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.
“Biases.” “Racism.” “Gender.” “Women.” Those are just some of the terms colleges and universities are searching for in their databases to ensure compliance with federal DEI bans and similar directives from states and university systems.
For most campuses, the practice is a “new space,” say experts, and one that exacerbates a “culture of fear." Meanwhile, faculty members are baffled and outraged. Some sympathize with campus leaders’ plight but argue it’s alarming to watch universities treat terms like “female” as red flags.
What does it mean to lose more than a year of high school? Not in terms of academic achievement, which is measurable, but in the nonempirical sense of personal growth. First car, first job—these cherished rites of passage generally occur between the ages of 16 and 18, the very years the class of 2021 languished in their bedrooms because of COVID-19.
High school may be an educational experience, but it is also, importantly, a bodily one. The physical campus—its theater, cafeteria, playing fields, library, and locker rooms—is the site of so many instances of anguish and excitement, attainment and failure. What are the lasting effects when high school goes missing?
Thomas Stewart, a retired steam fitter and member of New York's Local 21 Plumbers and Steam Fitters, has been an adjunct instructor with Westchester Community College for the past seven years. Since the pandemic, he says the number of students walking into his course has increased substantially, and the rise is happening nationwide.
The reasons vary, but for many young people, it's part of a "career rethink." Specifically, students are weighing the growing costs of a four-year degree with the apprenticeship aspect of a skilled trades program where they receive hands-on training and can work, study, and earn a paycheck.
From budget cuts to campus accountability measures to crackdowns on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, the Trump administration has sparked intense debate among educators, students, and policymakers. As the dust settles on these changes, one thing is clear: The landscape of American education is undergoing a significant shift in priorities, sending ripples through America's education landscape.
Here's a breakdown of what's happening—and what it means for the future of learning in the United States.
Since January, the Trump administration has launched a critical attack against efforts to reduce gases that cause climate change, including by freezing clean energy spending, slashing environmental staff and research, scrubbing the words “climate change” from websites, and rethinking decades of science showing the harms of global warming to human health and the planet.
Experts and education leaders say those actions—some of which have been challenged in court—are disrupting, but not extinguishing, efforts by schools and colleges to curtail their emissions and reduce their toll on the planet.
Danielle Holley, president of Mount Holyoke College, has been outspoken about the Trump administration's attempts to punish conduct, thinking, and research at universities that the White House finds objectionable.
Higher education needs to stand up to the Trump administration, Holley says. She’s calling for schools to emphasize their missions.
