Top Higher Education News for Wednesday
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Lumina Foundation is committed to increasing the proportion of Americans with high-quality degrees, certificates and other credentials to 60 percent by 2025.

February 12, 2025

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Unwinding DEI: Part II

Jack Stripling, College Matters

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Political opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion programs has been building for years, but something happened last October that felt like a turning point. In a widely reported article for The New York Times Magazine, Nicholas Confessore cast doubt on the effectiveness of one of the nation’s best-funded DEI programs.

 

Titled “The University of Michigan Doubled Down on DEI. What Went Wrong?,” Confessore’s story added fuel to a debate over whether DEI programs are meeting their stated goals or actually making campus climates worse. In this interview, Confessore talks in depth about his investigation. 

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A Tenuous Moment for Minority-Serving Institutions Under Trump

Sara Weissman, Inside Higher Ed

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President Donald Trump's decision to target federal diversity, equity, and inclusion programming raises questions about how colleges and universities with a federally recognized mission to serve underrepresented students will fare under the new administration. Leaders of these institutions wonder to what extent government officials see their colleges as entangled with the DEI principles Trump is working so hard to root out. 

 

They’re also asking themselves what it would take to change lawmakers’ minds before key funding streams and programs suffer.

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At Least 10 Student Loan and Federal Aid Programs Run by the Department of Education May Be Cut

Doug Lederman, The Key

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The Trump administration and Republican lawmakers in Congress are looking to cut or eliminate nearly a dozen student loan and federal aid programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education.

 

The cuts, if implemented, could impact millions of Americans, from families who are about to send their children to college to working people looking to advance their careers through an additional degree or certificate to student loan borrowers who are already in repayment.

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Colleges Rebrand Humanities Majors as Job-Friendly

Jon Marcus, The Hechinger Report

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Olivia Howe was hesitant at first to add French to her major in finance at the University of Arizona, fearing that it wouldn’t be very useful in the labor market. It turns out her language skills helped her land a job at the multinational technology company Siemens, which will be waiting for her when she graduates this spring.

 

The simple message that majoring in the humanities pays off is being pushed aggressively by this university and a handful of others; they hope to reverse decades of plummeting enrollment in subjects that teach skills employers say they need from graduates but aren’t getting.

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One in Four Applicants Had Difficulty Submitting FAFSA

Stephanie Marken and Zach Hrynowski, Gallup

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Many policymakers and student advocates view completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid as key to increasing postsecondary enrollment. This is especially true given that cost continues to be one of the top reasons Americans are temporarily or permanently leaving their postsecondary programs or not enrolling in the first place.

 

Results from the most recent Lumina Foundation-Gallup 2025 State of Higher Education Study underscore the importance of the FAFSA, with fresh insights on how application experiences impact enrollment decision-making.

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Colorado Colleges Defend DEI Amid Fear and Uncertainty Over Trump’s Order

Erica Breunlin and Jessica Bowman, The Colorado Sun

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Long outspoken about efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion on their campuses, Colorado colleges are now confronting a wave of uncertainty and fear following a volley of executive orders in President Donald Trump’s first two weeks in office.

 

For the moment, officials remain undeterred, even as many questions loom about whether that could jeopardize the federal dollars they receive and as they try to debunk what they see as mischaracterizations of DEI.

HUMAN WORK AND LEARNING

The Power of Microcredentials in Workforce Readiness

Danelle Greebe and Mary Kline, The EvoLLLution

The 10 Most In-Demand College Majors Right Now

Ben Kesslen, Quartz

Blog: Three Questions for Cornell’s Paul Krause

Joshua Kim, Learning Innovation

STUDENT SUPPORT

How Researchers, Policymakers, and Institutions Can Support Postsecondary Students

Sarah Reber, Brookings Institution

Navigating Collaboration

Faith Bradham, Ariel Dyer, and Sindy Lopez, Ithaka S+R

Report: Students Experiencing Suicidal Ideation Need More Help Beyond Counseling

Ashley Mowreader, Inside Higher Ed

Will Virginia Fund College Food Pantries or Leave Students Struggling?

Nathaniel Cline, Virginia Mercury

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

Massachusetts Boosts High Degree Attainment Rate But Students Question Affordability

Kathryn Carley, Public News Service

These Are the Most, Least Educated States. How Did Florida Rank?

Anthony Talcott, WKMG

California Sets Ambitious 70% College Attainment Goal Amid Persistent Equity Gaps

Walter Hudson, Diverse Issues in Higher Education

FEDERAL POLICY

Education Data in the Lurch as Dozens of Department Contracts Are Axed

Katherine Mangan, The Chronicle of Higher Education

Get the Hell Out of DOGE: Elon Musk's Team Infiltrates Education Department Data

Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, New America

How the New Federal Financial Aid Formula Affected Pell Grants

Kristin Blagg, Urban Wire

Another Push for JOBS Act

Matthew Dembicki, Community College Daily

The Effects of DACA’s Decline

Stephen Masterson, The Regulatory Review

NEW REPORTS AND EVENTS

How Microcredentials Are Revolutionizing the Higher-Education Business Model

Manhattan Institute

A Bold Course to 75 Million

Jobs for the Future

Webinar: HBCUs: Building a Pathway to a Diverse Educator Workforce

The Hunt Institute

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

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