Higher Education in the USA: Characteristics of Development During the Third Decade of the 21st Century

The article aims to examine the state of higher education in the USA during the third decade of 21st century. The author reviews the best US universities still leading in global educational rankings. The paper highlights the increasing proportion of the population with a bachelor degree or higher, including among racial and ethnic minorities. It also addresses longstanding issues within the US education system, including the high cost of tuition, inequal access to university education among different racial groups of population. It also identifies new challenges including growing bureaucracy in universities and rising dissatisfaction with higher education as a factor of professional success.