Further Unpacking the 2025 Carnegie Classifications

Session Abstract: The Carnegie Classifications have been the nation’s leading framework in understanding and organizing American higher education institutions since 1973. To keep pace with the evolving and rapidly diversifying higher education landscape, the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching began a partnership in February 2022 to reimagine the Carnegie Classifications. In spring 2025, we introduced the new classification system. In this session, Carnegie Classifications leaders will share the context for the approach to the 2025 Carnegie Classifications, how the classifications work, and what is planned for the future. We will also share initial observations on these updates and how they will inform our ongoing work to better reflect the breadth of higher education institutions and their public purpose, mission, focus, and impact.

Keywords: Carnegie Classifications, research classification, R1, institutional diversity, social mobility