Finance
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Charitable giving to colleges jumped 3% in FY 2024
The increase is a “powerful vote of confidence” in the higher education sector, according to the Council for Advancement and Support of Education’s CEO.
By Natalie Schwartz • March 20, 2025 -
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Moody’s turns negative on higher ed’s financial outlook amid Trump cuts
Federal policy changes like layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education and funding reductions create major new risks for the sector, analysts said.
By Ben Unglesbee • March 19, 2025 -
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TrendlineCollege finances in a rapidly changing sector
Colleges are increasingly tightening their belts and pursuing alternative revenue sources amid declining enrollment and increased competition.
By Higher Ed Dive staff -
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St. Norbert College to cut over 2 dozen faculty positions and 20 programs
The Catholic institution in Wisconsin is still trying to cut $7 million from its fiscal 2026 budget after previously initiating multiple rounds of layoffs.
By Ben Unglesbee • March 18, 2025 -
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Johns Hopkins to lay off 2,200 workers as it reels from Trump’s USAID cuts
The university said previously it faced an $800 million funding shortfall from the hollowed-out aid agency and would have to wind down programs.
By Ben Unglesbee • March 14, 2025 -
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USDA restores funding to University of Maine System
In an about-face, the agency resumed payments after Sen. Susan Collins spoke with Trump administration officials.
By Ben Unglesbee • March 13, 2025 -
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USDA pauses funding to University of Maine System
The funding freeze follows a spat between President Donald Trump and Gov. Janet Mills over his order restricting transgender students from women’s sports.
By Ben Unglesbee • March 12, 2025 -
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Harvard among latest universities to freeze hiring amid federal funding uncertainty
The Ivy League institution’s officials emphasized that the move was temporary and meant to “preserve our financial flexibility.”
By Ben Unglesbee • March 11, 2025 -
Saint Augustine’s University loses appeal to keep accreditation
Officials at the historically Black college are now contesting the decision to strip its accreditation via arbitration — a process it's been through before.
By Natalie Schwartz • March 7, 2025 -
Djflem. (2019). [Photograph]. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.
New Jersey City University pursues merger with Kean University
The public institution has made several moves to claw back from a financial emergency nearly three years ago.
By Ben Unglesbee • March 6, 2025 -
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University of Nebraska-Lincoln to cut $5M from budget, extend hiring freeze
The public land-grant institution cited uncertainty around the future of both federal and state funding.
By Laura Spitalniak • March 5, 2025 -
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‘Perplexing and distressing’: Johns Hopkins warns of budget cuts amid Trump-era funding chaos
The institution is grappling with the “unexpected stoppage” of $800 million in funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development.
By Ben Unglesbee • March 5, 2025 -
Courtesy of Findlay Bluffton Future
University of Findlay calls off merger with Bluffton University
The larger of the two Christian institutions iced the plan to combine, citing time, expense and the complexity of maintaining separate athletics programs.
By Ben Unglesbee • Feb. 28, 2025 -
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Penn State will close some campuses amid enrollment decline, president says
Neeli Bendapudi said the university will review a dozen of its commonwealth campuses to determine which will stay open and which will close.
By Ben Unglesbee • Feb. 26, 2025 -
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DeSantis moves to create Florida’s own DOGE to target college spending
The governor also suggested the department would eliminate what he called “ideological” curriculum and programming.
By Ben Unglesbee • Feb. 25, 2025 -
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Struggling California College of the Arts raises $45M to fund turnaround
After laying off staff to fill a $20 million budget hole, the private college brought in new funds to keep it afloat, including from Nvidia’s billionaire founder.
By Ben Unglesbee • Feb. 24, 2025 -
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NIH cuts remain on hold as judge extends temporary pause
Some colleges have already frozen hiring after the National Institutes of Health unveiled a policy to cap billions of dollars in funding for indirect research costs.
By Ben Unglesbee • Feb. 21, 2025 -
"Northland College Campus" by Tschellnc is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Northland College to close after turnaround falls short
Despite recent restructuring efforts, the Wisconsin nonprofit’s board chair said it couldn’t weather “economic and demographic storms” hitting the sector.
By Ben Unglesbee • Feb. 20, 2025 -
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Colleges tighten budgets amid NIH funding uncertainty
From hiring freezes to spending cuts, research universities are trying to manage their finances amid a fluid and harrowing situation.
By Ben Unglesbee • Feb. 20, 2025 -
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Endowments grew 4% in FY2024 on investment returns, donations
Colleges responding to the latest NACUBO-Commonfund study reported a collective $837.7 billion in endowment value as Republicans eye higher taxes.
By Ben Unglesbee • Feb. 12, 2025 -
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‘Self-inflicted wound’: Widespread alarm as Trump administration slashes NIH funding
A federal judge issued orders blocking the National Institutes of Health from enforcing its new 15% cap on indirect research costs.
By Ben Unglesbee • Updated Feb. 11, 2025 -
Tennessee State University could run out of cash this spring without help
The struggling HBCU is dependent on state money to survive — but is also owed money by Tennessee, the Biden administration had said.
By Ben Unglesbee • Feb. 7, 2025 -
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Higher ed sees 4.3% jump in state funding for FY2025
Support for institutions is up by a third from five years ago, according to early data from the annual Grapevine report.
By Ben Unglesbee • Feb. 4, 2025 -
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At 11th hour, judge blocks Trump’s pause on federal funding
The higher education community faced an "enormous amount of confusion" in the wake of an OMB directive aimed at ensuring programs adhere to recent executive orders.
By Ben Unglesbee • Updated Jan. 28, 2025 -
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Texas A&M University to restrict undergrad enrollment growth following ‘massive’ increases
The public university wants to hold new undergraduate enrollment at its main campus to 15,000 a year so its infrastructure can catch up with recent growth.
By Ben Unglesbee • Jan. 27, 2025 -
Courtesy of Sonoma State University
‘Sobering news’: Sonoma State University makes broad cuts to tackle $24M deficit
The California public university plans to reduce staff, faculty and majors, as well as fold its athletics program.
By Ben Unglesbee • Jan. 23, 2025
