Policy & Legal: Page 8


  • Trump speaks from his desk with officials in the background.
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    Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
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    White House declares goal to reach 1M new apprentices per year

    President Donald Trump castigated prior investment in higher ed, arguing many programs don't have necessary incentives “to meet workforce training needs.”

    By Kathryn Moody • April 25, 2025
  • A headshot photo of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
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    Brandon Bell via Getty Images
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    Michigan promotes college access and skills training for men

    The education initiative supports Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s goal to increase the percentage of Michiganders with a degree or certificate to 60% by 2030.

    By Carolyn Crist • April 25, 2025
  • A large metal bell sits in the courtyard in front of the U.S. Department of Education building.
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    Kara Arundel/Higher Ed Dive
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    Federal judges deal major blow to Education Department’s anti-DEI guidance

    The agency didn’t follow the proper procedures when it issued sweeping guidance threatening federal funding in February, one court ruled. 

    By April 24, 2025
  • President Trump in the oval office of the white house as press looks on
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    Win McNamee/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    ‘The gatekeepers’: Trump’s action on accreditation sparks concerns over government intrusion

    The president signed a directive seeking to punish accreditors for diversity criteria while easing the path for new quality-assurance bodies.

    By April 24, 2025
  • Students walk around a tent encampment on Columbia University's lawn.
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    Alex Kent via Getty Images
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    Columbia University vows to remove any future encampments

    The Ivy League institution also threatened student protesters with arrest amid reports that demonstrators were planning more encampments. 

    By , April 24, 2025
  • An entrance to a National Institutes of Health building is lit by the sun on a clear day.
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    Grandbrothers via Getty Images
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    NIH prohibits new grant awards to colleges with DEI initiatives

    Organizations will have to certify that they don’t have diversity programs that violate federal antidiscrimination laws and that they aren’t boycotting Israel. 

    By April 23, 2025
  • Demonstrators hold paper signs, one reading "No Science No Progress"
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    Scott Olson via Getty Images
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    Federal cuts are putting university finances at risk, S&P says

    While Trump administration policies are pressuring major institutions, many of them have the resources to withstand disruption for now.

    By April 22, 2025
  • Harvard Medical School
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    The image by Németh Dezső is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
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    Harvard University sues Trump administration over federal funding threats

    The Ivy League institution’s scathing lawsuit accuses the federal government of threatening research “that has nothing at all to do with antisemitism.”

    By April 21, 2025
  • Signage and flowers decorate the tree where ICE officials detained Rumeysa Ozturk.
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    Scott Eisen via Getty Images
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    133 foreign students get back their legal status — for now

    A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order in the case, one of many contesting the Trump administration’s crackdown on international students. 

    By April 21, 2025
  • Dome of capitol building, with gold decorations, seen through tree branches
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    Stephen Maturen via Getty Images
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    Minnesota college leaders eye tuition hikes as costs rise and state funding flatlines

    Most are weighing an increase of 8%, but one Minnesota State official said even that would not bridge the public system's anticipated budget gap.

    By April 18, 2025
  • The Department of Energy (DOE) sign is seen at its headquarters, the James Forrestal Building, nicknamed the Little Pentagon, in Washington, DC.
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    hapabapa via Getty Images
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    Federal judge freezes Energy Department’s 15% cap on indirect costs

    Colleges would "sustain immediate and irreparable injury" if the policy were allowed to continue during litigation, the judge ruled Wednesday.

    By April 17, 2025
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    Maddie Meyer via Getty Images
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    Will Harvard lose its ability to enroll foreign students?

    Federal officials have ratcheted up the pressure on the Ivy League college since its leadership declined to meet an unprecedented list of ultimatums.

    By April 17, 2025
  • Tourists walk by Harvard University's main gate.
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    Scott Eisen via Getty Images
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    Trump administration freezes $2.2B in Harvard University grants after demands refused

    The move came shortly after the Ivy League institution’s president said it wouldn’t comply with a series of “unprecedented” mandates. 

