Top Higher Education News for Tuesday
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 14, 2025

Subscribe to this email

TOP STORIES

istockphoto-171575760-612x612

The Hot Seat Keeps Getting Hotter

Eric Hoover, The Chronicle of Higher Education

SHARE:  Facebook • LinkedIn

Since the beginning of the pandemic, colleges have seen a surge in enrollment leaders resigning out of exhaustion and disillusionment. 

 

Angel B. Pérez is well aware of these frustrations. Pérez, who previously held senior-level enrollment positions at two private colleges, describes the hazards of the job in his new book, The Hottest Seat on Campus: A Roadmap for Mastering Leadership in College Admission. It’s a vivid series of snapshots of life inside the high-stakes field, with advice from the author and other current and former leaders who’ve toiled in a realm where the metrics of success or failure are publicly available and widely scrutinized.

istockphoto-1482844574-612x612 copy 4

After Years of Quietly Falling, College Tuition Is on the Rise Again

Jon Marcus, The Hechinger Report

SHARE:  Facebook • LinkedIn

Summer usually provides a respite for Connor Pavlicko from his duties as student body president at Slippery Rock University. However, classmates bombarded him this summer, demanding to know why their tuition was suddenly going up.

 

Students nationwide are facing increases in tuition this fall of as high as 10 percent, along with new fees and rising costs for dorms and dining. And as in Pennsylvania, it’s an abrupt change from a period during which something happened that most Americans probably didn’t notice: Tuition had actually been falling, when adjusted for inflation, after decades of outpacing the cost of almost everything else.

istockphoto-1636033875-612x612

Why a University Proactively Sought a Merger

Michael Horn and Jeff Selingo, Future U

SHARE:  Facebook • LinkedIn

Higher education typically views mergers and acquisitions negatively. But there’s a growing sense that many colleges and universities could benefit by teaming up, especially as the fiscal cliff means fewer potential students.

 

In this interview, Walter Iwanenko Jr., the president of Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania, talks about how and why his institution sought a merger with Ursuline College near Cleveland. The conversation also includes expert insight on lessons learned from failed mergers, what’s stopping more from happening, and how to change the education industry's negative perception of mergers and acquisitions in general.

download - 2025-10-13T065953.161

Grief Fuels Growth of Turning Point’s Campus Footprint

Kathryn Palmer, Inside Higher Ed

SHARE:  Facebook • LinkedIn

In the weeks following the murder of Charlie Kirk, the momentum for the Turning Point USA movement that the conservative activist started on college campuses more than a decade ago appears stronger than ever. Today, thousands of college students are seeking information on starting a new Turning Point USA chapter at their school or getting involved with one in the name of advancing civil discourse.

 

However, critics fear the group’s expansion will only exacerbate tensions on already fractured campuses.

download - 2025-10-13T070730.216

Student Parents Piece Together Child Care and Higher Education

Claire Withycombe, The Seattle Times

SHARE:  Facebook • LinkedIn

Child care centers on community college campuses serve an important purpose, providing student parents a convenient and educational place to bring their kids so they can study and further their education. Many provide free or low-cost care through public funding to college students who qualify.

 

But even though Washington appears to be bucking long-term national trends with more centers on community college campuses than there were about 15 years ago, there aren’t nearly enough child care slots for the students who need them.

istockphoto-1094194856-612x612

New Federal Accountability Rules Risk Leaving Low-Income Students Behind, Policy Brief

Jamal Watson, The EDULedger

SHARE:  Facebook • LinkedIn

A sweeping federal law that fundamentally reshapes higher education accountability could fail to protect the very students it aims to serve without significant improvements, according to a new policy brief by The Education Trust.

 

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Donald J. Trump on July 4, 2025, includes what EdTrust calls "one silver lining": a new accountability framework designed to ensure postsecondary programs deliver adequate earnings to justify student borrowing. But the organization also warns that the framework contains critical gaps that could allow predatory programs to continue operating with federal funding.

HUMAN WORK AND LEARNING

What Student Interviews Reveal About Placement, Pacing, and Advising in Corequisite Courses

Carmen Cortez Morales and Selena Cho, Community College Research Center

State Gives CT High School Students a New Way to Prove Their Workforce Skills: 'Validate Abilities'

Jessica Simms, CT Insider

Beyond the Degree: How Delta College Is Shortening the Path to IT Careers With Industry Credentials

Sue Roche and Kevin Wyzkiewicz, Workcred

EQUITY IN EDUCATION

UNLV Broke Up Its Diversity Office. Students Wonder Whether It’s a Change in Name Only.

Isabella Aldrete, The Nevada Independent 

Trump Called Digital Equity Act ‘Racist.’ Now, Internet Money for Rural Americans Is Gone.

Sarah Jane Tribble, WFAE

Cuts to Hispanic Serving Institution Funds Threaten Support for Austin Colleges

Lily Kepner, Austin American-Statesman

Opinion: California Must Preserve In-State Tuition Policy for Immigrant Students

Iliana Perez, The Sacramento Bee

COLLEGE ENROLLMENTS

Despite Federal Funding Uncertainty, Louisiana Community Colleges See Enrollment Boost

Marie Fazio, NOLA

Inside North Carolina’s Direct Admissions Program

Danielle McLean, K-12 Dive

Higher Ed Strong in Idaho, College Presidents Say

Kaye Thornbrugh, KREM

Commentary: How Can Ohio Turn Its International Student Enrollment Problem Around?

Rob Moore, Ohio Capital Journal

STUDENT SUPPORT

'Who Isn’t in the Room Yet?':
Reflections From the Carolinas College Food Insecurity Summit

Elmira Jangjou, Ithaka S+R

Recognizing Programs That Increase Access and Student Success for Latino Students

Lois Elfman, The EDULedger

New Laws Aim to Ease California’s Student Housing Crunch

Amy DiPierro, EdSource

Commentary: My Students Don’t Need to Be Taught Resilience. They Demonstrate It Every Single Day

Raven Andrews, The Hechinger Report

NEW REPORTS AND EVENTS

Employer-Friendly Practices: Bridging Higher Ed Practices and Employer Realities

UpSkill America

Future Education Expectations of High School Students Decline to the Lowest Level in 20 Years for Both First-Generation and Continuing Generation Students

The Pell Institute

Webinar: The Reckoning: Training Authentically Skilled Graduates in the Age of Generative AI

Inside Higher Ed

Who Rides Out the Storm? The Immediate Post-College Transition and Its Role in Socioeconomic Earnings Gaps

National Bureau of Economic Research

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

Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIn