California State University’s 22 campuses, along with public institutions in other states across the country, are piloting shortened bachelor’s degrees. Here, students study in a library on the campus of California State University, Long Beach in Long Beach, California, in October, 2012.

The Quiet Redesign of the Bachelor’s Degree

by Bruno V. Manno July 29, 2026August 10, 2026

Amid millions carrying some college credit and no bachelor’s degree, the lines between community college, four-year institutions, and even high schools are blurring. How to make this brave new world even better.

Civil Wrongs: The federal investigation into Smith College reflects a wider conservative campaign to politicize civil rights law and erode women’s rights. Here, College Hall at Smith in Northampton, Massachusetts, May 5, 2026.

Higher Education

Inside the Trump Administration’s Attack on Smith College and Title IX

by Carrie N. Baker May 28, 2026May 28, 2026

The Education Department investigates the venerable women’s school for admitting transgender women and granting them access to “women-only” spaces like dorms. A Smith College scholar shows how Trump’s perverse probe fits a conservative Republican pattern.

Credential Conflict: A college accreditation overhaul, led by Secretary Linda McMahon’s Education Department, may weaken a flawed system in the name of improving it. Here, McMahon testifies during a Senate Committee on Appropriations subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill, April 28, 2026, in Washington.

Higher Education

The Higher Education Accreditation Wars Are Heating Up

by Bruno V. Manno May 6, 2026May 5, 2026

As the Education Department, wisely, tries to reform the opaque, little-known accreditation world with proposed rules—and key negotiations this month—some stakeholders worry that the Trump administration will go too far.

Democrats can rebuild trust on education by combining the best of centrist and progressive ideas to improve K-12 outcomes.

Magazine

How Democrats Can Win on Education Again

by Thomas Toch April 9, 2026May 5, 2026

Centrist and progressive Democrats can’t stop fighting over how to fix America’s crisis-ridden K-12 schools. Truth is, each side has part of the answer.

Education

School Discipline Is in Crisis. Trump Isn’t Helping

by Samantha Powers April 8, 2026April 6, 2026

With good teachers, innovative approaches to behavioral issues in K-12 schools can improve student outcomes. Trump-era policies threaten those teachers and reforms.

Opportunity Onramps: Youth apprenticeship programs are crucial to expanding career opportunities in America. Here, a third-year apprentice from Hamill Manufacturing Company, works with a milling machine in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, February, 2022.

Economy

Making Apprenticeships Part of Civic Infrastructure

by Bruno V. Manno April 6, 2026April 5, 2026

The erosion of early work experience is widening inequality. A modern apprenticeship system could rebuild the first rung of the career ladder.

Do No Harm: A new rule codifies the idea that every college degree should make graduates better off than if they had never attended.

Magazine

The Bipartisan Roots of Trump’s One Good Education Reform

by Paul Glastris and Nate Weisberg April 1, 2026May 5, 2026

An unheralded provision in the “big beautiful” tax act creates a beachhead for quality control in higher education that both parties have worked towards for three-quarters of a century. Will it survive?