American higher education

A new Atlantic essay argues American higher education is unraveling under a stack of simultaneous pressures: demographic decline, financial strain, eroding public trust, and now artificial intelligence disrupting the value of a degree. The piece contends these overlapping crises are not temporary setbacks but structural shifts that may permanently reshape who goes to college, what it costs, and whether campuses survive.

Cornell University has released a reform report on higher education, but a commentary from The Daily Signal argues it avoids addressing the real reason Americans have lost confidence in universities. The criticism suggests institutional self-examination is focusing on narrower reforms while skipping deeper questions about ideology and credibility that drive public distrust in colleges.

Students and commentators at the University of St Andrews in Scotland are debating class tensions, with wealthier American undergraduates accused of fueling snobbery on campus. One observer likened the small Fife town to 'the Scottish Upper East Side'. Students from lower-income families say they feel shame and exclusion amid growing resentment over the university's affluent international intake.