Taylor Swaak

Arlington

Education Journalist at Freelance

Staff Reporter at The Chronicle of Higher Education

Tech & innovation @chronicle | 🔎: College partnerships w/ private companies & AI | Not really here anymore; follow me on LinkedIn!

Articles

Students Found Out AI Will Help Read Their Names at Commencement. Protest Ensued.

2 weeks ago | chronicle.com | Taylor Swaak

The backlash to the news was vehement. Last week, word began spreading across the student body at the University of North Georgia that next month’s commencement would look a bit different. Instead of the usual setup — a volunteer professor announcing students’ names as they cross the graduation stage — it would be another person’s voice. Well, kind of. Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.
Trump Wants ‘AI Dominance.’ His Policies Are Hamstringing University Researchers.

3 weeks ago | chronicle.com | Taylor Swaak

American academics are sounding the alarm that staff reductions and anticipated budget cuts at the National Science Foundation are handicapping one of the Trump administration’stoutedpriorities:AI research and development. For decades, the NSF has been a leading funder of AI innovation in academe, with a research budget of more than $530 million in fiscal 2024 alone.
Yes, the U. of Phoenix Sale Is Still Stalled

1 month ago | chronicle.com | Taylor Swaak

The University of Phoenix, once the premier for-profit institution in the country, is taking advantage of its ability tocourt other options as an acquisition deal with a University of Idaho affiliate inches toward a two-year stall. Bloomberg this month Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for less than $10/month.
The Trends Report 2025

1 month ago | chronicle.com | Eric Kelderman |Lee Gardner |Emma Pettit |Taylor Swaak

Reset restore all settings to the default values
Online college courses used to be an exception. Now, they’re an expectation.

1 month ago | chronicle.com | Taylor Swaak

Ken Tidwell Jr. was fairly certain: Students would come back to San Jacinto College for in-person classes after the pandemic. Texas, as elsewhere, still had digital-equity gaps. And online learning didn’t quite fit his understanding of the state’s historical ethos — that the faculty expertise and student experiences that define higher education reside on a campus, not a computer screen. But that return en masse didn’t happen.
Virtual Courses Used to be the Exception. Now They’re an Expectation.

1 month ago | flipboard.com | Taylor Swaak

3 hours agoTrump administration cancels $400M in grants and contracts with Columbia UniversityNEW YORK (AP) — The Trump administration said Friday that it’s pulling $400 million from Columbia University, canceling grants and contracts because of what the government describes as the Ivy League school’s failure to squelch antisemitism on campus.
Colleges Must Revise Millions of Web Pages. It Will Be ‘Painful.’

Dec 6, 2024 | chronicle.com | Taylor Swaak

Public colleges nationwide will enter 2025 with a pressing mandate to make their web and mobile-app content accessible for all students. The U.S. Department of Justice earlier this year formally added new language to Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act that — for the first time — lays out specifictechnical standards for web content that public colleges and other government entities need to meet.
Deirdre Mulligan Interviewed By Chronicle of Higher Education About AI Assistants

Nov 20, 2024 | ischool.berkeley.edu | Taylor Swaak

From Chronicle of Higher EducationBy Taylor SwaakAt the California Institute of the Arts, it all started with a videoconference between the registrar’s office and a nonprofit. One of the nonprofit’s representatives had enabled an AI note-taking tool from Read AI. At the end of the meeting, it emailed a summary to all attendees, said Allan Chen, the institute’s chief technology officer. They could have a copy of the notes, if they wanted — they just needed to create their own account...
AI Assistants Keep Joining Meetings. Administrators Say It’s Out of Control.

Nov 13, 2024 | chronicle.com | Taylor Swaak

At the California Institute of the Arts, it all started with a videoconference between the registrar’s office and a nonprofit. One of the nonprofit’s representatives had enabled an AI note-taking tool from Read AI. At the end of the meeting, it emailed a summary to all attendees, said Allan Chen, the institute’s chief technology officer. They could have a copy of the notes, if they wanted — they just needed to create their own account.
Two Campaigns to Reduce Textbook Costs Are Often at Odds. Can They Co-Exist?

Oct 21, 2024 | chronicle.com | Taylor Swaak

For a few years at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Melody Rood helped award faculty members small grants to create open educational resources — course materials that are openly licensed, available for anyone to modify and update, and often free to use. But library administrators ended the program last year — a decision that Rood, the student-success and open-education librarian, directly attributes to having First Day Complete on the campus.