The National Education Association's State Funding Update found state appropriations for higher education hit $129 billion in FY2025, up 4% year-over-year, but inflation-adjusted growth was only 2%. Seventeen states saw funding decline once inflation was factored in, and 12 states still haven't recovered to pre-pandemic inflation-adjusted funding levels. Many public universities also never fully restored per-student funding lost after the 2008 financial crisis.
entrepreneur.com
· 2026-10-14
Direct admission programs, which offer college acceptance to students who meet set eligibility criteria without requiring an application, have been adopted statewide in 15 states as of December 2025, according to the National College Attainment Network. A peer-reviewed study of Idaho's program found it raised first-time undergraduate enrollment by 4-8%, mostly at two-year, open-access schools, but showed little to no increase in enrollment among Pell-eligible students.
entrepreneur.com
· 2026-10-12
Inside Higher Ed has tracked more than 9,000 job cuts and buyouts across US higher education in 2025, driven by falling international enrollment, state funding reductions, federal funding uncertainty and rising costs. The University of North Texas disclosed a projected $45 million deficit and plans to eliminate or consolidate over 70 academic programs, while East Carolina University is cutting $8.5 million more as part of a three-year, $25 million reduction plan after already discontinuing 44 programs.
entrepreneur.com
· 2026-10-08
As students return to campus this fall, institutions are increasingly recognizing the importance of engaging the over 37 million Americans under 65 who have some college credits but lack a degree. This group represents a significant, underutilized talent pool that could help address workforce skill shortages. Educational programs tailored to these learners could reshape higher education's role in workforce development.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-10-06
The U.S. Treasury Department has issued new regulations allowing eligible children to be automatically enrolled in so-called 'Trump accounts' without parents needing to sign them up first. Parents will still need to claim the accounts afterward to gain full control over them.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-10-01
The Trump administration unveiled America.gov, a new website intended to let Americans use an AI chatbot to handle tasks such as renewing a passport, enrolling in Medicare or applying for disaster relief through one central portal. The initial version only answers questions, with more advanced functions like step-by-step application processing not expected until 2027, according to officials including National Design Studio lead Joseph Gebbia.
tech.slashdot.org
· 2026-09-30
A survey by academic mentoring platform Nova Learning found that the share of middle and high school students naming Computer Science and AI as their top academic interest dropped from 42.3% in 2025 to 27.9% in 2026, while Engineering's share nearly doubled, rising from 11.9% to 23%, led largely by Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Separately, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reported an 8.1% drop in undergraduate Computer and Information Science enrollment at four-year institutions, to about 606,000 students, even as Engineering enrollment grew.
news.slashdot.org
· 2026-09-22
After losing hundreds of thousands of students during the pandemic, community colleges are now seeing sustained enrollment growth, with 5.8 million students enrolled in spring 2026, a 5.2% increase from spring 2021, according to National Student Clearinghouse Research Center data. Researchers say students who left during the pandemic did not simply transfer to four-year universities, which also saw declines among 18- to 24-year-olds.
entrepreneur.com
· 2026-09-10
An Inside Higher Ed analysis found at least 16 nonprofit colleges shut down in 2025 due to falling enrollment and financial strain, following 28 degree-granting institutions that closed in the first nine months of 2024 alone, according to Hechinger Report data. Entrepreneur's coverage argues these closures are not isolated incidents but the culmination of years of compounding pressures — declining tuition revenue, rising costs, debt and accreditation issues.
entrepreneur.com
· 2026-09-04
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