Hi there Reader,

Most universities are misaligned—and it’s costing them.

I sat down with Ben Kennedy, CEO of Kennedy & Company, to talk about the real financial risks facing colleges today.

Key Takeaways:

• Our pricing model is broken – Schools at 75% tuition discounting can’t sustain it. Yet most don’t have a plan to stop the bleeding.
• Your brand is your lifeline – If students think your institution is struggling, they won’t enroll. The wrong cost-cutting decisions make that perception permanent.
• AI & Data Are Game-Changers – Schools investing in predictive retention tools and strategic enrollment AI will pull ahead.

The Bottom Line?

The colleges that align their pricing, positioning, and retention strategies will survive...

The Conversation Here → [Clips; Full Convo]

Trump's College Clampdown: Who’s at Risk?

🔹 1. Trump’s Higher Ed Crackdown Escalates

• Former Columbia President Lee Bollinger warns that higher ed is facing an authoritarian takeover.
• Universities are caught between defending free speech and political pressure from the administration.
• Key concern: If institutions capitulate too much, they risk long-term damage to academic freedom and institutional autonomy.

📖 Read More →‘We’re in the Midst of an Authoritarian Takeover’​

🔹 2. The Education Department Mass Layoffs: What It Means

• Education Secretary Linda McMahon has cut nearly 2,000 staff—gutting oversight for federal student aid, civil rights, and research funding.
• Universities could see delays in financial aid, Title IX enforcement gaps, and stricter grant approvals.
• This signals a larger effort to shrink federal oversight in higher ed.

📖 Read More →Trump’s Education Secretary Described a ‘Final Mission.’ Now She’s Enacting Mass Layoffs.​

🔹 3. Funding Wars: Trump Admin Freezes $100M for the University of Maine

• The administration has paused $100M in federal funding over Title IX compliance issues related to transgender athlete policies.
• This follows the $400M research grant cancellation at Columbia over antisemitism concerns.
• Higher ed leaders are bracing for targeted funding cuts based on political alignment.

📖 Read More →Trump Administration Pauses $100 Million in Funding to U. of Maine System​

The Left’s Techno-Optimism Problem

Amid economic and political uncertainty, Silicon Valley billionaires are the only ones pushing a bold vision for technological progress.

But should the left reclaim tech optimism?

• Breakthroughs are accelerating—AI is solving the protein-folding problem, Google’s DeepMind has discovered 2.2 million new materials, and gene-editing is curing diseases once thought untreatable.
• But who benefits? The tech elite is shaping these advances, while public-sector investment lags behind.
• Higher ed’s role: Universities must ensure that technology benefits the 99%, not just billionaires.

📖 Read More →The Left Needs Its Own Version of Techno-Optimism​

-Mike O’Connor

O'Connor & Associates

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