Policy & Legal


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    What college leaders should know about the $100K H-1B visa fee

    One higher education expert suggested leaders educate local and federal lawmakers about the “adverse impact” of the new policy. 

    By Nov. 11, 2025
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    Big university endowments grew 11.5% in FY25, TIFF says

    Funds valued over $1 billion enjoyed a second year of double-digit returns, but increased taxes will weigh on many starting next year.

    By Nov. 10, 2025
  • Trendline

    Artificial Intelligence

    As AI continues its forward march in education and the workplace, colleges are grapplling with how best to incorporate the emerging technology into admissions, courrsework and elsewhere

    By Higher Ed Dive staff
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    Cornell inks $60M deal with Trump administration to restore funding

    The agreement, which ends multiple federal investigations into the university, also requires it to report extensive undergraduate admissions data quarterly.

    By Nov. 7, 2025
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    Deep Dive

    ‘End of an era’: Experts warn research executive order could stifle scientific innovation

    The directive gives President Donald Trump’s political appointees oversight of grant awards to align them with the administration’s priorities.

    By Danielle McLean • Nov. 3, 2025
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    Virginia lawmakers call for audit of UVA’s Justice Department deal

    Two Democratic leaders of the Virginia Senate said the public university’s deal with the Trump administration could violate both state law and the Constitution.

    By Oct. 30, 2025
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    Alamy
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    Education Department tightens debt relief program for public servants

    A new rule will bar organizations deemed to have a “substantial illegal purpose” from participating in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

    By Oct. 30, 2025
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    Deep Dive

    The legal debate over Trump’s Title VI campus crackdown

    Recent enforcement actions have set off high-stakes arguments about whether the federal government is weaponizing the civil rights law.

    By David Weisenfeld • Oct. 30, 2025
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    Higher ed groups push for colleges to be exempt from $100K H-1B visa fee

    The American Council on Education led a letter to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that argues these visa holders perform vital work. 

    By Oct. 29, 2025
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    The image by Alaska Miller is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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    New College of Florida says it will ‘happily be the first’ to sign Trump’s higher ed compact

    The public institution has already instituted many policies favored by the Trump administration after it was remade by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023.

    By Oct. 28, 2025
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    Feds launch site for employers to pay controversial H-1B fee, clarify exemptions

    The update answers some of employers’ questions, but the future of President Donald Trump’s restrictions on new skilled-worker visas is still uncertain.

    By Ryan Golden • Oct. 28, 2025
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    The image by Kenneth C. Zirkel is licensed under CC BY 4.0
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    Private New York colleges get $50M in state financing for capital projects

    Since its creation in 2005, the Higher Education Capital Matching Grant Program has awarded $369.8 million to colleges across the state.

    By Oct. 27, 2025
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    ‘A fair deal’ or a ‘surrender’? Stakeholders weigh in on Trump-UVA agreement

    The Democratic head of the Virginia senate called the agreement a surrender with “significant constitutional problems,” a concern echoed by some faculty.

    By Oct. 24, 2025
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    70% of Americans say feds shouldn’t control admissions, curriculum

    The Public Religion Research Institute poll comes as the Trump administration is pressuring colleges to change their policies. 

    By Oct. 24, 2025
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    The image by Ken Lund is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
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    Michigan State University lays off 99 employees

    Along with budget pressures from rising costs, the university has faced dozens of federal grant terminations, leading to another 83 job cuts.

    By Oct. 23, 2025
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    Tracker

    Tracking the Trump administration’s deals with colleges

    Cornell University agreed to pay $60 million in exchange for the federal government’s restoration of over $250 million in research grants.

    By , , Updated Oct. 23, 2025
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    Gov. Abbott: Texas is targeting professors over ‘leftist ideologies’

    New laws in the state have dramatically reshaped public higher education and coincided with a wave of high-profile faculty terminations.

    By Oct. 21, 2025
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    US Chamber sues White House to block ‘plainly unlawful’ H-1B visa fee

    The nonprofit’s lawsuit also alleges the $100,000 fee would render the H-1B program economically unviable for many.

    By Ryan Golden • Oct. 21, 2025
  • President Donald Trump speaks as Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon stand behind Trump.
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    ‘Nothing less than government control’: Higher ed responds to Trump’s compact

    Federal officials offered preferential funding treatment to nine initial colleges in exchange for sweeping changes. Here’s how they replied.

    By Oct. 20, 2025
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    Harvard v. Trump

    Harvard’s operations lost $112.6M in FY25 amid Trump’s pressure campaign

    President Alan Garber called fiscal 2025 extraordinarily challenging for the Ivy League university "even by the standards of our centuries-long history."

    By Oct. 17, 2025
  • A person walks in front of the exterior of the headquarters for the U.S. Department of Education.
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    Judge extends pause on layoffs of federal employees

    Here's a timeline tracing the Trump administration's efforts to slash half of the U.S. Education Department's workforce.

    By Anna Merod • Updated Oct. 29, 2025
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    University of Pennsylvania rejects Trump’s higher education compact

    The Ivy League institution became the third college to decline the offer of priority for federal research funding in exchange for sweeping policy changes.

    By Oct. 16, 2025
  • A group of University of Texas at Austin students protest the Israel-Hamas war.
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    Court temporarily blocks overnight ban on expression at University of Texas System

    A federal judge found “significant First Amendment issues” in a state law barring all free speech on public campuses between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.

    By Oct. 16, 2025
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    Higher ed groups blast Trump plan to expand applicant data collection

    A coalition led by the American Council on Education said the proposal would overly burden colleges and raise student privacy concerns.

    By Oct. 16, 2025
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    Brown University rejects Trump’s higher education compact

    The Ivy League institution became the second prominent college, after MIT, to reject the deal over concerns about freedom and independence.

    By Oct. 15, 2025
  • Linda McMahon speaks while seated at a podium.
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    Republican lawmakers ask McMahon to restore funding for Hispanic-serving colleges

    Members of the Congressional Hispanic Conference pushed back on arguments that the programs discriminate by establishing racial quotas.

    By Oct. 15, 2025