The U.S. Department of Education announced new priorities for the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), signaling a focus on accreditation reform, artificial intelligence, civil discourse and short-term workforce training. The department made the four-category funding competition public with application deadlines in December and intents to award tens of millions across grants that could reshape program design and accountability at colleges and universities. That release follows fresh concern among higher‑education groups over the department’s use of ‘special projects’ grants, which critics say may stretch Congressional intent and policy guardrails. Pushback on those discretionary allocations reflects growing scrutiny of how the administration is deploying limited federal resources and the Office of Postsecondary Education’s reduced staffing after recent layoffs. For campus leaders, the developments mean new opportunities and new compliance questions: institutions should consider applying for FIPSE funds if they have workforce‑aligned pilots or AI governance proposals, but should also prepare for heightened oversight and to demonstrate alignment with federal priorities and regulatory expectations.