Every public institution that has taken the time to broadcast their U.S. News ranking for this year is demonstrating that they do not understand what is actually happening right now. Your ranking is not going to save you.

Your ranking was never going to save you, but it is especially true now. I believe every public higher ed leader knows that the sector requires a massive infusion of public funds to just get through this current crisis, and yet, they're still trying to compete their way through.

That competition has killed our public institutions and led directly to their privatization. The only way forward is to return to a publicly-funded system. To convince the public that this is worth doing requires some different thinking among leaders, IMO.

I am sympathetic to the structural problems that have led to what I'm sure seemed like no good choices for public higher ed institutions, but at some point, you've got to recognize what's up and move toward a genuine solution, rather than kicking the can.

It's going to be a fight, and it might not be won, but let's at least fight for it. I tried to provide a blueprint for that fight here: https://beltpublishing.com/collections/pre-order/products/sustainable-resilient-free-the-future-of-public-higher-education

Attempting to open to F2F instruction and residential life was a signal of a willingness to accept the continued austerity that has so harmed public higher ed. At some point, enough must be enough or the neglect will continue.

I get that it's incredibly hard to be the outlier which is why public institutions must coordinate around these problems, not collaborate on how to "open" amidst a pandemic, but to make clear that there is no opening under these circumstances.

The first step to returning to the status of a public good is to start acting like one.