Policy & Legal: Page 4

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    Tennessee and SFFA sue over funding for Hispanic-serving institutions

    The U.S. Department of Education’s longtime HSI grant program undercuts equal opportunity and is discriminatory, the state and advocacy group argued.

    By • June 12, 2025
  • Longworth Congressional Building
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    Win McNamee via Getty Images
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    Higher education overhaul: How GOP senators’ plan differs from House bill

    The two versions agree on consolidating repayment plans and adding accountability for student outcomes, but vary in key ways. 

    By • June 12, 2025
  • The Michigan State Capitol on a winter day. A stone building with a dome.
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    Bill Pugliano via Getty Images
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    Michigan representative introduces proposal to explicitly ban antisemitism

    If passed, the legislation would formally ban educational institutions from discriminating on the basis of ethnicity, in addition to other protected classes.

    By Caroline Colvin • June 12, 2025
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    Joe Hendrickson via Getty Images
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    Northwestern freezes hiring and cuts budgets to combat ‘increasing strain’ on finances

    The highly selective university faces funding threats from the Trump administration along with rising costs and proposed policy changes.

    By • June 11, 2025
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    Matthew Hatcher via Getty Images
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    Proposed Ohio budget would increase influence of university ‘intellectual diversity’ centers

    If passed, the bill would create the Ohio Civics Board and give the centers' current directors oversight of the selection of their successors.

    By • June 10, 2025
  • University of Minnesota plaque-like sign.
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    The image by AlexiusHoratius is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
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    University of Minnesota eyes steep tuition hikes and budget cuts

    The public institution aims to keep its budget balanced amid what its president described as “unprecedented challenges” in higher education.

    By • June 10, 2025
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    Richard Stephen via Getty Images
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    Education Department rolls out heightened screening for financial aid applications

    The measures come amid widespread reports of scammers using financial aid applications to steal both federal and state money.

    By • June 10, 2025
  • Dartmouth College library
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    The image by Gunnar Klack is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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    18 colleges seek to support Harvard’s lawsuit against the Trump administration

    In a court filing Friday, the colleges argued that the elimination of Harvard's federal funding "negatively impacts the entire ecosystem."

    By • June 9, 2025
  • Linda McMahon speaks while seated at a podium.
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    Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
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    Week in Review: Deep program cuts proposed at the Education Department

    We’re rounding up last week’s news, from possible reductions to Pell Grants and other programs to the continued consolidation of colleges.

    By • June 9, 2025
  • Kimberly Richey speaks into a microphone, sitting behind a placard bearing her name
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    Retrieved from U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education Labor and Pensions.
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    Top takeaways from OCR nominee’s Senate confirmation hearing

    Kimberly Richey, the acting head of the Office for Civil Rights in the first Trump administration, addressed questions on higher caseloads, Title IX and more.

    By Naaz Modan • June 7, 2025
  • The camera shows the exterior of an off-white stone building with the working "U.S. Department of Education" on the side of the building
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    Kayla Bartkowski via Getty Images
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    Trump administration appeals pause on Education Department cuts to SCOTUS

    The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a lower court that the agency’s efforts to reduce its workforce must stop while a lawsuit against it is argued.

    By Kara Arundel • Updated June 6, 2025
  • Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks
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    Brandon Bell/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    No more in-state tuition for undocumented students in Texas

    A federal judge Wednesday signed off on a joint plan from the state and the U.S. Department of Justice to revoke the 24-year-old practice.

    By • June 5, 2025
  • University of Phoenix
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    "University of Phoenix" by Ryan McKnight is licensed under CC BY 2.0
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    University of Idaho abandons plan to acquire University of Phoenix

    Faced with opposition from the beginning, the state university and for-profit college ended negotiations.

    By • June 4, 2025
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    pabradyphoto via Getty Images
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    Working-age adults with some college but no credential reaches 37.6M, report finds

    However, more stopped-out students returned to college in the 2023-24 academic year, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center found.

    By • June 4, 2025
  • A blush-colored, stately old house that has been repurposed into an academic building
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    Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.
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    ‘Finally’: Keystone College completes merger with nonprofit

    After a recent closure scare, the institution is continuing operations under the nonprofit Washington Institute for Education and Research. 

    By • June 3, 2025
  • Linda McMahon speaks while seated at a podium.
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    Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
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    3 takeaways from McMahon’s testimony on Trump’s FY26 budget plan

    The education secretary defended the proposed elimination of federal funding for TRIO and Gear Up despite bipartisan pushback from lawmakers.

    By • June 3, 2025
  • The Illinois State Capitol building.
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    DenisTangneyJr via Getty Images
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    Illinois lawmakers pass bill to establish direct admissions program

    Participating public universities will set GPA standards each year for first-time and transfer students to gain automatic entry. 

    By • June 3, 2025
  • The side of a building with white stone and windows is shown. Letters on the building read: U.S. Department of Education
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    Kayla Bartkowski via Getty Images
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    FY26 budget plan would slash maximum Pell Grant by nearly a quarter

    The Education Department's proposal would also radically reduce funding for Federal Work-Study and require a bigger employer contribution. 

    By • June 2, 2025
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    Mark Wilson/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    Week in review: Trump administration targets Chinese student visas

    We’re rounding up last week’s news, from another crackdown on international students to a new lawsuit against the National Science Foundation.

    By • June 2, 2025
  • Students rally in front of the U.S. Department of Education, with one speaking into a microphone
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    Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    Lawmakers and judge push back on Education Department’s gutting, citing inefficiency

    The agency appealed the May 22 court order temporarily blocking its dramatic downsizing efforts the same day U.S. District Judge Myong Joun issued it.

    By Naaz Modan • May 30, 2025
  • The campus of Eastern Michigan University, in Ypsilanti, Mich.
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    Better Planet Media via Getty Images
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    Eastern Michigan University to cut ties with Chinese colleges amid lawmaker push

    The institution is the latest to dissolve its partnerships after Republican legislators raised concerns about national security and research theft. 

    By • May 30, 2025
  • The entrance to the National Science Foundation's building.
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    JHVEPhoto via Getty Images
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    16 states sue National Science Foundation over wide-reaching research cuts

    The lawsuit takes aim at the agency’s cap on indirect research costs and its mass termination of grants related to diversity, equity and inclusion. 

    By • May 30, 2025
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    John McDonnell / Stringer via Getty Images
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    Trump administration to ‘aggressively revoke’ Chinese student visas

    Two federal agencies will also increase scrutiny of new visa applications from China and Hong Kong, per Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

    By • May 29, 2025
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    Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
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    Q&A

    How accreditors are navigating a new, anxious environment under Trump

    Officials from the Council for Higher Education Accreditation unpacked the current higher ed landscape, including attacks on diversity initiatives.

    By • May 29, 2025
  • Tourists walk by Harvard University's main gate.
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    Scott Eisen via Getty Images
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    Trump administration moves to end Harvard University’s remaining federal contracts

    Since mid-April, the federal government has cut off roughly $2.8 billion in multi-year grants and contracts to the Ivy League institution.

    By • May 28, 2025