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In today’s economic environment, the traditional dreamy narrative of earning a liberal arts degree while attending a storybook campus isn’t practical. While a strong foundation is always a good place to start, today’s employers expect and need specialized skills that many graduating college seniors simply don’t have. Starting the process early on with a roadmap will help students graduate with employable assets.

On July 14, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court effectively cleared the way for the Trump Administration to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education by allowing mass layoffs that had been blocked by a federal court. Although framed as “temporary,” the ruling also enables the Administration to resume its push to transfer the student loan system to the Small Business Administration—an agency with limited staffing, no experience in high-volume student lending, and a comparatively small loan portfolio.

The arts and humanities are a vast field that encompasses everything from performance art to painting, music, languages, and even history. While to many, the arts and humanities can seem esoteric, they are, in fact, part of everyday life.

According to the US Department of State office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons: “Human trafficking, also known as trafficking in persons, includes both forced labor and sex trafficking. It not only represents a threat to international peace and security but also undermines the rule of law, robs millions of their dignity and freedom, enriches transnational criminals and terrorists, and threatens public safety and national security everywhere.”

November is National Novel Writing Month. Otherwise known as NaNoWriMo, this is an annual event during which writers attempt to complete a novel in just 30 days. While the event is open to writers of all experience levels, it typically attracts novice writers looking for a challenge. Many participants find the event to be highly motivating, as the fast-paced nature of NaNoWriMo encourages them to focus and get their ideas down on paper quickly.

September is designated as National Suicide Prevention Month. Mental health organizations across the country collaborate to share the message that help is available from professionals able to work with clients through their crises.

Clemson University offers its new online master of science in computer science degree in collaboration with Coursera, one of the most innovative firms in online education that we’ll talk more about below. Classes start in August 2024 and the university estimates most working adult students will complete the degree in 20 to 36 months.

MOOCs—massive open online courses—have lowered the barrier to entry for students wishing to learn a new trade. Advances in technology have made distance learning more accessible and more engaging and traditional academic institutions like colleges and universities have fully embraced online education.

Because of all the controversy surrounding the for-profit University of Phoenix’s planned acquisition by the University of Idaho, it’s reasonable to ask questions about the relative value of for-profit higher education in America. Do the alumni of such schools value their educational experiences as much as the alumni of nonprofit colleges and universities?

The cannabis industry does over $52 billion in annual sales and job availability went up by 76 percent across the sector last year. But with so few academic programs on the subject, where are the leaders in medical cannabis going to come from?

Competency-based education (CBE) acknowledges the fact that not all students in the same course will learn at the same pace or in the same way. Instead of relying on a rigidly structured timetable, CBE allows students to advance to different parts of a course and even to another level based on their mastery — or competence — in a certain area.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, over half-a-million students in the US have been affected by countless university closures. Online education has come a long way in the last decade—and it’s about to be catapulted into the global mainstream.

Parents working to provide their children with the best education and opportunities available is already challenging when juggling the responsibilities of work and day-to-day life. But imagine having the added pressure of not understanding the language used or lacking internet access to navigate existing education systems.

Rapidly transitioning from traditional classroom-based teaching and learning to online learning mid-semester can be a difficult and stressful process. Discover some best practices and resources to help you get started, and to smooth the transition to online.

Demand for online education continues to surge. And according to a new study, online learning may even be poised to eclipse traditional college and university classrooms. The Changing Landscape of Online Education (CHLOE) report released in August 2023 shows how student demand for online learning drives colleges to adapt. In its eighth annual edition since 2015, this survey polled more than 300 chief online officers (COOs) at four- and two-year institutions across the United States who manage virtual instruction at their schools.

Suddenly, the news is full of interesting online education research. The following rundown summarizes three particularly significant reports released during mid-2022.

COVID-19 continues to emerge in pockets across the country as the 2019-2020 school year comes to a close, and students of all ages find themselves thrust into online learning. As such, in-person coursework for college students has been deemphasized for the indefinite future. Enter outlier.org, a startup delivering courses to help students meet general education requirements online.

As vaccines roll out globally, higher education institutions are making plans to get students back into study abroad programs. Some students daydream about rattling off phrases flawlessly in another language or doing research at a field station deep in the middle of the rainforest. But even before getting on the plane, there are a lot of things students need to know to make the most of an educational experience in another country.

Pandemic learning loss among K-12 students turned into a hot political issue before the 2022 election, driven by shocking evidence of suffering by students. Three studies, in particular, contributed to that evidence.

The technology sector is known for its high-income potential, with numerous individuals earning six-figure salaries. It’s becoming increasingly evident that practical technical skills and demonstrated experience are often more valuable than formal education degrees when pursuing or advancing a career in this field.

In May 2024, OpenAI announced ChatGPT Edu, a new ChatGPT version designed for colleges and universities that would like to provide artificial intelligence capabilities for their students, faculty, staff, and researchers. Following the company’s early 2024 deal with Arizona State University, the new platform amounts to another one of the company’s first forays into the higher education marketplace.

A recent feature published by the Los Angeles Times demonstrates how the demand for online courses is transforming significant portions of the higher education landscape across the United States: “The demand for virtual classes represents a dramatic shift in how instruction is delivered in one of the nation’s largest systems of public higher education,” writes

In an era when student loans are frequently viewed as undesirable, students are increasingly turning to less conventional methods to finance their college degrees. One such approach that might be gaining traction could be crowdfunding.

Imagine that the entire process of enrolling in a university’s degree program only required 30 minutes, from start to finish—from a student’s typing their name into an online form to downloading their first lesson’s coursework.

Many traditional universities have created online versions of their STEM programs, enabling interested students to learn at their own speed, with some flexibility of schedule. View a list of STEM careers with positive employment outlooks and examples of online programs training professionals to meet the forecast demand.