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.

October 9, 2025

Subscribe to this email

TOP STORIES

download - 2025-10-08T063020.418

Community College Students Want a Social Life

Ashley Mowreader, Inside Higher Ed

SHARE:  Facebook • LinkedIn

Belonging is a key predictor in student success; research shows that students who are engaged in campus activities and feel they belong to a community within their college are more likely to stick with their studies and graduate with a degree.

 

A new study from the educational consulting group EAB confirms that sentiment. Specifically, the report shows that first-year students at two-year colleges want help connecting with peers on campus. The study also indicates a need for mechanisms for students to report harassment and connect with mental health supports.

download - 2025-10-08T054258.743

The Government Has Long Researched High School Experiences. Then DOGE Cut the Effort

Carmela Guaglianone, NPR

SHARE:  Facebook • LinkedIn

The academic choices you make as a teenager can shape the rest of your life: If you take high school classes for college credit, you're more likely to go to college; and if you take at least 12 credits of classes during your first year there, you're more likely to finish your degree.

 

These and insights from thousands of other studies can all be traced to a trove of data the federal government started collecting more than 50 years ago. However, the federal government abruptly halted that effort earlier this year.

istockphoto-2121029847-612x612 (1)

The Therapist Next Door

Christina Caron, The New York Times

SHARE:  Facebook • LinkedIn

A growing number of campus mental health professionals, often referred to as “embedded counselors,” are now working out of college dorms and other academic buildings. School leaders contend the setup reduces the stigma around getting help while also making the counselors more visible and accessible at a time when 37 percent of college students say they are grappling with depression.

 

The shift shows how colleges are rethinking the way they deliver mental health care by adopting a model designed to meet students where they are, ideally before they face a crisis.

istockphoto-2151901893-612x612 (2)

Don’t Let Polarization Undermine the Vital Role Colleges Play in the US

Gary May, Higher Ed Dive

SHARE:  Facebook • LinkedIn

Although the nation once broadly agreed on the value of a college degree, the subject has become a battlefield, often fueled by a fundamental misunderstanding of the facts.

 

While caught up in this narrative, many people are losing sight of the bigger picture: American public universities are unmatched engines of personal success and national prosperity, writes Gary May, the chancellor of the University of California, Davis, in this op-ed. At the same time, university leaders must acknowledge the concerns underlying these critiques and forge common ground to protect the nation’s investment in education, he says.

istockphoto-511026368-612x612

Championing Teachers in High-Conflict Contexts

Walter Hudson, The EDULedger

SHARE:  Facebook • LinkedIn

For Myssan Al Laysy Stouhi, the path to a Ph.D. has been anything but conventional. Born and raised in Lebanon, she has witnessed firsthand the challenges that educators face when teaching becomes an act of resilience rather than routine.

 

Now, as she prepares to graduate this December from Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Composition and Applied Linguistics program, Stouhi is transforming her lived experience into groundbreaking research that amplifies the voices of teachers working in crisis contexts.

download - 2025-10-07T043533.613

Trump Says Signing a New ‘Compact’ Will Benefit Colleges’ Finances. It Could Also Do the Opposite.

Lee Gardner, The Chronicle of Higher Education

SHARE:  Facebook • LinkedIn

The sweeping nature and uncertain ramifications of President Trump’s latest deal with universities are sowing confusion and consternation among higher education leaders and experts for, among other things, its unpredictable impact on college finances.

 

In attempting to codify Trump’s vision, the agreement, called the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, could make it more difficult for institutions to keep afloat.

HUMAN WORK AND LEARNING

‘Dream. Learn. Thrive.’ Designing a Student-Ready College for the 21st Century

Mebane Rash, EdNC

Assessing the Landscape

Matthew Dembicki, Community College Daily

Lack of Men in Crucial Fields Exacerbates NV Workforce Shortages, Research Finds

April Corbin Girnus, Nevada Current

How Research Universities Can Power America’s Urban Comeback

Michael Fitts, Forbes

STUDENT SUPPORT

Student Support Programs in Peril After Federal Cuts at Hispanic-Serving Community Colleges

Michael Burke, EdSource

Chicago Colleges Launch Program to Address Hunger

Judith Ruiz-Branch, Public News Service

Education Leaders Say More Supports After High School Needed for Students With Disabilities

Noelle E. C. Evans, WXXI

Opinion: The Numbers That Really Matter: A New Model for Student Success

Patricia A. Prelock, Arizona Daily Star

STATE POLICY

Oregon Has Fallen Short of a Key Higher Education Goal. Is It Time to Set a New One?

Sami Edge, The Oregonian

Indiana Universities Cut Teaching Degrees. What That Means for Teacher Shortage

Tory Basile, Indianapolis Star

Pennsylvania Lawmakers Seek to Bar State-Funded Colleges From Signing Trump Compact

Natalie Schwartz, Higher Ed Dive

No New Incentive Dollars for Indiana Colleges, But Performance Tracking Continues

Casey Smith, Indiana Capital Chronicle

COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY

The Costs Students Don’t See Coming—and Why They Matter

Colleen Flaherty, Inside Higher Ed

Private Colleges Are Pitching Free Tuition for Middle-Class Students. Will It Make a Difference?

Claire Murphy, The Chronicle of Higher Education

As Indiana’s 21st Century Scholars Program Grows, There Are New Higher Education Challenges

Mitzi S. Morris, Chalkbeat Indiana

Views: In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students Is Not a Loophole. It’s a Lifeline

Vance Winningham, The Oklahoman

NEW REPORTS AND EVENTS

The Role of Relational Closeness in Career Development Among Low-Income Students

Pullias Center for Higher Education

Webinar: Building Student Community

The Chronicle of Higher Education

Making the New Higher Education
Accountability Framework Pay Off

The Education Trust

Virginia’s Community Colleges and the Changing Higher Education Landscape

Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission

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

Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIn