Most clicked story of the week:

A federal judge struck down the U.S. Department of Education's Feb. 14 guidance that threatened to revoke federal funding for colleges and K-12 schools that practiced diversity, equity and inclusion efforts it considers illegal. In her decision, the judge ruled that the guidance unconstitutionally put viewpoint-based restrictions on academic speech and used overly vague language about what was prohibited.

Number of the week: 6,000+

The number of international student visas the U.S. Department of State has revoked so far this year. The agency terminated between 200 and 300 of the visas over allegations of support for terrorism, a spokesperson said.

Staffing and investigations at the Education Department:

• The Education Department will reinstate over 260 laid-off Office for Civil Rights employees in small groups every other week, following a federal judge's order. The restoration of staff will take place from Sept. 8 through Nov. 3, according to court filings.
• Almost three-quarters of financial aid administrators reported “noticeable changes” in the Federal Student Aid office’s communications and processing speed since the massive Education Department layoffs earlier this year, according to a survey from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. 
• Despite the decrease in staff, the department has continued to open civil rights investigations, announcing one last week at Haverford College. The agency cited allegations that the small Pennsylvania institution hadn't done enough in response to campus antisemitism. A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against Haverford over similar allegations earlier this year.

Budget cuts and restructuring: 

• The University of California, Los Angeles paused faculty hiring through spring 2026 amid increasing attacks from the Trump administration and preexisting budget shortfalls. The public university is also consolidating its information technology teams, though it did not say if the process will include layoffs.
• The University of Louisiana at Lafayette will cut its operational and auxiliary spending by 5%, a move its interim president cast as proactive rather than reactive, KADN reported. While the university's revenue is strong, he said, costs exceed it. 
• Milligan University, in Tennessee, will cut six academic programs this fall to keep pace with a changing college market, the private institution's president told WJHL. The affected programs enrolled 28 students.