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.
American higher education is undergoing a period of genuinely historical transformation. For future historians, the period of 2023-26 will be considered an era of major upheaval—there will be a before and an after.
In this interview, 11 leading scholars and administrators share what they think will be this year’s major development for higher education. Their concerns encompass a wide range of issues, such as declining enrollments, unstable federal funding, concerns about academic freedom, and the ongoing rise of artificial intelligence. But amid the fear and uncertainty, some also express hope for the revival of the humanities and the renewal of public trust.
A new report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce is pushing back against alarming headlines about college graduate underemployment, arguing that the most widely cited figures significantly overstate the problem and that how researchers measure underemployment matters as much as the phenomenon itself.
The report examines three methodological approaches to measuring underemployment and concludes that estimates ranging as high as 52 percent—figures that have captured significant media and policy attention—fail to account for key labor market realities, particularly the earnings premium that bachelor's degree holders enjoy even in jobs not formally classified as requiring a four-year degree.
Since President Trump took office with the promise of mass deportations, college leaders have consistently gotten the same advice from lawyers, consultants, and Democratic state officials: If federal immigration agents try to enter nonpublic spaces on campus, ask for a judicial warrant or subpoena. In turn, campuses have disseminated this guidance to staff and students in community-wide messages and resources for months.
But when Columbia University tried that, it didn’t work.
For generations, the path to a respected university followed a predictable, if stressful, script. But the 2025-2026 admissions cycle is shaping up to be a period of historic upheaval. A "perfect storm" of policy reversals, technological disruption, demographic shifts, and legal mandates is fundamentally rewriting the rules of the game.
Here are the eight most critical trends redefining college admissions right now—and what they mean for the future of higher education.
Across the country, college leaders are trying to figure out how to best prepare their students for the consequences of climate change. Experts say all careers will in some way intersect with climate change, and that to be prepared for the job market, students need a basic understanding of climate science and its social implications.
In response, many professors in English, fine arts, paralegal studies, and more are taking more steps to infuse climate change lessons into their curriculum.
After more than a decade working with Tufts University on a project to boost civic engagement, the National Student Clearinghouse has decided to cut ties amid a Trump administration investigation into alleged privacy-law violations.
Tufts and the National Student Clearinghouse first collaborated in 2012 in response to a call for action from the Obama administration, which emphasized that institutions of higher education play a vital role in engaging students in civic learning and democratic practices. A Biden-era toolkit in 2021 encouraged institutions to participate in the Tufts-NSC partnership to determine gaps in voter registration among the college-age population.
