Policy & Legal
-
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 Ben Unglesbee • Oct. 27, 2025 -
Getty Images
‘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 Laura Spitalniak • Oct. 24, 2025 -
Explore the Trendline➔
Getty Images
TrendlineArtificial 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 -
Getty Images
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 Natalie Schwartz • Oct. 24, 2025 -
The image by Ken Lund is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
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 Ben Unglesbee • Oct. 23, 2025 -
Win McNamee / Staff via Getty Images
TrackerTracking the Trump administration’s deals with colleges
The University of Virginia will follow the U.S. Department of Justice's guidance banning diversity, equity and inclusion to pause five federal probes.
By Ben Unglesbee , Laura Spitalniak , Natalie Schwartz • Updated Oct. 23, 2025 -
Brandon Bell via Getty Images
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 Laura Spitalniak • Oct. 21, 2025 -
Coast-to-Coast via Getty Images
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 -
Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
‘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 Ben Unglesbee • Oct. 20, 2025 -
Scott Eisen via Getty Images
Harvard v. TrumpHarvard’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 Ben Unglesbee • Oct. 17, 2025 -
Getty Images
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 Natalie Schwartz • Oct. 16, 2025 -
Brandon Bell via Getty Images
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 Ben Unglesbee • Oct. 16, 2025 -
Getty Images
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 Laura Spitalniak • Oct. 16, 2025 -
Getty Images
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 Natalie Schwartz • Oct. 15, 2025 -
Getty Images
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 Ben Unglesbee • Oct. 15, 2025 -
Mario Tama via Getty Images
Newsom vetoes bill allowing preference in college admissions for descendants of slaves
The California governor contended the legislation was unnecessary, writing that colleges can already determine whether to give such admissions advantages.
By Natalie Schwartz • Oct. 15, 2025 -
Permission granted by Antioch University
Q&AAntioch University’s president talks leadership and democratic education in uncertain times
Lori Varlotta took the helm of the nearly 175-year-old university this summer as it looks to raise its profile and grow the college coalition it co-founded.
By Ben Unglesbee • Oct. 14, 2025 -
Mario Tama via Getty Images
California governor signs Cal State direct admissions program into law
A pilot version of the program proactively offered thousands of students acceptance into the public university system.
By Ben Unglesbee • Updated Oct. 14, 2025 -
Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images
MIT becomes first college to reject Trump’s higher education compact
University President Sally Kornbluth said Friday that some of the terms would restrict the institution’s free expression and independence.
By Natalie Schwartz • Updated Oct. 10, 2025 -
Drew Angerer / Staff via Getty Images
Virginia lawmakers threaten state funding consequences if UVA signs Trump compact
Three leaders of the state’s Democrat-controlled Senate urged the University of Virginia to immediately reject the agreement.
By Laura Spitalniak • Oct. 10, 2025 -
Carnegie Mellon lays off 75 employees at engineering institute amid federal funding shifts
The cuts amount to 10% of the Software Engineering Institute’s workforce, which has taken a financial hit from recent policy changes.
By Ben Unglesbee • Oct. 10, 2025 -
Retrieved from U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education Labor and Pensions.
Richey confirmed to lead Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights
Kimberly Richey, who also served in President Donald Trump’s first term, steps into the role as the office faces a significant backlog and a halved workforce.
By Naaz Modan • Oct. 9, 2025 -
Getty Images
Trump’s higher ed compact draws condemnation from faculty and college unions
At least two faculty senates have voted to oppose the proposed agreement sent to nine research universities, while other workers have publicly rebuked it.
By Laura Spitalniak • Oct. 8, 2025 -
Getty Images
Pennsylvania lawmakers seek to bar state-funded colleges from signing Trump compact
Two Democratic state representatives said the agreement threatens institutions’ independence and cast their proposal as safeguarding academic freedom.
By Natalie Schwartz • Oct. 7, 2025 -
Andrew Harnik via Getty Images
Higher ed groups sue over Trump administration’s $100K H-1B visa fee
The surprise policy rolled out last month could cause “catastrophic setbacks” to research in the U.S., the lawsuit alleges.
By Natalie Schwartz • Oct. 6, 2025 -
DePaul University weighs budget measures amid cratering international enrollment
The private Chicago nonprofit is considering cutting executive pay and freezing staff hiring after new international graduate enrollment fell 62% from last year.
By Ben Unglesbee • Oct. 6, 2025
