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.
With the number of humanities majors down significantly over the past two decades, schools are searching for new ways to make these degrees more relevant—and more appealing.
Georgia Tech in Atlanta is a prime example. Enrollment in the College of Liberal Arts has jumped 80 percent over the past five years, thanks to a fresh focus on technology, leadership, and career readiness. This podcast explores the value of humanities degrees—and why many say they equip graduates with some of today's most in-demand skills: communication, critical thinking, collaboration, and the ability to navigate ambiguity.
This year, college decision day—the May 1 deadline at many schools across the country for accepted students to commit to attend—coincided with a time of head-spinning upheaval, reversals, and uncertainty in the first months of the Trump administration.
Because of those changes, some students, including Sierra Moran, are turning down U.S. colleges for overseas options. And some international students are newly hesitant about studying in the United States amid news of visa revocations and deportations.
Harvard University, targeted by the Trump administration, is fighting back in court. The nation’s oldest college has filed a federal lawsuit to preserve billions of dollars in contracts and grants that were frozen over allegations it responded insufficiently to antisemitism on its campus.
It’s a high-stakes moment not just for the institution but for the sector. The outcome of the suit will be a defining moment in the escalating conflict between the White House and higher education.
Duke University is offering voluntary buyouts for employees and has frozen hiring as it braces for federal funding cuts that could be between $500 million and $750 million.
Since President Donald Trump assumed office, those agencies and others have been cutting and delaying grant awards at a frantic pace, including moves to cap reimbursement for indirect research costs at the National Institutes of Health and the Energy Department. Courts have blocked both funding caps, at least temporarily, but the Trump administration continues to fight the legal cases against the policies.
The Trump administration is pulling back from major areas of government spending, slashing budgets for public health, environmental protection, and education. That includes a freeze on more than $2 billion in federal funding to Harvard University, a move meant to punish the school for rejecting new political oversight. Harvard is suing the administration, and some big donors are stepping up. But what happens when public money disappears, and it's a billionaire's checkbook that fills the gap?
Teddy Schleifer, a reporter at The New York Times, weighs in.
Oscar Garcia of South Los Angeles is just weeks away from taking his last steps as a high school senior and his first steps toward a college degree. He's counting on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid to make it happen.
However, the FAFSA was delayed again this year, with students encountering error messages and glitches. Making things even more challenging are unprecedented staff cuts to the U.S. Department of Education.
