Lumina Foundation is working to increase the share of adults in the U.S. labor force with college degrees or other credentials of value leading to economic prosperity.
More than a year into President Donald Trump’s second term, federal courts continue to be a key forum for college and university advocates to stymie the president’s flood-the-zone attack against higher education, but the challengers’ strategies have evolved.
The Trump administration has backed off in some of the cases while going on the offensive against some colleges with lawsuits of its own. One legal expert expects to see more targeted challenges as plaintiffs and the government learn from this first round of litigation.
A fundamental shift to employment and wage outcomes is leading institutions to take steps to align themselves more closely with workforce needs. That means not only identifying and training students for growing and emerging industries and occupations but also teaching students the technical and durable skills they’ll need to secure a meaningful first job after graduation—and many more meaningful jobs in the years that follow.
These changes are putting growing pressure on colleges and universities to help students navigate career opportunities, not just when they’ve completed a program but before they’ve even started.
In Michigan prison classrooms and workforce training workshops, the numbers are climbing. More inmates are earning high school diplomas, technical certificates, and college credits, signaling a shift in how the state approaches incarceration.
New research shows that about 4,000 incarcerated individuals in Michigan completed educational programs last year, up 66 percent from 2,400 in 2020. Programming in Michigan's prisons ranges from high school equivalency and special education to trades like welding, robotics, and commercial truck driving. The goal: reduce recidivism and equip inmates with the skills and training for employment and continued education after their release.
Months before the Trump administration began investigating the president of George Mason University for allegedly condoning antisemitism and illegal race preferences, Gregory Washington had been under extreme scrutiny by a leader of his institution: the rector of its Board of Visitors.
Behind the scenes and through his allies, Charles Stimson had been pushing George Mason’s first Black president to dismantle the diversity initiatives he had championed since his hiring in 2020. Text messages Stimson exchanged with six ideologically aligned board members, mostly between August 2024 and late 2025, provide glimpses into an intense pressure campaign.
More than half of U.S. college students are using artificial intelligence in their coursework at least weekly, even as many of their institutions formally discourage or prohibit the technology. That disconnect is fueling concern among higher education observers who say colleges and universities risk falling behind if they do not develop clearer, more forward-looking AI policies.
As institutional budgets come under pressure nationwide, many college leaders are seeking answers to a deceptively simple question: What are the costs and benefits of running their academic programs?
The question is straightforward, but the answer appears more complex and subjective, with human and educational consequences for every given program. It becomes even more fraught when leaders use those financial metrics to make decisions about which programs to keep or kill in these times of budget constraints.
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