Top Higher Education News for Thursday
Lumina

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.

August 7, 2025

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Survey: Most Parents Still Want Their Kids to Go to College

Kathryn Palmer, Inside Higher Ed

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A new report from Lumina Foundation and Gallup shows that, despite public skepticism about the value of a college degree, the majority of parents still want their kids to pursue more education after high school.

 

Parents had a clear preference for the type of institution their child should attend, with 40 percent of respondents indicating that their first choice would be a four-year university. That aligns with robust data on the ROI of different degree types showing that people with bachelor’s degrees have far higher lifetime earnings and are half as likely to be unemployed as their peers with only a high school diploma.

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Higher Ed’s Permanent Crisis Mode

David Jesse, The Chronicle of Higher Education

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Now more than ever, the higher education sector is experiencing new levels of uncertainty. Financial and enrollment challenges, coupled with the disruptions caused by the Trump administration, are creating an unusually tumultuous time for colleges, and perhaps an unprecedented one.

 

For higher education leaders, the situation means they are managing constant upheaval. Here’s how three of them do it.

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What Do Colleges Mean by ‘Student Success’?

Graham Vyse, Michael Theis, and Maura Mahoney, The Different Voices of Student Success

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When colleges talk about promoting “student success,” they’re not just talking about good grades and graduation. Over the past two decades, the term’s definition has broadened to mean that an institution is taking on more responsibility to ensure that students thrive and that they are supported from the recruitment stage through graduation and beyond.

 

Why are so many colleges taking on this responsibility? And what strategies are they using to achieve their goals? This video explains the origins of the student-success movement and how it’s shaping higher education today.

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Why Harvard Might Be Forced to Cave to Trump

Anne Kim, Washington Monthly

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President Donald Trump has stressed that crushing elite higher education in America is a priority of his administration. He’s frozen federal research funding from the National Institutes of Health, threatened to withhold visas from foreign students, and opened multiple investigations at dozens of schools alleging civil rights violations over diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

 

Higher education finance expert Robert Kelchen explains why many of the Trump administration's demands are bearing fruit.

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Clark University Braces for a Harsh New Reality as Higher Ed Recession Looms

Kirk Carapezza, GBH News

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On Main Street in Worcester, a Salvadoran bakery sits beside a Chinese takeout joint, just around the corner from Vietnamese and Dominican restaurants. Taken together, they’re a daily reminder of the global community Clark University has cultivated.

 

Today, that international identity is in jeopardy. More than a third of Clark’s undergraduates and two-thirds of its graduate students come from abroad. But many may not return this fall due to visa delays and growing skepticism about the United States as a study destination.

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A College Degree Is Increasingly Benefiting Women at Work, With Noncollege Women Left Behind

Megan Cerullo, CBS News

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Women have made significant gains in the workplace over the past two decades, but one segment of female workers has been left behind: those without a college degree.

 

New research from Third Way shows the gap between women with at least a bachelor's degree and those without any higher education is widening in today's workforce.

HUMAN WORK AND LEARNING

New Assessment Tool Will Measure Higher Ed’s Impact on Student Flourishing

Ashley Mowreader, Inside Higher Ed

Turning Job Training Into College Credit

Community College Daily

Study: College Students Use Internships to Land Jobs, Not Explore Options

Evan Castillo, BestColleges

Commentary: I’ve Got My Bachelor’s. Why I’m Going to Enroll in Community College Now

Joshua Silla, EdSource

EQUITY IN EDUCATION

HBCUs Bridge the Digital Divide to Serve 21st-Century Students

Abby Sourwine, GovTech

UC's LGBTQ Center Was Banned. Students Aren't Giving Up on Its Mission

Zack Carreon, WVXU

Portland State University Shutters DEI Office in Effort to Restructure

Natalie Pate, Oregon Public Broadcasting

HBCUs Expand Graduate Offerings to Meet Growing Demand

Walter Hudson, Diverse Issues in Higher Education

COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY

Many Families Feel Confident About Paying for College—Until Tuition Bills Arrive. Here’s How They’re Covering Costs

Jessica Dickler, CNBC

Scott Pitches LOAN Act to Tackle Rising College Costs

Hugh T. Ferguson, National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators

San Antonio Students Receive Free Laptops to Aid College Journey

Tawny Davis, WOAI

FEDERAL POLICY

UC Researchers Are Pushing Back on Trump’s UCLA Grant Suspensions. Here’s How

Mikhail Zinshteyn, CalMatters

Trump Administration Targets Duke in Latest Clash With Universities

Korie Dean, The Raleigh News & Observer

Views: Trump Says 'Make America Skilled Again'—Then Slashes Gen Z’s Path to Get There

Ivy Sullivan, New America

NEW REPORTS

Divided by Degrees: The Diverging Workforce Experience of Women

Third Way

Examples of Excelencia Finalists

Excelencia in Education

How America Pays for College 2025

Sallie Mae

luminafoundation.org
Daily Lumina News is edited by Patricia Brennan.

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