#Universities

Across the United States, a quiet but mounting crisis is reshaping what students study and what colleges offer. In a pattern that reads like a cautionary tale for education systems worldwide, major programs—especially in the humanities and other non-professional fields—are disappearing or being scaled back as universities grapple with tighter budgets, shifting political winds, and enrolling shortfalls. In one coastal Massachusetts program, a Boston University satellite campus on Cape Cod announced it was ending in-person studies, a decision validated by dwindling enrollment and the harsh math of keeping courses viable. The human story behind that closure is stark: students who chose a future in social work, therapy, or other helping professions now face the unsettling prospect of either finishing online, transferring, or walking away from a years-long investment in a local community.

A practical blend of comfort and clinical care from the University of Utah offers transferable lessons for Thai universities facing rising student distress. The approach combines informal supports, like campus service animals, with after-hours access to professional counselors, demonstrating a humane, scalable path for improving student wellbeing.

As new students arrive, universities across the United States show how easy access to supportive services can ease homesickness and stress. At Utah, students can spend time with Volley, the campus service dog, or drop in during animal-assisted sessions at busy campus hubs. In addition, the MH1 program provides after-hours access to trained counselors, signaling to students that help is available even when regular offices are closed. This layered model reduces barriers to care and normalises help-seeking among young adults.

A top Android executive at Google argues that computer science should be reframed to emphasize solving real-world problems, not just teaching coding. As artificial intelligence accelerates software automation, Thai students, educators, and policymakers are reassessing which skills universities should prioritize.

Thailand’s education system has seen rising STEM enrollments under national plans to boost innovation and competitiveness. With AI increasingly handling routine programming tasks, educators stress the need for broader competencies. The Google executive describes CS as the science of designing solutions and building complex systems through teamwork and critical thinking, not merely learning Java or other languages.

The struggle to access contraception in the United States has become more difficult in recent years, prompting advocates in New York to devise novel solutions such as vending machines dispensing Plan B pills and other over-the-counter products on university campuses. As the national landscape of reproductive rights continues to shift—especially in the wake of clinic closures and new legal hurdles—New York’s approach offers fresh hope and urgent lessons for other regions, including Thailand, where access to reproductive healthcare is an ongoing concern.

A fresh wave of contraceptive access efforts is unfolding in New York, even as funding strains and policy shifts reshape services. At a large state university in upstate New York, emergency contraception is now available through a vending machine, helping reduce cost, stigma, and travel time. As clinics adapt to changing policies, these campus innovations provide practical models for health workers and policymakers worldwide, including Thailand, where reproductive services remain unevenly distributed.