Top Higher Education News for Thursday
Lumina

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.

November 20, 2025

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TOP STORIES

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Navigating a Merger as a College Trustee

Michael Horn and Jeff Selingo, Future U

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When the board of trustees at Marymount Manhattan College decided to merge with Northeastern University last year and become part of that Boston-based university’s global system, the vote was unanimous.

 

In this interview, one of Marymount Manhattan’s trustees, Abby Fiorella, offers a board member’s perspective on how mergers and acquisitions can be strategic wins for smaller institutions, as well as instrumental to protecting their core missions. 

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Community Colleges Face New Challenges as Trump Battles With Higher Education

Paul Solman, Rethinking College

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President Trump's battles over higher education have mostly focused on elite colleges and some public universities. But the president's policies are also creating challenges for some community colleges and could undermine their work to build more economic opportunities and help students secure in-demand jobs.

 

JB Buxton, president of Durham Technical Community College, and Gretchen Bellamy, a student there, explain how the Trump administration's actions are resulting in less effective pathways and support for people trying to improve their lives.

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Dismantling of ED Prompts Flurry of Reactions

Jessica Blake, Inside Higher Ed

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Efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education are moving ahead, with the Trump administration announcing plans to outsource dozens of department programs to other federal agencies. The move is prompting pushback, applause, and some cautious optimism.

 

Several higher education leaders say they care most about ensuring grant dollars reach the students and institutions Congress intended them for, not what agency they are housed under. But the question now is whether those students and institutions will still be able to count on the federal government for the money after the outsourcing takes effect.

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The Plot Against Jim Ryan

Jack Stripling, The Chronicle of Higher Education

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After serving as the president of the University of Virginia for nearly seven years, James E. Ryan faced a crucial decision: he could either resign from his position, yield to political pressure, or risk provoking unrest within the university he cherished. For the then-58-year-old administrator, the choice was excruciating.

 

The story of Ryan’s resignation is laid out in a 12-page letter that Ryan released to the university’s Faculty Senate. His account sheds new light on a high-stakes showdown that had been unfolding for months between the University of Virginia and the Trump administration.

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'We Lost Our Mission': Three University Leaders on the Future of Higher Ed

Ariel Kaminer, The New York Times

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It’s an eventful moment in American higher education: The Trump administration is cracking down on colleges, artificial intelligence is ramping up, and a college education is losing its status as the presumptive choice of ambitious high school seniors.

 

Three university leaders—Sian Beilock, the president of Dartmouth; Michael Roth, the president of Wesleyan; and Jennifer Mnookin, the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison—offer insight on what’s happening now and what might be coming around the corner.

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Long Beach City College Is Pioneering Accelerated 8-Week Classes

Kate Raphael, Long Beach Post

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When La’Toya Cooper applied to Long Beach City College to pursue psychology, she didn’t know how she would balance her education with parenting two young children and working full time.

 

That changed when she discovered a new initiative from LBCC targeting adult learners: accelerated eight-week courses that cover the curriculum of typical 16-week courses in half the time.

HUMAN WORK AND LEARNING

Classroom View: How AI Is Influencing Teacher Approaches to Career and Technical Ed.

Arianna Prothero, Education Week

College Students Discuss Concerns About Being a Good Job Candidate

Kaeden Lincoln, Idaho Education News

Study: Modest Earnings Gains From Short-Term Training

Matthew Dembicki, Community College Daily

A Great New Podcast on the Intersection of AI and Education

John Warner, Just Visiting

STUDENT SUPPORT

Volunteer EMTs Provide Medical Response Support on Campus

Ashley Mowreader, Inside Higher Ed

'We Don’t Graduate People Into Poverty': 2025 Dallas Herring Lecture Shares Strategies to Increase Student Success

Analisa Sorrells Archer, EdNC

Student-Led Groups Boost Mental Health on College Campuses

Tom Hanson, KELO

Colorado Counselors Set to Lose Valuable FAFSA Student Data After State Budget Cuts

Jason Gonzales, Chalkbeat Colorado

COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY

Good News on Campus: Utahns Paying a Lighter Chunk of Their Paychecks on College Than Other States

Jason Swensen, Deseret News

SUNY Launches Affordable Tuition Plan for Service Members

Adina Genn, Long Island Business News

House Holds Hearing Focused on Lowering Higher Education Costs for Students

Maria Carrasco, National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators

STATE POLICY

Wisconsin Bills Take Aim at Predatory For-Profit Colleges

Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, New America

A $373 Million Deficit Leads Oregon Lawmakers to Weigh 'Painful' Budget Cuts

Shaanth Nanguneri, Alex Baumhardt, Mia Maldonado, and Julia Shumway, Jefferson Public Radio

UW System Faculty Balk at Legislature’s Teaching Workload Requirements

Becky Jacobs, The Cap Times

Massachusetts Report Urges $2.98 Billion Investment to Expand Higher Education Access

Jamal Watson, The EDU Ledger

NEW REPORTS

Beyond Tuition: The Hidden Costs of College and Their Disproportionate Impact

Inside Higher Ed

From Oversight to Impact: How Governing Boards and Administrators Advance Student Success

Association of Governing Boards

The Care Imperative: Why Investing in Care Grows America’s Economy

The Century Foundation

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

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