We aim to make the postsecondary sector a more vital engine FOR SOCIAL AND economic MOBILITY.
The Carnegie Classifications —the nation’s gold standard for organizing higher education for over 50 years—now defines institutional excellence not only based on prestige, student selectivity or degrees awarded, but based on student outcomes.
The new Student Access and Earnings Classification evaluates whether institutions provide access to students in communities they serve, and whether those students go on to successful, wealth-generating careers in the regions they live and work.
CARNEGIE
CLASSIFICATIONS
The Carnegie Foundation and the American Council on Education (ACE) introduced significant changes to the Carnegie Classifications in April 2025. These included a full reconsideration of the “Basic” Classifications and the introduction of a new Classification designed to catalyze the postsecondary sector to become a more vital engine of economic mobility.
News
Media
Is It Time to Ditch the Four-Year Degree?
The winds of educational change are blowing. Tim Knowles is the 10th president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement …
Media
Opportunity Colleges: Measuring What Truly Matters
At my house, we are deep in the college search process. A bewildering array of glossy brochures arrive in our …
Media
Carnegie Classifications
Beyond ‘Prestige’: New Carnegie Classification Focuses on Student Success
As widespread public skepticism about the value of a degree persists, a new institutional classification system recognizes colleges and universities that …
Key Programs
WHAT IS THE
CARNEGIE
UNIT?
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