IU HESA Qualifying Exam
Part 1 Question Topics
2026-2027 List
For use from July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027
Prepared by: Leonard Taylor
Advisors will narrow this list down for each student taking the qualifying exam. The advisor will pick between 4 and 6 topics, making sure that the topics are not closely related to the topic for the Part 2 which typically focuses on the student’s dissertation research topic.
- Emerging tensions/conflict related to postsecondary accreditation
- Revisions to Pell Grant, and overall prioritization of workforce outcomes
- Efforts to dismantle the US Department of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø and the implications for Higher ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø
- Reflections on or revisions to the purpose of US higher education
- The role of AI in postsecondary teaching and learning
- Legislative challenges to faculty/shared governance at colleges and universities
- Academic freedom, faculty activism, and 1st amendment rights
- Changing financial aid landscape with a focus on student loans
- Reflections on the future of MSIs
- The role of student development theory in contemporary college-going
- Experiences and/or importance of contingent faculty, administrative support staff, and campus laborers
- International topics/perspectives on higher education
- Debates on Queer and Trans* student inclusion in college athletics or fraternity and sorority life