If 2025 is any indication of what's to come, 2026 will likely be another life-changing year for the higher education sector. On top of perennial challenges — such as enrollment and rising costs — some college leaders are grappling with extraordinary federal pressure on their institutions.
The Trump administration by now has a well-worn playbook: Launch civil rights investigations into high-profile colleges, freeze or terminate their federal research grants, and then pressure them into adopting policy changes to regain access to that critical funding source. Higher education experts predict this pressure campaign will only expand in the year ahead.
Still, some higher education institutions and researchers have challenged these moves in court, notching some wins along the way. This year could bring major rulings on pending litigation, including the Trump administration’s appeal of the ruling that reinstated some $2.2 billion of Harvard University’s frozen research funding.
Meanwhile, major policy shifts are on college leaders’ radars as well, from the U.S. Department of Education’s planned accreditation overhaul to the U.S. Department of Justice’s campaign against state policies that allow certain undocumented students to receive in-state tuition rates.
Below, we’re rounding up our pieces breaking down each of these trends, and more, for the year ahead.
