Lumina Foundation is committed to increasing the proportion of Americans with high-quality degrees, certificates and other credentials to 60 percent by 2025. |
| Josh Moody, Inside Higher Ed SHARE: Facebook • LinkedIn As 2024 draws to a close, it also marks the end of an era for some institutions. Altogether, at least 16 nonprofit colleges and universities announced closures this year. Most were small, private, tuition-dependent schools that lacked robust endowments. While many approached the closure process in an orderly manner, winding down operations and teaching out academic programs, others abruptly shuttered, leaving students unprepared. |
| Zaidee Stavely, Education Beat SHARE: Facebook • LinkedIn Alice Keeney had to study for months in the Navy to learn how to operate nuclear reactors that power submarines and aircraft carriers. But when she tried to transfer her classes over to Cal Poly Pomona, she couldn't receive credit for her learning experiences and knowledge. Why is credit for learning outside the classroom important? And how did Keeney—and her allies—eventually change how California's colleges and universities evaluate transcripts? |
| Lee Gardner, The Chronicle of Higher Education SHARE: Facebook • LinkedIn Donald Trump is still weeks away from taking the oath of office as president of the United States, but college leaders are already bracing for the potential financial impacts of his second term on their institutions. What can colleges expect this time around? Based on Trump’s campaign rhetoric and past legislative proposals popular with Republican lawmakers, the most obvious possibilities include fallout from looming tax reform, adjustments to the Pell Grant, and changes, big or small, to the U.S. Department of Education, including its possible demolition. But many other policy decisions could have unexpected or unpredictable effects on college finances. |
| Cristela Guerra and Stephanie Brown, WBUR SHARE: Facebook • LinkedIn This past year, as protests surged on college campuses, authorities scrutinized university presidents. Congress summoned some college leaders to account for their statements and actions. Harvard University's first Black president, Claudine Gay, was among them. She did not withstand the scrutiny. Ilya Maritz, a reporter and host of a new podcast series from the Boston Globe, explores Gay’s short, troubled tenure as president and universities' role in a democracy. |
| Kate McGee, The Texas Tribune SHARE: Facebook • LinkedIn University professors across the political spectrum in Texas are preemptively self-censoring themselves for fear of damaging their reputations or losing their jobs, according to a new survey from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE. More than 6,200 professors from across the country responded to the survey—one of the largest surveys of its kind, according to FIRE—on the climate of free speech and academic freedom on their campuses. |
| Matthew Dembicki, Community College Daily SHARE: Facebook • LinkedIn The process of transferring from two-year to four-year institutions can be daunting for community college students, particularly for first-generation students of color. A new national initiative that includes the American Association of Community Colleges aims to make college transfers easier and less stressful, using artificial intelligence to streamline the process and provide more certainty for students. |
| The Chronicle of Higher Education |
| Ashley Mowreader, Inside Higher Ed |
| Olivia Sawyer, New America |
| Amanda Briggs, Madeleine Sirois, and Stephanie Petrov, Urban Institute |
| Steven Mintz, Higher Ed Gamma |
RACIAL JUSTICE AND EQUITY |
| Johanna Alonso, Inside Higher Ed |
| Jabari Simama, Governing Magazine |
| Brooklyn Draisey, Iowa Capital Dispatch |
| Chris Polansky, Connecticut Public Radio |
| Kevin Richert, Idaho Education News |
| Dean Kizart, Diverse Issues in Higher Education |
| Jay Waagmeester, The Phoenix Flyer |
| Brad Nygaard, The Bismarck Tribune |
| Maddy Franklin, PublicSource |
| Amelia Orjuela Da Silva, Miami Times |
| Susan Tebben, Ohio Capital Journal |
| John Fensterwald, EdSource |
| Molly Minta, Mississippi Today |
| Hope Karnopp, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |
| Illumination by Modern Campus |
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