If colleges continue to start from nearly the same aspirations, students comparing similar institutions will continue to fall back on the differences they can see most easily.

Faculty development is not a perk. It is a critical piece of educational infrastructure that's as central to an institution's survival as the systems that keep the lights on and tuition flowing.

Amid intense pressure from the Trump administration and deepening public skepticism of higher education, a number of colleges have embarked on an unusually public bout of self-scrutiny in an effort to regain public trust.