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.

January 13, 2026

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The Hidden Costs That Keep Disabled Students From College

Karly Ball Isaacson, Elisabeth Kutscher, Elizabeth D. Tuckwiller, and Lionel C. Howard, Inside Higher Ed

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In an ideal world, every student would be able to pursue higher education based on their talents and aspirations and not be held back by financial barriers. But for disabled students, the reality is far more complicated. Disability-related costs too often lurk beneath the surface of tuition bills and aid packages, shaping college decisions in profound but hidden ways.

 

With the policy storm gathering, institutions must lead urgently and boldly by transforming financial aid systems to meet the lived realities of disabled students in ways that are inclusive, nuanced, and just, write four professors and experts in this commentary on disability in higher education.

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Trump’s College Agenda May Have a Lasting Impact on Research, Culture

Susan Svrluga and Laura Meckler, The Washington Post

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The unprecedented drive for control over American universities by the Trump administration has upended schools across the country, pushing or outright forcing vast and wide changes to the rules, culture, and finances of higher education.

 

While some of the shifts could unravel if political agendas reverse—and some of the cuts are still being litigated in court—university leaders are concluding that many of the changes made so far to research, diversity, and campus culture are likely to last long after President Donald Trump leaves office.

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3 Big Takeaways From CIC’s Presidents Institute

Natalie Schwartz, Higher Ed Dive

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College presidents have a lot on their plates this year. They’re grappling with the public questioning the value of college, conservative attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and new laws that will reshape the federal lending system.

 

Higher education experts discussed all of these issues and more last week at the Council of Independent Colleges’ Presidents Institute, an annual gathering that brings together hundreds of leaders of private nonprofit colleges.

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Financial Case for College Remains Strong, But Universities Need to Add Creative Thinking to Their Curriculum

Caroline Levander, The Conversation

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In addition to the substantial financial benefits college graduates experience, colleges and universities are critical for growing and strengthening the U.S. economy. The discoveries made by faculty and researchers in laboratories lead to new products, businesses, and ideas that drive growth and support the country’s financial health.

 

In this interview, Amy Lieberman, education editor at The Conversation U.S., discusses the benefits of going to college—and how schools can better demonstrate their enduring value.

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Education Funding Chaos Weighs on Colorado Community and Rural Colleges

Sue McMillin, The Colorado Sun

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Specialized mannequins that aspiring nurses use to practice life-saving interventions can run up to half a million dollars each. The cost of materials and tools used to train welders is skyrocketing.

 

Yet community colleges and small rural colleges in Colorado that sustain those critical fields are often the most underfunded institutions, and they’re serving some of the neediest populations. The situation has gotten worse as the state budget shrinks and millions of dollars in awarded federal grants disappear.

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This Is No Way to Run a University

Greg Lukianoff, The New York Times

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Martin Peterson, a Texas A&M University philosophy professor, was presented last week with a choice straight out of a dystopian novel. To bring his class in line with a prohibition on course materials that “advocate race or gender ideology,” he could either censor the part of his course that included readings from Plato or he could teach a different class.

 

The case illustrates the extent to which campus censorship has run amok in Texas: If some of Plato’s texts can’t be taught in a college philosophy course, what, exactly, can be taught?

HUMAN WORK AND LEARNING

He Runs the Biggest Community College in Utah. Here’s What He Said in a New Q&A.

Courtney Tanner, The Salt Lake Tribune

The Modern Learner Moment Higher Education Can't Ignore

The EvoLLLution

Using Machine Learning to Understand College Closures

Abby Sourwine, Center for Digital Education

Commentary: Rethinking the Community College's Role in the New Economy

Muddassir Siddiqi, Community College Daily

EQUITY IN EDUCATION

National Action Network, Alpha Phi Alpha Launch HBCU Leadership Initiative

Jamal Watson, The EDU Ledger

Texas Launches Website for Complaints Against State Colleges, Universities

Bill Zeeble, KERA

Opinion: Colleges Must Start Treating Immigration-Based Targeting as a Serious Threat to Student Safety and Belonging

Madison Forde, The Hechinger Report

Opinion: HBCU Dreams Are Being Priced Out

Julienne Louis-Anderson, Word in Black

COLLEGE ENROLLMENTS

What a Western Mass. College Community Is Saying as School Misses Enrollment Goal

Juliet Schulman-Hall, MassLive

Infographic: Fall Enrollments

Kent Phillippe, DataPoints

University of Tennessee Ups Enrollment Goal as Online Classes Take Off

Keenan Thomas, Knoxville News Sentinel

STATE POLICY

Newsom’s Last Budget as Governor Would Give Schools and Community Colleges an Unexpected $22 Billion

EdSource

Keene State Leaders, Community Group Start Discussions to Support College Amid Budget Cuts

Noah Diedrich, The Keene Sentinel

Iowa GOP Lawmakers Signal Renewed Scrutiny of Public Universities in 2026 Session

Vanessa Miller, The Gazette

NEW REPORTS AND EVENTS

Webinar: The Infrastructure of Continuing Education: Building the Bridge to Future Enrollment

Inside Higher Ed

Webinar: Connected by Design: Advancing Youth Apprenticeship Integration

Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship and Education Strategy Group

Measuring Program-Level Outcomes in Higher Education

Urban Institute

Webinar: A New Direction for AI and Students

Brookings Institution

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Daily Lumina News is edited by Patricia Brennan.

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