Policy & Legal: Page 2

  • Historic Capitol Building on the University of Iowa Campus
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    dosecreative via Getty Images
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    Iowa board approves course policy change after stripping anti-DEI references

    The original proposal would have barred public universities from requiring classes with “substantial content" on diversity, equity and inclusion.

    By • Aug. 12, 2025
  • A view of the tents at George Washington University's encampment, with a large American flag draped over a campus building in the background.
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    Kent Nishimura via Getty Images
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    DOJ sets sights on George Washington University

    The Justice Department accused the university of being “deliberately indifferent” to antisemitism on its Washington, D.C., campus.

    By • Aug. 12, 2025
  • A brick sign that reads "Vanderbilt University undergraduate admissions & financial aid" with tulips in the foreground.
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    Laura Spitalniak/Higher Ed Dive
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    32 colleges accused of using early decision to drive up costs

    The lawsuit, which is seeking class-action status, alleged the practice also allows colleges to offer less financial aid to their students.

    By • Aug. 11, 2025
  • A domed stone building is seen against a blue sky with clouds.
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    rruntsch/iStock via Getty Images
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    Iowa board reworks anti-DEI course policy proposal following pushback

    The original language sought to restrict the state's three public universities from requiring classes that teach "substantial content that conveys DEI or CRT.”

    By • Aug. 8, 2025
  • A group of police officers enter the protest encampment on UCLA's campus.
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    Eric Thayer via Getty Images
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    $584M on the line as University of California agrees to negotiate with Trump administration

    James Milliken, president of the university system, pushed back on the federal funding cuts at UCLA, saying they do “nothing to address antisemitism.”

    By • Aug. 8, 2025
  • President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the the Lehigh Valley International Airport on Aug. 3, 2025, in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
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    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
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    Trump issues directives on college admissions data and research grants

    Together, the orders set up the administration to exert more control over who institutions enroll and which grants are funded.

    By • Updated Aug. 7, 2025
  • A tower can be seen through trees.
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    ‘You could be next’: Stanford student newspaper sues over federal attacks on foreign students

    The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which is representing the plaintiffs, said targeting learners based on speech violates their rights.

    By • Aug. 7, 2025
  • A sign on the University of Utah's campus bearing the institution's name.
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    JHVEPhoto via Getty Images
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    University of Utah board moves to cut 81 academic programs

    The planned eliminations are in response to a new state law ordering public colleges to cut certain academic offerings and invest in high-demand fields. 

    By • Aug. 7, 2025
  • U.S. Government Accountability Office
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    "Government Accountability Office Building" by kafka4prez is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
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    Trump administration illegally axed NIH grants, government watchdog says

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office can file a lawsuit in an attempt to restore the grants, though the agency has not yet opted to do so.

    By Susanna Vogel • Aug. 7, 2025
  • Supreme Court
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    Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
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    Higher ed groups ask Supreme Court to preserve lower court order to restore NIH grants

    The Trump administration has asked the high court to pause the June ruling against the National Institutes of Health’s mass award cancellations. 

    By • Aug. 5, 2025
  • An academic building is seen framed between plants and stairs.
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    The image by Skegeepedia is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
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    ‘You are college-ready’: Direct admissions comes to Alabama

    Nearly 40 public and private institutions are participating, and many will include merit-based scholarships with their fall 2026 acceptance offers.

    By • Aug. 5, 2025
  • A student walks through UCLA.
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    Kevork Djansezian via Getty Images
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    Week in review: Trump administration policies hit colleges’ pocketbooks

    We’re rounding up last week’s stories, from the federal government’s new probes and deals to the impact of policy shifts on the higher education sector.

    By • Aug. 4, 2025
  • Maura Healey speaks at a podium.
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    Andrew Harnik via Getty Images
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    Massachusetts governor pitches $400M to support research funding

    The money would back projects and jobs at colleges, hospitals and research institutions amid vast federal funding threats. 

    By • Aug. 1, 2025
  • A busy staircase with several college students.
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    sanjeri via Getty Images
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    150K fewer international students this fall? That’s what one analysis predicts.

    A sharp drop in foreign enrollment could cost colleges $7 billion in revenue and 60,000 jobs, according to NAFSA: Association of International Educators.

    By • Aug. 1, 2025
  • U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi
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    Alex Wong via Getty Images
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    Justice Department threatens federal funding for colleges over DEI policies

    The agency released guidance targeting a sweeping set of practices at colleges and other institutions, from race-based scholarships to diversity statements. 

    By • July 31, 2025
  • MAGA hats sit next to an executive order being signed by President Donald Trump
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    Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    NACUBO '25

    ‘Everything, everywhere, all at once’: How Trump has upended higher ed finance in 2025

    Experts at the National Association of College and University Business Officers’ annual conference broke down the wave of policy changes the sector is facing.

    By • July 31, 2025
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    Joe Hendrickson via Getty Images
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    Northwestern University cuts 425 jobs in face of federal funding pressure

    The private institution is laying off staff and axing vacant roles in a time that is “among most difficult in our institution’s 174-year history,” senior leaders said.

    By • July 30, 2025
  • A protest encampment on UCLA's campus.
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    UCLA violated civil rights law, Justice Department alleges

    The DOJ’s findings stem from how university leaders responded to a pro-Palestinian protest encampment in the spring 2024 term.

    By • July 30, 2025
  • Entrance sign to Duke University.
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    CRobertson via Getty Images
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    Federal officials open probes into Duke University’s law journal, medical school

    The investigations into the North Carolina college come less than a week after the Trump administration struck a controversial deal with Columbia University. 

    By • July 29, 2025
  • A student walks into a campus building at UT-Austin.
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    Brandon Bell via Getty Images
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    22 new state laws censor higher ed, PEN America finds

    The bills, which were enacted during the first half of 2025, “have been just as devastating” as federal attacks on the sector, the free speech group said. 

    By • July 28, 2025
  • Columbia University
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    Lya_Cattel via Getty Images
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    Week in Review: Trump’s attacks on universities roil higher ed

    We’re rounding up last week’s stories, from Columbia’s settlement with the federal government to another state’s foray into direct admissions.

    By • July 28, 2025
  • A row of protesters at Columbia University, each holding an identical sign.
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    Antisemitic beliefs rare among faculty, Brandeis University study finds

    Despite media attention and Trump’s attacks on universities, most professors neither discuss hot topics in class nor engage in activism around them.

    By • July 24, 2025
  • A person sits outside a Columbia University library building.
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    ssuni via Getty Images
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    ‘A dangerous precedent’: Critics slam Columbia’s agreement with Trump administration

    While some stakeholders praised the deal, others warned it could spur federal officials to pursue more attacks on other colleges. 

    By • July 24, 2025
  • A person is carrying a box while walking down the stairs in front of the outside of a federal building
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    Win McNamee via Getty Images
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    Union seeks delay in Education Department layoffs

    AFGE Local 252 seeks to delay employees' Aug. 1 termination date, which they say is too soon under their bargaining agreement.

    By Naaz Modan • July 24, 2025
  • George Mason University sign
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    The image by Ron Cogswell is licensed under CC BY 2.0
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    ‘Inadequate and deeply troubling’: George Mason AAUP votes no confidence in board

    The group blasted the governing body, alleging it failed to defend the university and its president amid successive investigations by the Trump administration.

    By • July 23, 2025