Top Higher Education News for Thursday
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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.

March 13, 2025

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Plans to Hike the College-Endowment Tax Are Taking Shape. They’re Not What You’d Expect.

Lee Gardner, The Chronicle of Higher Education

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Amid the deluge of executive orders, budget slashes, and confirmation hearings that has typified the Trump administration’s first 100 days, there’s one pending legislative matter that some college leaders are eyeing with particular anxiety: a possible endowment-tax expansion.

 

Proposals include raising the current 1.4 percent rate to as much as 35 percent and punishing colleges that serve high numbers of international students. College leaders and many experts believe the tax is harmful, cutting into institutions’ ability to provide financial aid and keep costs down.

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California College Professors Have Mixed Views on AI in the Classroom

EdSource

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Many college professors have spoken out against the use of artificial intelligence in college coursework, citing concerns of cheating, inaccurate responses, student overreliance on the tool, and, as a consequence, diminished critical thinking. In response, universities across the country are implementing AI-detecting software.

 

However, some professors are embracing generative AI and envisioning its integration into curricula and research in various disciplines. To these professors, AI will be critical to students' future careers.

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Learning From the Swiss Apprenticeship Model

Michael Horn and Jeff Selingo, Future U

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As educators and policymakers look to increase apprenticeships in the United States, they often cite the Swiss model as the gold standard of apprenticeships.

 

In this interview, Katie Caves of Switzerland’s Center on the Economics and Management of Education and Training Systems offers insight on Switzerland's innovative approach to education, how it allows students to move seamlessly between vocational and academic tracks, and the principles that hold across borders.

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A Chill Sets In for Undocumented Workers, and Those Who Hire Them

Rebecca Davis O’Brien and Miriam Jordan, The New York Times

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The opening weeks of Donald Trump's second term have brought immigration enforcement operations in cities across the United States, providing a daily drumbeat of arrests that, while so far relatively limited, are quickly noted in group chats among migrants. Fear has gripped America’s undocumented workers. Many are staying home.

 

The impact is being felt not only in immigrant homes and communities, but also in the industries that rely on immigrants as a source of labor, including residential construction, agriculture, senior care, and hospitality.

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Universities Across the US Freeze Hiring as Federal Funding Hangs in the Balance

Rachel Treisman, NPR

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Leaders at a growing number of universities across the country say they are looking for ways to cut costs and buy time, as questions swirl around the Trump administration's efforts to slash financial support for some schools.

 

Education experts say the pullback of resources will not only hurt current and prospective students, staff and faculty, but could also harm the local economies of university towns and ultimately make the United States less competitive globally.

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Federal Judge in Boston Temporarily Halts Trump Plan to Cut Hundreds of Millions of Dollars for Teacher Training

Michael Casey, Associated Press

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A federal judge in Boston on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration's plan to cut hundreds of millions of dollars for teacher training, finding that cuts are already affecting training programs aimed at addressing a nationwide teacher shortage.

 

U.S. District Judge Myong Joun sided with the eight states that had requested a temporary restraining order. The states argue that the cuts are likely driven by efforts from President Trump's administration to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

HUMAN WORK AND LEARNING

Class of 2025 Salary Projections Show Mixed Results Despite Strong Job Market

Walter Hudson, Diverse Issues in Higher Education

Rethinking Digital Engagement in Higher Education

Catherine Coe, The EvoLLLution

Opinion: How College Presidents Are Quietly Resisting Federal Attacks on Higher Education

Marjorie Hass, Higher Ed Dive

EQUITY IN EDUCATION

Colleges Cancel Native Convocations to Comply With Trump Order, Disappointing Students

Arlyssa Becenti, Arizona Republic

She Advanced DEI at Her University. Her Son-in-Law, Vice President JD Vance, Wants to End It Nationwide.

Graham Kates and Daniel Klaidman, CBS News

The Education Department Was Created to Ensure Equal Access. Who Would Do That in Its Absence?

Bianca Vázquez Toness, Associated Press

Massive Layoffs at the Department of Education Erode Its Civil Rights Division

Jodi Cohen and Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica

COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY

State Ed. Officials Visit New Bedford High to Talk Free and More Affordable College

Frank Mulligan, The Standard-Times

What Will Happen to Financial Aid If Trump Closes the Education Department?

Kaitlin Mulhere, Money Magazine

Student Loan SAVE Plan Is ‘Not Coming Back in Any Way,’ Warns Official

Adam Minsky, Forbes

STATE POLICY

Lawmakers Consider Removing University of Missouri’s Exclusive Right to Certain Degrees

Annelise Hanshaw, Missouri Independent

JFAC Funds Workforce Training, Partially

Kevin Richert and Ryan Suppe, Idaho Education News

More Than 700 People Submitted Opponent Testimony Against Controversial Ohio Higher Education Bill

Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal

Opinion: Why Florida Dreamers’ Higher Education Opportunities Strengthen Our State

Gaby Pacheco, Tallahassee Democrat 

NEW REPORTS AND EVENTS

Webinar: Empowering Student Success, Part 1: An Introduction to Wrap-Around Services

The Hunt Institute

Immigrant Families Express Worry as They Prepare for Policy Changes

Urban Institute

Virtual Forum: The Evolving Campus Workplace

The Chronicle of Higher Education

Verifiable Credentials Wallets in a Skills-First Talent Marketplace

Jobs for the Future

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

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