Top Higher Education News for Tuesday
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Lumina Foundation is committed to increasing the proportion of Americans with high-quality degrees, certificates and other credentials to 60 percent by 2025.

January 7, 2025

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Trump Promised to Shut Down the Education Department. Is It Possible?

Rachel Leingang, The Guardian

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President-elect Donald J. Trump issued a bold campaign promise to his voters: He would eliminate the U.S. Department of Education and give states all power to control education. However, many experts say that promise will be an extremely difficult one to keep.

 

Still, without cutting out the department itself, the incoming Trump administration, buoyed by right-wing support to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion programs on college campuses, could alter key parts of the department’s budget and policies in ways that would be felt by schools and students nationwide.

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How NACUBO Is Helping Colleges Navigate Choppy Financial Waters

Ben Unglesbee, Higher Ed Dive

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College business and financial officers are facing significant challenges these days, as a broad range of institutions grapple with revenue pressures resulting from enrollment declines and increased operating costs. Those challenges could continue for the foreseeable future.

 

In this interview, leaders of the National Association of College and University Business Officers share how they hope to reenvision—and rebrand—the role of college executives.

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AI Robots Are Entering the Public World—With Mixed Results

Isabelle Bousquette, The Wall Street Journal

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Robots are stepping out. Once relegated to factories and warehouses, next-generation robots are popping up in public spaces—from retail stores to museums—cleaning, cooking, and even conversing with humans.

 

Improvements in "brainpower," particularly the adoption of the technology behind ChatGPT, along with a surge of investments, are driving their public debut, and 2025 could mark a turning point in what robots can do.

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Latina Businesswoman, Ugandan Non-Profit Founder Among CMU's First-Generation Success Stories

Nathan Deal, The Daily Sentinel

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When the parents of Sonia Gutierrez first moved to western Colorado from Mexico, they had plans to save up money before returning to their homeland. They ultimately put those plans on hold, deciding instead to remain in the United States so their children would have better opportunities to further their education.

 

Gutierrez fulfilled her parents' dreams in December, when she received her degree from Colorado Mesa University and became the first college graduate in her family.

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George Mason Opens $254M Hub as Virginia Aims to Draw in More Tech

Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, The Washington Post

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Last month, Anuj Pokhrel found himself in a new two-story open space at George Mason University that could accommodate more students—as well as drones, wheeled robots navigating staged rocky terrain, and even doglike machines that can easily push open and walk through a door.

 

Pokhrel is experiencing George Mason’s Fuse building, a $254 million, 345,000-square-foot public-private project designed to bring academic labs focused on technologies like artificial intelligence and virtual reality together with office space for industry leaders to work alongside professors and students.

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Enhancing Student Success Through Faculty Mentorship: A Holistic Approach at Forsyth Tech

Iris Palmer, New America

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Faculty guidance can be one of the most transformative aspects of the college experience. Research also shows that faculty connections can have a strong, positive impact on student success. Yet, there is often no formal expectation for faculty to take on this role. 

 

Forsyth Technical Community College in North Carolina aims to change that.

HUMAN WORK AND LEARNING

The Dream of a Climate Justice University

Johanna Alonso, Inside Higher Ed

The Evolution of Higher Education Through Continuing Education

Ellen Neufeldt, The EvoLLLution

Eight Things We Hope to See From U.S. Higher Education in 2025

David Rosowsky, Forbes

Opinion: U.S. Workers Are Falling Behind. Can They Catch Up?

Chelsea Miller, WorkingNation

EQUITY IN EDUCATION

What Rights Do Immigrant Students and Families Have in California Schools and Colleges?

Zaidee Stavely, EdSource

These Programs Help Black Students Graduate. A Federal Complaint Claims They’re Discriminatory.

Phil Lewis, What I'm Reading

Idaho's Latest Anti-Diversity Push in Higher Ed Meets Pushback

Eric Tegethoff, Public News Service

Trump's Pledged Mass Deportations Have Iowa Immigrants Fearful of What's to Come

Sabine Martin and José Mendiola, Des Moines Register

Opinion: The Real Case for D.E.I.

Farah Stockman, The New York Times

COLLEGE ENROLLMENTS

Higher Education Faced Mounting Enrollment and Security Challenges in 2024

Walter Hudson, Diverse Issues in Higher Education

Essay: Higher Ed’s Grim New Normal

Jeffrey J. Selingo, The Chronicle Review

Increased College Enrollment Could Boost Florida's Economy. Why Some Students Plan to Go

Nancy Guan, WUSF

Kansas State, Garden City CC Striving to Shrink Bachelor’s Degree ‘Educational Desert’

Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector

Five Ivy League College Admissions Trends to Watch in 2025

Christopher Rim, Forbes

COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY

Free College for the Working Class

Kevin Carey, Washington Monthly

UTPB Cost Calculator Aims to Make College Easier

Odessa American (Texas)

Are Free Tuition Programs Really Helping Students?

Alcino Donadel, University Business

New Oklahoma Higher Ed Chancellor to Focus on Accessibility, Affordability

Emma Murphy, Oklahoma Voice

NEW REPORTS AND EVENTS

Top Risks Report: Insights for Higher Education

United Educators

Teacher Supply in California
2022-23: A Report to the Legislature

California Commission on Teacher Credentialing

Distance to Degrees: How College Proximity Shapes Students’ Enrollment Choices and Attainment Across Race-Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Status

National Bureau of Economic Research

Webinar: Carnegie Elective Classifications: 2024 Year in Review

American Council on Education

State of the States 2025

Site Selection Magazine

National Occupational Frameworks Success Stories: Accelerating Apprenticeship Program Development

Urban Institute

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Daily Lumina News is edited by Patricia Brennan.

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