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.
After about a year of pressuring high-profile research universities, the Trump administration has largely turned its attention elsewhere. The war in Iran, gas prices, and even the Epstein files have taken center stage. Of course, all of that could change suddenly. However, at this moment, individuals who care about colleges and universities are catching their collective breath.
So what are academics doing with this fleeting reprieve? Many are turning their attention to systemic issues that predate Trump’s second term or that have been laid bare by his presidency.
The college admissions process has never offered more options and yet also created more anxiety for families. As acceptance rates fall at the most selective schools and applications surge, many students and families are zoning in on a small set of elite institutions, driven less by fit than by status.
In this interview, author and journalist Jeff Selingo explores the culture shaping families’ college admissions decisions and the push to refocus on fit, clarity, and better outcomes.
For sports fans, March is a time for brackets and buckets, for nail-biters and buzzer beaters. Millions of Americans compete to plot the smoothest path from conference finals to the Final Four in the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments, hoping they’ve picked winners and spotted the biggest barriers standing in the way of their teams’ success.
This year, for fans of apprenticeship, many of these same elements are now in play, thanks to new guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Parents who have taken out federal loans for their children’s college education are facing major policy changes that could cost them money.
The One Big Beautiful Bill that President Donald Trump signed into law last summer places restrictions on Parent Plus loans, limiting the amount families can borrow and eliminating some options for repaying the debt starting July 1. But one key repayment option could still be available if parents act soon.
Economists say many recent grads are underemployed, meaning they’re working in jobs that don’t require the degrees they just earned. Even students with degrees once considered safe, such as computer science, are now facing the impact.
But getting exact numbers becomes tricky, they say, because it’s often difficult to find the data, and the reports that do exist don’t always match up.
Colleges and universities have played a pivotal role in America’s global competitiveness for decades, and they can continue to do so, but only if they evolve.
Indeed, higher education is facing pressure to transform into a workforce pipeline. That push for more workforce development isn’t just coming from policymakers: Students, parents, and employers are also increasingly seeking clear connections between educational programs and jobs. The institutions that discover ways to balance those demands with their missions may be the ones that survive, experts predict.