    By April 15, 2025
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    APCortizasJr via Getty Images
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    Harvard University won’t yield to Trump administration’s demands

    Alan Garber, the Ivy League institution’s president, said the university wouldn’t forfeit its “independence or relinquish its constitutional rights.”

    By April 14, 2025
  • A shot of the outside of the Department of Energy's building.
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    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
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    Colleges sue over Energy Department’s new 15% cap on indirect research costs

    The policy would "devastate scientific research,” according to the plaintiffs, which include the American Council on Education and Brown University. 

    By April 14, 2025
  • A protester outside the gates of Columbia University holds a sign saying, in all capital letters, "Columbia - divest or you're next."
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    What are colleges’ legal options when threatened with federal funding cuts?

    Higher education experts said colleges could work together or lean on their associations if they take up a legal fight against the Trump administration. 

    By Lilah Burke • April 14, 2025
  • A person is seated at a table and they are looking to the side.
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    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
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    Bills in Congress detail path to closing the Education Department

    More attention in Congress is being directed toward the federal agency’s future as President Donald Trump calls for its closure.

    By Kara Arundel • April 14, 2025
  • California to launch ‘career passports’ to encourage job access

    The program, part of a broader initiative from Gov. Gavin Newsom, seeks to reduce employer reliance on four-year college degrees when hiring.

    By Kathryn Moody • April 9, 2025
  • Austin, Texas State Capitol
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    Tamir Kalifa/Stringer via Getty Images
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    LGBTQ+ students in Texas weigh leaving their colleges following DEI ban, researchers finds

    While some students have started the process to transfer to colleges outside of the state, others are mulling leaving once they graduate, the report said.

    By April 9, 2025
  • Linda McMahon arrives to the U.S. Department of Education's building in Washington, D.C., for her first day in office.
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    US Department of Education. (2025). "03042025 SLM First day in the Office-3" [Photograph]. Retrieved from Flickr.
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    ASU+GSV 2025

    ‘Let’s shake it up’: Linda McMahon defends massive cuts at Education Department

    The U.S. secretary of education spoke at the ASU+GSV Summit in California about the rapid changes the Trump administration is making to the agency.

    By April 8, 2025
  • Hands holding a blue-paper sign reading "Hands off our healthcare research"
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    Scott Olson/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    Judge permanently blocks NIH’s plan to cap funding, setting up appeals battle

    Universities are waiting cautiously as the agency's unilateral plan to cut billions of research support dollars has already created widespread disruption.

    By April 7, 2025
  • The Florida state capitol building, a white building with Roman columns.
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    DenisTangneyJr via Getty Images
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    Florida House proposal could cut college grants for 22,000 students

    Under the chamber’s proposed FY26 budget, 15 private colleges would lose eligibility for a popular grant program, one association said.

    By April 7, 2025
  • Judges Or Auctioneer Gavel On The Dollar Cash Background
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    Avosb via Getty Images
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    Supreme Court maintains freeze on teacher training grants

    The case in question involves the agency’s February announcement to cancel $600 million in “divisive” teacher preparation grants. 

    By Anna Merod • April 6, 2025
  • A person is seated as a desk. They are waving their left hand. A name plate sits in front of them and people are seated in row in the background.
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    Win McNamee via Getty Images
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    ‘New sheriff in town’: DOJ to enforce anti-trans Trump orders

    A joint Title IX Special Investigations Team will shift some civil rights investigations and enforcement from the Education Department to the Justice Department.

    By Naaz Modan • April 4, 2025
  • Glass polygon building with students sitting and walking in front.
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    The image by belisario is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
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    UC San Diego preps budget for up to a $500M hit from federal cuts

    Citing “unprecedented conditions,” the university’s chancellor said it was freezing hiring and delaying capital projects.

    By April 4, 2025