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.
Nicholas Kent, a career higher education policy expert and now the U.S. Department of Education’s under secretary, has made his priorities for American colleges and universities clear—controlling student debt, building public trust, and ensuring students experience a positive return on investment.
However, some higher education leaders and advocates are skeptical of how he’ll make that happen.
For too long, the college admissions process has been a high-stakes, high-stress undertaking that many college hopefuls dread. Despite years of good intentions and isolated reforms, the current system still places too much burden on students to navigate a complex maze of applications, deadlines, and financial aid—while offering too little clarity on the value higher education can provide.
That’s why some innovators are no longer trying to fix admissions around the edges—they’re reimagining the process entirely.
Since taking office for the second time, President Donald Trump has unleashed a barrage of attacks on colleges and universities by threatening to cut them off from federal funding. In several instances, institutional leaders have conceded to his demands.
Three opinion writers debate the agreements between Ivy League universities and the Trump administration and what those deals mean for the future of higher education and other organizations fighting with the White House.
Mara Casey Tieken began her career as a third-grade teacher in rural Tennessee. Today, she’s a professor of education at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, where her work focuses on educational equity for rural students and communities.
Tieken recently published a book called Educated Out, in which she shares the stories of nine rural, first-generation students navigating life at an elite liberal arts college. In this interview, she talks about what higher education is like for these students and how to make liberal arts colleges more accessible and relevant to their lives.
Kat Stamatakos credits the TRIO Writing Success Project at City College of San Francisco for turning her college career around. It helped her get an “A” in an English class she initially failed, but more importantly, she found a community that cheered her on and held her accountable.
Today, massive federal funding cuts are threatening the program that played a crucial role in her success and that of other low-income students. Experts weigh in on what's at stake.
A precipitous drop in international enrollments wouldn’t just be bad for colleges; it would be a blow to the larger economy, according to NAFSA: Association of International Educators. Not only would tuition not be paid, but also plane tickets wouldn’t be booked, apartments wouldn’t be rented, and dorm-room refrigerators wouldn’t be stocked. Some 60,000 jobs could disappear nationwide.
Yet this messaging seems to be falling on deaf ears.
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