More faculty. Fewer staff. A changing campus workforce.

Higher Ed's Workforce Is Changing

New data from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources shows an unusual shift in higher education employment. Tenure-track faculty numbers grew 7 percent last year, the largest single-year increase since 2016, while non-tenure-track faculty grew 2.1 percent and adjunct faculty 0.9 percent. At the same time, full-time staff numbers declined 6.6 percent and part-time staff fell 23.9 percent, reversing recent years of staff growth. The changes raise important questions about institutional capacity, workload and how colleges will support students and operations with fewer staff.

Key Takeaway: As institutions rethink staffing structures, leaders will need to consider not just head counts, but how workforce changes affect the people and services that support the student experience.

New Research Challenges Assumptions About Student Success

A collection of recent studies highlights how financial vulnerability, mental health, emergency aid, career preparation and awareness of campus resources intersect with student success. Among the findings, 24 percent of financially vulnerable students did not know whether their institution offered mental health or counseling services, compared with 17 percent of financially secure students. Researchers also found that emergency-aid receipt among surveyed students fell dramatically between 2021 and 2025, while separate research suggests colleges may substantially underestimate the number of autistic students they serve. The findings point toward a familiar but important lesson: offering support is not enough if students do not know it exists or cannot easily access it.

Quick Insight: Student success strategies should prioritize proactive outreach and make resources easy to find, understand and access before students reach a point of crisis.

Education Department Proposes Major Changes to Accreditation

The U.S. Department of Education has proposed an overhaul of the accreditation system that plays a central role in determining institutional eligibility for federal student aid. The proposal would reshape how accreditors evaluate areas including student outcomes, institutional accountability and program quality, with the administration seeking greater emphasis on performance rather than process-based compliance. Because accreditation is connected to federal financial aid eligibility, changes could have significant implications across the higher education sector. The proposal will now move through the federal rulemaking process, including an opportunity for public comment.

Key Insight: College leaders should watch the rulemaking process closely, as changes to accreditation expectations could eventually affect institutional accountability, assessment and access to federal student aid.

College Applications Continue to Grow and Shift

Common App's new end-of-season report provides a look at application patterns during the 2025-26 admissions cycle, including differences by demographics, community income and institution type. Earlier data from the same cycle showed both applicants and applications running ahead of the previous year, with students submitting slightly more applications on average. Particularly noteworthy was growth among first-generation applicants and students from below-median-income ZIP codes, which were up 6 percent and 8 percent respectively as of March 1. These patterns offer enrollment leaders another window into how the prospective student population and application behavior continue to evolve.

Takeaway: Growing and changing applicant pools create opportunities for institutions to examine whether recruitment, onboarding and student support strategies are keeping pace with who is applying.

Support Students at Every Step

As campus teams are asked to do more, scalable student support matters. StudentLingo gives students on-demand access to success resources covering academic skills, personal development, career readiness and more, helping institutions extend support beyond the limits of staff time. Explore resources at Innovative Educators.

Published: August 20, 2026