropped 6% compared to the fall 2020 semester.
Who does the public believe gets an edge in admissions?
This newsletter is about the role of higher ed in society. Each week, we highlight how college is (or is not) working for citizens and communities. It goes out most Friday mornings — If someone forwarded this to you, you can sign up for your own copy here. Stories We Tell About Admissions College admissions is a mystery to most people. Many of them have this sense that it’s harder than ever to get in (Some places? Sure. Overall? Not at all).
After an acquittal, more questions about the government’s investigation of academic espionage
Sign up to get Latitude(s) Charges are thrown out in a much-watched China Initiative case, and why veterans’ legislation could affect international recruiting. A Decision, but More Questions A federal judge has acquitted a former University of Tennessee professor accused of hiding his ties to China after the espionage case against him crumbled. Federal prosecutors had planned to retry Anming Hu on charges of wire fraud and making false statements after his first trial ended in a deadlocked jury.
What does $4 billion get you?
This newsletter is about the role of higher ed in society. Each week, we highlight how college is (or is not) working for citizens and communities. It goes out most Friday mornings — If someone forwarded this to you, you can sign up for your own copy here.
The trouble with estimating college costs
This newsletter is about the role of higher ed in society. Each week, we highlight how college is (or is not) working for citizens and communities. It goes out most Friday mornings — If someone forwarded this to you, you can sign up for your own copy here. Misleading Prices We spend a lot of time talking about the cost of college. But what if the numbers we’re using aren’t even right?
As students return, Colorado State works to help them adjust to campus life during COVID
A sophomore like Joshua Duran typically would know the ins and outs of Colorado State University by the start of his second year. But as Duran helped sign up students interested in the United Men of Color student organization during this week’s Fall Student Involvement Expo, he found he didn’t know much about the Fort Collins campus. Duran, 18, spent most of his first year at CSU in his dorm room, taking classes online due to campus COVID restrictions.
‘Everything was in Afghanistan’
Sign up to get Latitude(s) How a group of female college students fled the country. Plus, more promising student-visa news and the end of Yale-NUS. ‘Everything Was in Afghanistan’ For nearly two weeks after Kabul fell under Taliban control, Maryam Khademi checked her phone constantly. Even in the middle of the night, she heeded its slightest vibration. She was waiting for news that she could leave Afghanistan.
Former El Paso students create mentorship program for high schoolers transitioning to college
In 2019, four college students from El Paso met at a Starbucks because they wanted to give back to their community, but weren’t sure how to do so. “We sat down and we started talking about the experiences that we had in high school and what we felt the ecosystem of El Paso was in the education realm,” said Eric Diaz, a mathematics senior at the University of Texas at El Paso.
Maria Archangelo joins Open Campus as chief revenue officer
We’re thrilled to welcome Maria Archangelo, a long-time leader of high-performing revenue, fundraising, sales, and membership teams for news organizations, as our first chief revenue officer. At Open Campus, Maria joins our executive team and will lead our efforts to grow and diversify our revenue. Maria comes to us from Chalkbeat, one of the fastest-growing nonprofit news organizations in the country, where she was vice president of partnerships.
Colorado community colleges predict another year of declining enrollment
Colorado community college leaders face a troubling trend as the fall semester approaches — fewer students are projected on campus than last year when pandemic restrictions were at their height. The projected decline comes even as college officials expect students back for in-person learning. The delta variant’s uncertainty seems to be the cause, according to the officials.
Searching for Genius
Sign up to get our weekly email In my head, Horatio Alger stories are, of course, the quintessential rags-to-riches stories. You know the formula: through grit and talent, the poor boy pulls himself up. I got to talk with Nathan Sleeter a while back and he complicated that picture a bit.
UTEP student becomes youngest composer for major music publishing company
El Paso native Abeni Merriweather has become the youngest composer for major music publishing company Carl Fischer Music Company. “Everyone that does music obviously knows who Carl Fisher is. … It’s one of the most well-respected music publishers for literally a century,” Merriweather said. “So I was like, oh, they want my piece?” Founded in 1872, the New York City-based company has been an education leader and publisher for a variety of music genres such as jazz, concert music and chorals.
Biden administration calls for a ‘renewed U.S. commitment to international education’
Sign up to get Latitude(s) BREAKING: The Biden administration calls for a unified national strategy for international education. Plus, this summer’s student-visa numbers are on pace with pre-pandemic levels, a new analysis shows. ‘A Renewed Commitment’ The United States has never had a coordinated national approach to international education. Now the Biden administration says it will pursue one.
A detour through a barber shop
This newsletter is about the role of higher ed in society. Each week, we highlight how college is (or is not) working for citizens and communities. It goes out most Friday mornings — If someone forwarded this to you, you can sign up for your own copy here. College Paths Rerouted Instead of going to college in a pandemic, QuangHuy Bui became a barber. He’d learned the trade from watching friends and YouTube videos.
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