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.
Continuing education programs are one way for colleges and universities to provide targeted offerings and credentialing opportunities for alumni, adults in the region lacking postsecondary education, and the local workforce. They also provide flexible support offerings, recognizing the competing identities and responsibilities that adult learners hold.
Sean Armstrong, dean of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, discusses the goals, challenges, and importance of continuing education programs for nontraditional students at his school in this podcast.
Since before Donald Trump’s second inauguration, higher education leaders have grappled with how to respond to his criticisms of the sector: Should they dig in to defend their institutions’ work, change how they do business to preserve their standing, or do a bit of both? Those questions have only grown more urgent as dozens of campuses become the target of federal investigations, with some negotiating directly with the White House to preserve their funding.
In this interview, two chancellors insist that reform, not resistance, will save academe.
Paulina Cossette spent six years getting a doctoral degree with the goal of becoming a university professor. But it wasn’t long before she gave up on that path.
With higher education under political assault, and opportunities as well as job security diminished by enrollment declines, Cossette felt burnt out and disillusioned. So she quit her hard-won job as an assistant professor of American government at a small private college in Maryland and used the skills she’d learned to go into business for herself as a freelance copy editor. She's not alone in her decision. The list of other newly minted Ph.D.s and tenured faculty who also want out is growing.
Hurricane Katrina and the failure of the federal levee system exposed profound vulnerabilities across the Greater New Orleans area, including among higher education institutions. Over the past two decades, however, universities, community colleges, and specialized research centers alike have all evolved, improving their internal resilience and contributing significantly to surrounding communities.
A new report showcases how institutions of higher education became critical components of metropolitan New Orleans’ community resilience—and what can be done to widen their impact.
The journey to and through college for Marisela Marquez Alonso and her three brothers began at Portland Community College. The four siblings, who mostly grew up in Hillsboro, are the children of migrant farmworkers from Mexico who worked seasonal harvests in Oregon, California, and Washington, and the first in their family to attend college.
Now, the federally funded program that was their lifeline to higher education and a brighter future is in a state of uncertainty.
Some students are giving up on their dream of enrolling in U.S. schools because of anxiety over the political environment in the United States. Others are staying away because they worry that even if they gain entry, they will effectively be trapped, unable to do things that other students can. That includes applying for internships or traveling home over the holidays to see their families.
Universities, meanwhile, are panicking. International students pay full tuition and are a revenue source that schools have come to rely on, including to help underwrite financial aid for other students.
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