The featured take
Key takeaway
Gallup and the Lumina Foundation surveyed more than 2,500 hiring decision-makers. 60% are confident in higher education, compared with 38% of U.S. adults in an earlier Gallup poll, and 48% expect degrees to matter more as AI spreads. The gap comes down to what each group sees. Employers hire and manage graduates. Families see tuition bills and rarely see where a program's graduates work or what they earn. Publishing outcomes by program, for every graduate, closes that gap.
Also in this issue
Arizona becomes the 7th Workforce Pell state, starting with a phlebotomy program
Colorado approves just 5 of 20 Workforce Pell programs, and most denials lacked placement data
State Workforce Pell lists run on year-old jobs data, so one op-ed says build for grid jobs now
Certificates make up about 9 in 10 graduates of programs failing the new earnings test
ED freezes about 300 school applications at cosmetology accreditor NACCAS over weak outcomes
A university-branded boot camp swapped a promised CompTIA voucher for a credential it invented
Five associations get 50+ colleges to commit to career guidance and real work experience
Employers say new grads most lack professionalism and communication, not technical skills
DOL's $95.5M reskilling grants must get laid-off workers into paid jobs within six months
DOL puts $81.5M into 13 rural training projects in 11 states, built around apprenticeships
Sent October 25, 2026 with the subject line “The College Trust Gap: 60% vs. 38%”. Links point to the original sources.