Aoun says university is ‘well positioned’ amid challenges facing higher education, but must continue to innovate
“We cannot take anything for granted,” President Joseph E. Aoun told the Faculty Senate on Wednesday.
From decreasing numbers of high school graduates to government restrictions on international students and public skepticism over the value of higher education, American universities face a litany of challenges.
Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun outlined many of these challenges – and the university’s response – on Wednesday at the Faculty Senate’s first meeting of the 2026-2027 academic year, held at Snell Library on the Boston campus.
“We cannot take anything for granted,” Aoun said, addressing approximately 50 faculty members who attended in Snell Library on the Boston campus and another 115 who tuned in online.
“Yes, we are well positioned. Yes, we have differentiation (in the marketplace), but we have to go further,” Aoun said.
Here are five takeaways from Aoun’s speech.
Higher education is changing and being challenged like never before:
The number of high school graduates in America is falling due to demographic changes. International students face new restrictions. Students and parents are questioning the value of higher education amid technological disruptions and escalating costs. The federal government is scrutinizing many institutions and has placed new limitations on research funding. Many universities and colleges, particularly smaller institutions and those that rely substantially on tuition revenue, are facing financial pressures, and the wave of mergers and acquisitions and closures in the higher education sector will continue.
Competition for students is increasing, at all levels
Aoun said that universities that compete with Northeastern – including academic institutions considered part of the elite “Ivy League” – have been trying to recruit undergraduate students by all means.
This often includes offering generous scholarships and financial aid, Aoun said. Schools have increased their class sizes to encourage more revenue and also accessed their wait lists to fill incoming classes at levels not seen before, Aoun added.
Meanwhile, Aoun said potential international students are citing difficulties obtaining visas to study in the United States as well as a proposed four-year limit on their stay in the U.S., putting many Ph.D. programs out of reach – particularly doctorate programs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, the STEM subjects, where up to 65% of students are international, he said.
As a result, the president cited a “dramatic drop” in international applications for US graduate programs – down 50% this year and projected to fall by 70% next year.
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Northeastern offers a distinct brand and experience that can respond to these challenges
Northeastern’s global university system, leadership in co-op and experiential learning, and combined majors have enabled the university to both differentiate itself from competitors and remain “very attractive” to students, who are also drawn by the university’s vision of incorporating artificial intelligence into learning while also recognizing “human centrality,” Aoun said.
As a result, undergraduate applications reached a record number this year, Aoun said, exceeding 105,000.
The president said having campuses in three countries “has been a godsend,” because it enables international students to start programs in other countries and then transfer to the U.S. if needed to finish their degrees.
Other universities are looking at Northeastern as a model and a leader
Several other universities have approached Northeastern about adopting its co-op model, Aoun said, and even businesses attempting to disrupt the traditional higher education model with their own educational experiments are including co-op programs.
Universities are also intrigued by Northeastern’s global network of campuses and the way its international sites can help insulate higher education from domestic and demographic challenges.
“This is good news in some ways, but also it means that we have to continue to innovate and in order to remain the leader,” Aoun said. “I welcome competition at this level.”
Despite its strong position, Northeastern will not “rest on its laurels,” Aoun said.
Northeastern leaders have ideas to ensure the university remains in a strong position, such as setting up different tracks for Ph.D. students who want to go into industry and those who want to become academics. Other goals include incorporating more experiential learning into doctoral programs and encouraging more mobility across the global university system for students and faculty, including in research.
“What we need to keep in mind is that what carried us for the last 150 years will not carry us moving forward,” Aoun said. “That’s why we need to continue to innovate and impact the world and be attractive to students.”
