Conversations about underemployment often focus entirely on systemic problems while overlooking the role personal choices play in shaping career outcomes. Internships, work experience, financial discipline, and intentional decision-making during college can significantly influence long-term professional trajectories. Degrees matter, but so do the habits, sacrifices, and expectations students carry into adulthood. Early career struggles are often less about immediate success and more about building a foundation for future growth.
Read MoreThe Department of Justice’s decision to delay ADA digital accessibility deadlines for colleges reflects a reality many institutions have already understood: the scale of compliance work far exceeded the available time and infrastructure. Universities are not resisting accessibility itself; they are struggling with the operational complexity of auditing and rebuilding millions of webpages, PDFs, videos, and digital systems. The delay offers an opportunity to move from reactive scrambling to accessibility that integrate governance, training, and workflow design. The real danger now is not the extension itself, but the temptation to mistake more time for less urgency.
Read MorePublic debates surrounding labor disputes in higher education often focus on employees and administrators while overlooking the group most directly affected: students. The recent Portland Community College strike highlights how disrupted classes, delayed graduations, and interrupted learning create real personal and financial consequences for thousands of learners. Students are not secondary observers in these conflicts, they are primary stakeholders whose experience deserves central attention. In institutional disputes, the most important question may not be who wins, but who bears the cost.
Read MoreCollege athletics is nearing a financial tipping point as escalating spending on facilities, coaching salaries, and NIL deals outpaces revenue growth. While each investment may seem justified, the system as a whole is becoming unsustainable without meaningful guardrails. A proposed spending cap introduces the discipline long missing from this arms race, offering a path toward balance and long-term stability. Without structural change, the tension between athletic ambition and institutional responsibility will only intensify.
Read MoreUniversities are facing growing skepticism not because they lack value, but because they struggle to clearly communicate it. Relying on tradition or authority no longer resonates in a society that expects tangible outcomes and accountability. Bridging the gap between intellectual exploration and practical application is essential to restoring trust and relevance. Institutions that articulate their impact in clear, outcome-driven terms will be better positioned to regain public confidence.
Read MoreIn a moment when universities are pausing Ph.D. programs and reducing education to job placement metrics, this reflection makes a larger case: the value of higher education is not always transactional. Sometimes a degree does not change your title — it changes your judgment, your perspective, and your capacity to lead. If education only prepares us to do, we miss the deeper purpose of learning: to think clearly, act ethically, and become something more enduring than a résumé line.
Read MoreWe can debate labels all day, but none of them lower a student’s tuition bill. The real crisis in higher education is not what qualifies as a professional degree, it is the normalization of six-figure debt for in-state public college students. When affordability disappears, access becomes an illusion. Fixing the cost of public education is not a semantic exercise; it is a moral and economic responsibility.
Read MoreLeadership often fails not because the message is wrong, but because the method is. Governor Jeff Landry is right to question the excess and poor stewardship behind massive college coaching buyouts, especially when academic priorities struggle for funding. But by bypassing institutional leadership and intervening publicly, he undercuts governance, autonomy, and long-term credibility. The takeaway is clear: being right isn’t enough — effective leadership requires discipline in tone, timing, and process.
Read MoreHigher education has evolved beyond degrees, with noncredit certificates emerging as focused, practical alternatives for professionals seeking targeted skills. While certificates offer flexibility and immediate applicability, their quality has varied widely, creating uncertainty for students, employers, and institutions. Accrediting these programs provides guardrails, ensuring rigor, accountability, and meaningful outcomes. Properly regulated, certificates complement traditional degrees and represent a promising pathway for lifelong learning and professional growth.
Read MoreAmerican higher education is facing a reckoning after decades of ignoring mounting economic pressures. Declining enrollment, rising costs, and shrinking public funding have exposed the unsustainable financial model at many institutions. While universities have invested in high-cost amenities to compete for students, these strategies have failed to address core budget gaps. Ellen Aprill’s argument for more flexible endowment use highlights a path forward: responsible, mission-aligned spending that prioritizes long-term sustainability over outdated norms. To survive, colleges must rethink what they offer, how they fund it, and what truly serves their mission.
Read More