America needs a different definition of higher education excellence, one that empowers public institutions at the expense of elites, instead of the other way around. One that measures what colleges do for their country, instead of for themselves.

That’s the philosophy behind the Washington Monthly’s annual college rankings. Instead of rating colleges by wealth, fame, and exclusivity, the publication prizes social mobility, public service, and research. The result is a very different hierarchy of the great, the good, and the not-very-good-at-all. 

Like many states across the country, Kentucky faces a critical shortage of nurses and other health care workers. According to state officials, Kentucky is already 12 percent to 20 percent short of the nurses it currently needs.

In response, a newly launched initiative involving educators, employers, and the state government aims to put more candidates on pathways to health careers. 

Higher education associations have praised President Joe Biden’s federal student loan debt cancellation plan—but with caveats: Much more needs to be done. Loan relief without proposals for systemic reform is incomplete.

A comprehensive rework of the Higher Education Act hasn’t taken place since 2008. It probably won’t happen now, either, in a gridlocked and highly partisan Congress. But are smaller changes possible?