The U.S. Education Department published priorities for the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), focusing awards on accreditation reform, artificial intelligence, civil discourse and short‑term workforce training — categories that will shape grant competition and institutional proposals this winter. The solicitation offers awards from roughly $7 million to $60 million and sets a Dec. 3 application deadline, even as the department has recently enacted staff reductions. Those personnel cuts and the prolonged shutdown have prompted warnings from higher‑education advocates about the fragility of federal data and research operations. Analysts caution that splitting or moving statistical units, such as NCES collections that underpin the College Scorecard, would complicate integrated data products used for accountability and policy. For campus leaders, the combined developments mean grant opportunities are shifting rapidly while the federal machinery that supports data, technical assistance and negotiated regulatory processes faces capacity constraints.