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.
Roosevelt Montás is an evangelist of sorts. A graduate of Columbia University and later the director of its Center for the Core Curriculum, Montás believes in the transformative power of reading foundational texts and discussing timeless questions with small groups of peers.
Yet this approach to general education is no longer in fashion, if it ever really was. At most colleges, general-education requirements look like a haphazardly designed menu. The premise is that students will sample a range of disciplines and get a broad liberal education. Montás thinks that’s a mistake. And he’s planning to do something about it as the executive director of the new Chang Chavkin Center for Liberal Education and Civic Life at Bard College.
As states and the federal government continue to increase their focus on skilled workforce development, the question of how to scale apprenticeships—a proven strategy that is expanding beyond the traditional trades—remains pressing.
But experts say that without more funding, updated laws, and better data, the United States is still far from the system they believe is possible.
Many American students and their families may not have realized how important full-tuition-paying international students are to university finances, says Domenico Ferraro, an associate professor of economics at Arizona State University who has studied the issue.
Now the consequences are becoming clear. Since January of 2024, there have been more than 300 instances of universities and colleges eliminating programs, closing departments, and laying off faculty and staff, according to the tracking database CollegeCuts. A growing number of schools cite international enrollment declines among the triggers. Many have also announced tuition increases.
Milana Waggoner had doubts about her ability to succeed in college. But the ease and inclusiveness of California’s direct admission program gave her confidence. Through direct admission, she qualified for guaranteed spots at several colleges in the California State University system, ultimately choosing Cal State-San Bernardino, where she’s studying forensic science.
Officials and educators in California see direct admission as an important tool—so much so that a pilot program is expanding statewide this year in the hope of attracting more of the state’s dwindling number of high schoolers to college. Leaders there also say direct admission can help sway students who, like Waggoner, are unsure about pursuing education beyond high school.
For over a decade, there have been efforts from colleges and legislative pushes at the state and federal levels to improve financial aid offers. Despite the attention, most transparency initiatives remain largely voluntary, and evidence shows that little has changed in how colleges and universities communicate price and aid.
To see real change on this issue, some education analysts contend that state and federal policymakers must pursue standard, comparable financial aid offers that require all institutions to play from the same rulebook when communicating cost details.
For years, conversations about higher education have centered on a familiar question: What is the return on investment of a college degree? Too often, such dialogue has put liberal arts institutions in a position where they must justify their relevance in an increasingly career-focused landscape.
But that framing may miss a much bigger story, asserts the president of Southwestern University. A liberal arts education has always offered more than just preparation for a first job, says Laura Skandera Trombley. Its true strength lies in preparing learners for a lifetime of change, she notes.
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