A Year of Kropp on Campus: What’s Changed, What Hasn’t, and What’s Next
One year ago, I published the first issue of Kropp on Campus.
At the time, I had a simple goal. Create a space to think out loud about higher education, grounded in real experience rather than just theory. Fifty-two posts later, that goal has turned into something much more meaningful.
Over the past year, the newsletter has explored a wide range of themes that sit at the center of higher education today:
· Teaching and learning, especially what actually works in real classrooms
· The evolving role of faculty, including adjunct realities and workload pressures
· Graduate education and the expectations of working professionals
· Trust in higher education and how institutions can rebuild it
· The rapid integration of AI into coursework, assessment, and curriculum design
· The changing nature of student behavior, motivation, and engagement
If there is a common thread across all of it, it is this: higher education is not standing still, but in many cases, we are still trying to teach and operate as if it is.
Over the past year, I have noticed a shift. Conversations are becoming more practical. Less about whether change is coming, and more about how to navigate it. Faculty are asking sharper questions. Students are expecting more relevance. Institutions are feeling pressure to adapt faster than their structures allow.
That tension is where most of my writing has lived.
Looking ahead, the focus will become even more concentrated on teaching and learning. Not in the abstract, but in the day-to-day decisions instructors make. How we design assignments. How we give feedback. How we integrate AI without losing rigor. How we prepare students for a professional world that is evolving in real time.
Much of that thinking will build toward the release of my upcoming book in January with Cognella, which will center on helping faculty make sense of teaching in a digital, AI influenced environment.
If you have been reading since the beginning, thank you. If you joined somewhere along the way, I am glad you did.
There is more to come.