Policy Currents | The newsletter for policy people
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May 20, 2025
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How to Improve Campus Safety and Security
Ensuring safety and security is a top priority for America's higher education institutions. It's also a wide-ranging challenge, covering everything from strengthening pedestrian safety to preventing acts of violence. What are colleges, universities, and other postsecondary institutions doing to enhance campus safety and security? And what might help their efforts become more effective?
RAND researchers tackle these questions in a new report. They find that, although higher education institutions are making considerable efforts to keep their communities safe, resource constraints--such as limited funding and staff time--create significant challenges. Moreover, campuses are often a microcosm of broader societal issues, which can complicate the work of safety personnel.
The authors also identify ways the federal government could provide additional support. These include facilitating information-sharing and collaboration between higher education institutions, local law enforcement, and state and federal agencies; providing guidance on how to improve threat-reporting systems; and helping schools better address the threat of targeted violence.
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Military Recruitment Is on the Rise. Now What?
Our new flagship podcast, Policy Minded, launched last week. The first episode features RAND's Beth Asch, a renowned expert on military personnel economics and defense manpower. She discusses the recruiting crisis the U.S. military faced in recent years and why enlistment numbers rebounded last year. Looking forward, Asch says the most important thing the military can do to ensure retention and readiness is to focus on the quality of the force.
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How Brain-Computer Interfaces Enable “Silent Speech”
In labs around the world, scientists are quickly developing microscale, wireless, fully implantable neural devices. These brain-computer interfaces can help people affected by a stroke or ALS regain their ability to speak. They could also be used for silent communication in combat zones, thought-based productivity tools, or real-time translation. "The age of silent speech has begun," say RAND experts. But they warn that "with great potential comes great risk--especially when it involves the mind's last private realm."
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** RAND Recommends
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- Most clicked last week: a new RAND study revealing that Americans' use of illicit opioids is more than 20 times higher than previous estimates suggested.
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- Russia and Ukraine engaged in direct talks for the first time since the early days of the war. In the Washington Post, RAND's Samuel Charap says the fact that the talks occurred in the first place was "an important result."
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- As China's AI models make headlines, RAND's Lennart Heim says that U.S. policymakers "risk squandering [America's] edge by focusing on the wrong metrics and overreacting to predictable Chinese advancements."
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** Events
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The Future of Standardized Assessment
Wednesday, May 21, 2025 (Online)
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How Resilient Is China's Economy?
Wednesday, May 21, 2025 (Online)
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Policy Lab: Protecting Schools, Protecting Students
Thursday, May 22, 2025 (Online)
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Admissions Webinar: Master of National Security Faculty Panel
Thursday, May 29, 2025 (Online)
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** Learn Policy Analysis from RAND Experts
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At the RAND School of Public Policy, you'll gain the skills and knowledge needed to shape a better tomorrow. Full-time and part-time master's degree programs are available at our campuses in Santa Monica, CA, and Arlington, VA.
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