AKA Review - 11.14.2025

From The Atlantic

By Aziz Huq

The rejection of Trump’s “compact” by seven of nine universities offered it suggests higher ed is coming to accept the era of generous federal spending is ending. Universities thrived in the first half of the 20th century, before the growth of federal support in the 1940s, and can do so again today, the author argues. Using creative approaches to funding, growth, and combative legal strategies to confront an overbearing state, colleges can remain committed to academic freedom and confront longstanding weaknesses of our higher-ed model. Read this article

From Lumina Foundation

America is slipping in higher education. The slide starts long before college.

By Courtney Brown

Lumina highlights how the U.S., once the world-leader in higher ed, now spends more yet delivers outcomes well below peer nations, and thus struggles to produce the workforce it needs to sustain its economy, strengthen communities, and remain globally competitive. The cause is structural. We treat education as disconnected stages rather than a continuum requiring investment and attention at every level—not just K-12, but pre-K to career. “The system is leaking talent, and we are doing far too little to plug the holes.” Read this article

From The Hechinger Report

Students worried about getting jobs are adding extra majors

By Jon Marcus

College students nationwide are adding second majors to better stand out in an unpredictable labor market. They’re not wrong. New-B.A. unemployment is at its highest rate in a decade. Data show that double majors earn more and face fewer negative effects in economic downturns than single majors—results of the diverse skill sets double majors provide. Another benefit is the reward of studying a new area for which one has a passion. Students satisfy their diverse interests and “their parents, who want them to be employed.” Read this article

From The New York Times

We Charted the Decline in International Students to the U.S.

By Aatish Bhatia, Laura Bult and Laura Salaberry

We all think we know that international students are declining. But which, why, and with what implications for colleges and universities and the U.S. as whole? Spend 2 minutes and 25 seconds with this video. The journalists use clear graphics and narration to tell the story behind a decline of 19% in international students from August 2024 to August 2025, the largest on record since the pandemic. Understand visa restrictions, travel bans, and impacts on tuition and U.S. innovation and competitiveness—all in 145 seconds. Read this article

From Foreign Affairs

The Stagnant Order And the End of Rising Powers

By Michael Beckley

For 250 years, global politics was driven by the swift rise of great powers. The economic, demographic, and military revolutions that fueled this have run their course. The author surveys a world of geriatric, stagnant states, where the peace from fewer wars is not enough to outweigh the ills that come with shrinking economies, dwindling populations and decreasing democracy. Or perhaps a world without rising powers may prove calmer geopolitically and brighter economically. The shift is unquestionable, but the new story is still unfolding. Read this article