In its first year, the Trump administration's second term delivered the largest federal shock to American higher education in modern history. Over $12 billion in funding was disrupted. International student enrollment fell 17%. Harvard and Columbia became flashpoints. DEI programmes disappeared. Here is what is happening inside American universities.
Results from the AAC&U 2026 survey of 1,057 college faculty are alarming: 73% have personally dealt with AI-related academic integrity violations, and 78% say cheating has increased since generative AI arrived. The credibility of higher education is under strain.
The children born in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis are now turning 18. There are too few of them. More than 40 US colleges have already announced closures, and warnings are mounting that 400 more could disappear within a decade.