Top Higher Education News for Tuesday
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.

December 2, 2025

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The Quiet War on Hispanic-Serving Colleges

Rob Wolfe, Washington Monthly

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In June, a group of conservative plaintiffs took aim at a federal program that offers funding and support to Hispanic-Serving Institutions. The U.S. Department of Justice is declining to defend the program in court, a move that breaks with tradition and increases the lawsuit’s chances of success.

 

Reginald C. Oh, who teaches constitutional law at Cleveland State University and is considered a nationally known expert in what the U.S. Constitution says about race, weighs in on the lawsuit and how the latest campaign in Trump’s war against “DEI” has the potential to devastate universities that define themselves through their service to underprivileged minorities.

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The Students Studying 4—or More—Majors

Johanna Alonso, Inside Higher Ed

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As a high schooler in the Bay Area of California, Sophia Duran took eight Advanced Placement courses and three dual-enrollment courses at the local community college. In college, she decided to become a rare quadruple major.

 

Now, as students and parents alike are increasingly concerned about the return on investment of a college degree and students’ job prospects after graduation, some students, including Duran, are hoping a high number of majors may help their résumés stand out. But are employers actually interested in hiring employees with four or more majors? 

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How a Small Florida College Became Trump’s Blueprint to Threaten Higher Ed in Mass.

Juliet Schulman-Hall, MassLive

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Along the winding roads surrounding New College of Florida on a recent cold November day were the scattered remains of blue-and-white protest signs from two years ago. Standing between palm trees and moss-draped oaks near the Sarasota Bay, the signs read, “Your Campus Is Next.”

 

The student-made signs spread in 2023 as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis transformed the state’s only public liberal arts college into an increasingly politically conservative institution. Today, higher education leaders and community members recognize the transformation of New College of Florida as a blueprint for the Trump administration to push universities in Massachusetts and across the United States toward conservative values.

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Chinese Students Fueled Graduate Program Growth in US, Study Finds

Jamaal Abdul-Alim, Higher Ed Dive

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As China expanded its higher education system and produced more college graduates during the first decade or so of the 21st century, American colleges and college towns benefited economically from the money many of those students spent pursuing master’s degrees in the United States. And contrary to notions that Chinese nationals were displacing American students, their tuition money actually helped more American students attend college by subsidizing their studies and fueling graduate program growth.

 

Those are two of the key findings in a new working paper that international education leaders say is relevant to U.S. policy debates about immigration and student visa policies.

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Despite Funding Woes, Colorado’s First Latina Chancellor Sees Bright Future for Community Colleges

Erica Breunlin, The Colorado Sun

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Marielena DeSanctis started to grasp the art of negotiating at an early age, refereeing disagreements and patching up misunderstandings between her father, who spoke English, and her grandmother, a Spanish speaker from Cuba.

 

Those well-worn negotiating skills will now help DeSanctis find her way through the bumpy terrain of higher education budget constraints and cuts as the new chancellor of the Colorado Community College System.

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Study: AI Use Widespread for Personal Tasks But Lags in Workplace

Jamal Watson, The EDU Ledger

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More than half of Americans use artificial intelligence for personal purposes, but adoption in professional settings remains limited and sharply divided by education and income, according to a nationwide survey released by the Brookings Institution.

 

The research paints a picture of uneven AI adoption across American society, with significant gaps between personal and professional use and wide disparities based on demographic factors.

HUMAN WORK AND LEARNING

More California Students Than Ever Are Heading Out of State for College. Here's Why

Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times

Des Moines Area Community College President Reflects on Future Ahead of Retirement

Brooklyn Draisey, Iowa Capital Dispatch

12 Ways to Improve College for Military Learners

Ashley Mowreader, Inside Higher Ed

Shortage of Nurses Could Get Worse If Feds Take Them Off 'Professionals' List

Renée Jean, Cowboy State Daily

EQUITY IN EDUCATION

Latino College Students Look for Support as Alabama DEI Programs Vanish

Rebecca Griesbach, Alabama Education Lab

Commentary: Rosa Parks' Story Didn’t End in Montgomery. These Students Are Proof of That.

Ebony JJ Curry, Michigan Advance

COLLEGE ENROLLMENTS

Fewer International Students Are Enrolling at U.S. Colleges, Which Could Cost the Country $1 Billion, Reports Find

Jessica Dickler, CNBC

Career Tech Boom Boosts Enrollment at Tech Schools, Community Colleges

Eileen McClory, Dayton Daily News

Three Reasons That the Demographic Cliff Won’t Kill Colleges

Derek Newton, Forbes

Student Voice: 'I Earned My Associate Degree While Still in High School, and It Changed My Life'

Maxwell Fjeld, The Hechinger Report

COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY

How Much Money Richmonders Can Make, by Degree Obtained

Sabrina Moreno, Axios Richmond

Student Loans and Year-End Tax Planning—4 Steps for Borrowers to Take

Annie Nova, CNBC

How New York Families Can Save for College—and How Some Have $100 Already

Lauren Hartley, Chalkbeat New York

Opinion: Scholarships Are More Important Than Ever for Today’s College Students

Melinda Cabrera, Santa Ynez Valley News

NEW REPORTS AND EVENTS

Webinar: Scaling Corequisite Reform: Lessons Across States and What Comes Next

Community College Research Center

How University Governing Boards Can Protect the Independence of Colleges and Universities

Center for American Progress

The Montana 10 Student Support Program

MDRC

Centering Student Belonging in Online
Programs

Urban Institute

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Daily Lumina News is edited by Patricia Brennan.

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