The Open Campus Local Network expanded to 14 locations in 2024, putting reporters on the beat to cover the role of colleges in shaping communities across the country. These reporters told stories that changed institutional practices and the course of public policy debates. And they connected with new audiences, helping people understand how they can press for change.
Here are some highlights of the year:
Open Campus launched a statewide network in Texas to deepen higher ed coverage across a big and consequential state.
- Investigative reporting by Kate McGee, an Open Campus reporter at the Texas Tribune, about Texas A&M’s botched hiring of a veteran Black journalist led to the resignation of the university’s president.
- The story was one of many Kate and others reported that examined public universities’ responses to the state’s ban on offices, programs, and training that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion — and whether they were taking it too far.
- Open Campus led a virtual event about the future of higher ed in Texas, which drew more than 120 participants, and conducted Texas-specific expert briefings for Open Campus reporters on key policy issues, such as what’s ahead for the state’s transformative community-college funding plan.
Having people on the beat is changing behavior, reminding leaders of their duty to the public.
- A university source told Amy Morona, the Open Campus reporter at Signal Ohio, that the drumbeat of her reporting had the leaders of Cleveland State on their toes, thinking about what she would write before they put anything on a slide presentation, for example.
Open Campus’ expert coverage has spurred action.
- In California, the state department of education removed several for-profit schools from its funding list after Adam Echelman, the Open Campus reporter at CalMatters, asked why it was still supporting schools that were unlicensed or with a license under appeal, and schools that were under state or federal investigation.
- In Illinois, coverage that Open Campus reporter Charlotte West worked on with WBEZ Chicago, an Open Campus partner, revealed that many people in Illinois prisons weren’t getting the full sentence reductions under a new state law giving credits for participating in education and other programs. After the story, one of the people featured was released and prisons began revisiting their practices.
Open Campus local reporting is getting national attention.
- Open Campus combined local reporting from several of its network reporters with national reporting by the Hechinger Report to examine the impact on rural communities of financial troubles and program cuts at regional publics and rural institutions. It was among the top-read stories the week it was co-published in The Washington Post. The story also was re-published by Ms. Magazine and highlighted in publications like The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Open Campus training and tools are building expertise and powering confident reporting.
Open Campus provided a wide range of training and tools to Local Network reporters, including a two-day, in-person summit, monthly workshops, source databases, custom AI tools to sharpen story ideas and develop public-records requests, and regular tipsheets about key policy issues.
- Newsroom leaders have said their professional development budgets are shrinking, and that they particularly value the ways Open Campus helps their reporters improve their skills, including with public records, data, and beat reporting fundamentals.
- Reporters have said that Open Campus guidance has advanced their careers and supercharged their learning curve:
“I get all kinds of help on a daily basis from my OC editors, including thoughtful discussions about story ideas, workshopping headlines, and general guidance to become a subject-level expert,” said Amy Morona of Signal Ohio. “Much of my confidence as a higher ed reporter stems from their continued encouragement. I really believe this all adds up to more nuanced reporting that helps to better inform my community and holds institutions accountable.”
About Open Campus
Open Campus is a nonprofit news organization that ensures communities have the independent information they need about higher ed. By placing expert reporters in local newsrooms across the country, we help people understand and influence the institutions that shape their future opportunities.