Giving Compass' Take:

• Carter Coudriet highlights ten trends we saw in education in the last decade - many of them related to deepening inequality. 

• How can funders work to reverse concerning trends in higher education? What can be done to support disadvantaged students? 

• Read about racial gaps in student loan debt. 

In the last decade, elite colleges benefited from big donations, endowments that grew in value and increased popularity. Meanwhile, private colleges without the benefit of rich endowments struggled financially. In the wake of bad press and heightened regulation, for-profits shut down. At the end of the decade, new questions were raised about the fairness of elite college admissions. Here are ten trends that define the last decade in higher ed.

  1. The Varsity Blues admissions scandal cast a pall on elite admissions
  2. Struggling private colleges are closing
  3. Student debt has doubled
  4. For-profit colleges have closed, contracted or merged
  5. The number of high school graduates has plateaued and is predicted to fall
  6. International student enrollment at U.S. colleges has leveled off
  7. Private colleges are increasing discounts
  8. Elite colleges are becoming increasingly elite
  9. Endowments are up at the richest schools
  10. Rich people have pledged bigger donations

Read the full article about higher education trends by Carter Coudriet at Forbes.