Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery Season 4, Episode 1 - "Kobayashi Maru".
The return of Starfleet Academy in Star Trek: Discovery season 4 comes with a big change to the Star Trek canon. Star Trek: Discovery season 4 continues the exploration of the 32nd century after Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the crew of the USS Discovery solved the mystery of The Burn and saved the United Federation of Planets. Ushering in a new era of optimism and expansion for the Federation also means restarting Starfleet Academy, which had been dormant since The Burn ended deep space travel for more than a century.
Starfleet Academy actually predates the United Federation of Planets. The Academy was founded in the 2140s to train the future officers of the United Earth Starfleet. Starfleet Academy was incorporated into the Federation after it was founded in 2161 as the training facility for all Starfleet Officers. Nearly every major Star Trek hero matriculated at Starfleet Academy but the hallowed institution was also the site of controversies. In Star Trek: The Next Generation, Cadet Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) was part of a cover-up after an accident led to the death of one of his classmates. In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, a group of cadets attempted a military coup, a DS9 story later adapted for Star Trek: Into Darkness. DS9 also introduced Red Squad, elite cadets who stubbornly fought in the Dominion War, which led to nearly all of the students being killed. Still, most Starfleet Officers look back fondly on their Academy days, which prepared them for their Starfleet duties on starships and space stations.
Star Trek: Discovery season 4's premiere marked a major change in canon because Starfleet Academy is now based in outer space for the first time, whereas, for centuries, the Academy was located in San Francisco on Earth, including the Kelvin Timeline of J.J. Abrams Star Trek movies. However, The Burn completely upended the Federation, which was banished from Earth a hundred years before Michael Burnham and the USS Discovery arrived in 3189. After expelling the Federation, which was headquartered in Paris, France, and Starfleet, which was based in San Francisco alongside Starfleet Academy, the Terran homeworld reverted back to being called United Earth and sealed off the planet from offworlders. Meanwhile, with the Federation and Starfleet's warp capabilities crippled due to the absence of dilithium, Starfleet Academy was shuttered until Burnham and Discovery restored dilithium and warp travel to the galaxy.
Starfleet Academy is now based in the Federation's deep space headquarters, which no longer uses a cloaking device to hide from enemies. It's also fitting that with the reopening of Starfleet Academy in Star Trek: Discovery season 4, Captain Michael Burnham delivered the keynote address welcoming the first class of Starfleet Academy cadets in 125 years since Burnham and the Discovery brought the Federation and the galaxy back from the brink. The next generation of Starfleet Academy cadets only numbers about 3 dozen, but they are an eclectic group from numerous worlds, signifying that Captain Burnham and the Discovery's restoration of deep space travel has allowed the best and the brightest from the Federation's current 59 member worlds to join up as the future of Starfleet.
United Earth is still not a member of the Federation at the start of Star Trek: Discovery season 4, although major strides are underway for Ni'Var, formerly known as Vulcan, to rejoin the Federation. Since Burnham and the Discovery are also based at Federation Headquarters, this likely means that Starfleet Academy could play a major role in Star Trek: Discovery season 4 due to the cadets' proximity to the series' main characters. This would be another big but welcome change since Starfleet Academy was previously only seen on the rare occasions Star Trek: TNG's USS Enterprise-D or DS9's Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) visited Earth. But since an optimistic vision of the 32nd century is Star Trek: Discovery season 4's purview, it makes perfect sense that Starfleet Academy - literally the future of Starfleet - could play a significant part in shaping the show's future,
Star Trek: Discovery streams Thursdays on Paramount+.