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The House Appropriations Committee advanced a bill that would classify graduate nursing programs as professional degrees, a designation that carries higher federal loan limits. The same bill would also cut discretionary spending for the U.S. Department of Education to $70.7 billion in fiscal 2027, a 10% cut from the current year. 

Number of the week: 85

The number of $100,000 payments for H-1B visa petitions that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services received through mid-February after President Donald Trump's implementation of the fee by proclamation in September, according to court filings. 

Last week, a federal judge struck down the fee for the highly skilled worker visa program, ruling it was an unlawful tax. The Trump administration quickly appealed. 

DOJ sets sights on UC Davis, CUNY:

• The U.S. Department of Justice alleged last week that the University of California, Davis School of Medicine gave an advantage to Black and Hispanic applicants in violation of civil rights law. DOJ said it would sue UC Davis — along with other medical schools — if they don’t come into compliance through voluntary resolutions with the agency. 
• DOJ said its findings came after a six-month probe into the medical school. More of these announcements could be on the horizon, as the agency recently said it was launching 15 investigations into medical school admissions, though it didn’t name the institutions. 
• Also last week, DOJ launched an investigation into the Black Male Initiative at the City University of New York system. DOJ said it received complaints that the student success program discriminates on the basis of race, though CUNY bills it as open to all. 

The latest cuts and consolidation news across higher education:

• The New School’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors denounced recent faculty layoffs and called on the university to either reinstate the employees or offer them a phased retirement. Faculty at the New York City institution have questioned the need for the cuts, though administrators have contended they were necessary to adapt to lower enrollment levels. 
• The University of Denver plans to consolidate five schools and colleges into two and eliminate five departments. The moves are meant to create a “more connected, flexible academic experience for students,” officials at the private nonprofit institution said. 
• Marshall University, a public institution in West Virginia, plans to cut seven academic programs while expanding five others. The moves come as the institution faces a $10.2 million budget deficit in the current fiscal year.