State audits and shifting federal policy continue to precipitate campus cuts and closures. Ohio’s auditor found pervasive recordkeeping failures and questioned $17.3 million in federal aid at the now‑shuttered Eastern Gateway Community College, citing ‘derelict accounting’ that magnified compliance and Title IV concerns. Across the sector, universities reported program and job cuts in November tied to policy changes, frozen grants and strained budgets—moves that college leaders say are responses to both operational shortfalls and new federal directives affecting funding flows.