As Enrollment Peaks, Higher Ed Is in a Slow-Moving Collapse
7th April 2026
Never before have more Americans attended college. Today, roughly 57% of Gen Z enroll in some form of postsecondary education after high school.
Yet at the very moment participation has peaked, confidence in higher education is eroding. The traditional four-year degree, once a hallmark of intellectual formation and social mobility, is increasingly questioned, both for its cost and its purpose.
Part of this decline stems from a shift away from classical liberal arts education, which once emphasized the pursuit of truth through disciplines such as philosophy, literature, history, and rhetoric. This model aimed not merely at job preparation, but at forming well-rounded, critical-thinking individuals.
In contrast, much of modern higher education has become narrowly utilitarian, focused on credentialing, specialization, and workforce outcomes, often at the expense of intellectual depth and coherence.
So, is the current model losing its authority? And what does this transformation mean for the future of colleges and universities?