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Most clicked story of the week:
The University of North Texas is planning to wind down or consolidate over 70 academic programs, ranging from certificates to master’s degrees. The program cuts come as officials work on tackling a $45 million budget deficit.
Number of the week: 9.6%
The average decline in net tuition prices paid by families with incomes of $85,000 at public flagship universities and R1 institutions between the 2019-20 and 2025-26 academic years, according to a recent Brookings Institution analysis from economics professor Phillip Levine. Overall, Levine found that net tuition prices have fallen across institution types and family income levels — a discovery “in stark contrast to the public’s perception.”
The latest with Harvard:
- The Trump administration sued Harvard University on March 20 to seek permission to cut off federal grants from the institution, alleging it has violated civil rights law by failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students from harassment. Until the administration filed the complaint, it had been negotiating a potential resolution with Harvard.
- The Editorial Board at The Harvard Crimson, the university’s student newspaper, slammed the new lawsuit. “This is yet another political attempt by the Trump administration to wage its ongoing war against Harvard and higher education in general,” the board wrote.
- Last week, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights also opened two new probes into Harvard. According to the agency’s announcement, OCR will investigate whether Harvard is unlawfully using race-based preferences in admissions and whether it’s doing enough to protect Jewish students from harassment.
The latest with the Trump administration:
- Public colleges in 17 states now have until April 6 to submit extensive data about their applicants and admitted students — all broken down by race and sex — to the Education Department, following a recent court order. The judge who granted the delay said he expects to issue a decision on whether to grant a preliminary injunction against the data collection this week.
- The Trump administration has opened probes into the admissions of medical schools at Ohio State University, Stanford University and the University of California, San Diego, The New York Times reported. The Trump administration threatened the three institutions with federal funding interruptions if they don’t turn over extensive data about their applicants by next month.
- The Education Department is planning to move out of its Washington, D.C., headquarters — where it has been for four decades — and move into a smaller building. The U.S. Department of Energy will take its place at the Lyndon B. Johnson building. “This is one of the most overt actions by Secretary McMahon to dismantle the Department of Education,” Virginia Rep. Bobby Scott, the top-ranking Democrat on the House’s education committee, said in a Thursday statement.
