Cornell is taking a hard look in the mirror. Provost Kavita Bala released a sweeping 200-page report this week outlining the mounting threats to modern universities, from artificial intelligence upending the classroom to an unsteady relationship with the government. The findings validate what students on the Hill have felt for years. With full-cost undergraduate degrees nearing $400,000, the committee directly cited opaque pricing and crushing expenses as major sources of public skepticism. Instead of cutting degree timelines down to three years, the report pushes administrators to completely rethink tuition models and prioritize practical, human-centered judgment that employers say recent grads need. The plan also urges the university to secure alternative funding amid Trump administration attacks on research budgets, while cutting back on publish-or-perish faculty pressures. Despite the outside noise and institutional hurdles, the message remains clear: a Cornell education is still worth the fight, but the administration must adapt to serve students rather than obsolete traditions.