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Latest Higher Education News

Brown detains person of interest — exams canceled

December 15, 2025

Police detained a person of interest in connection with a classroom shooting at Brown University that killed two students and wounded nine others, and university leaders canceled classes and exams...

Harvard, Yale tighten security — campus access and camera gaps scrutinized

December 15, 2025

After the Brown University attack, elite institutions including Harvard and Yale announced stepped-up security, and colleges nationwide ordered reviews of campus access and emergency protocols....

Grad programs brace for new loan caps — Congress presses to add nursing

December 15, 2025

Universities are scrambling after Education Department proposals and congressional pressure that would sharply change graduate borrowing limits. New rules would cap borrowing for programs not...

Commerce opens review of Harvard patents — Bayh‑Dole march‑in threat resurfaces

December 15, 2025

The U.S. Commerce Department initiated a comprehensive review of Harvard University’s federally funded patents, accusing the university of failing to meet obligations under the Bayh-Dole Act and...

Colleges pursue mergers and partnerships — consolidation shifts from taboo to strategy

December 15, 2025

Faced with a decade-long undergraduate enrollment decline and rising operating costs, colleges and university systems are increasingly pursuing mergers, acquisitions and strategic partnerships....

MacKenzie Scott’s gifts land at community colleges — millions target rural and tribal campuses

December 15, 2025

Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott announced multimillion-dollar unrestricted gifts to multiple two-year and tribal colleges, marking some of the largest single donations in these institutions’...

DeSantis proposes radical New College expansion — USF Sarasota site on the table

December 15, 2025

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis proposed transferring the University of South Florida’s Sarasota-Manatee campus to New College of Florida as part of his 2026–27 budget plan, a move intended to...

Pomona and UC reach settlements on antisemitism complaints — new restrictions and training required

December 15, 2025

Pomona College and University of California campuses reached settlements resolving federal complaints alleging antisemitic harassment during pro-Palestinian protests. Pomona’s 27-page agreement...

Fairleigh Dickinson bets on lifetime healthcare pathways — cross‑institutional dual degrees

December 15, 2025

Fairleigh Dickinson University announced a statewide coalition and a memorandum of understanding with Rowan University to create integrated healthcare education pathways that span K–12,...

Public college systems cut programs — boards approve deep academic trims

December 15, 2025

State governing boards and public university systems moved to eliminate and suspend dozens of undergraduate and graduate programs as part of budget rebalancing and accountability reviews. Recent...

Chaos at Brown: Person of interest detained – finals suspended

December 15, 2025

Providence police detained a person of interest in the mass shooting that struck Brown University during finals week, leaving two dead and nine wounded. University leaders moved quickly: officials...

Pomona deal: College acknowledges anti‑Zionism can be antisemitic — policy changes follow

December 15, 2025

Pomona College reached a 27‑page settlement resolving an Education Department civil‑rights complaint linked to large pro‑Palestinian protests. Under the agreement, Pomona acknowledged that...

DeSantis proposes major campus shift – USF Sarasota‑Manatee handover to New College

December 15, 2025

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis proposed in his 2026–27 budget to transfer the University of South Florida’s Sarasota‑Manatee campus to New College of Florida, giving New College more than 32 acres...

Commerce opens patent review — Harvard faces Bayh‑Dole scrutiny

December 15, 2025

The U.S. Department of Commerce opened a comprehensive review of Harvard University’s patents tied to federally funded research and signaled it may examine exercising Bayh‑Dole ‘march‑in’ rights....

Grad borrowing rewrite: lawmakers push nursing into ‘professional’ category as caps bite

December 15, 2025

Congressional pressure intensified on the Education Department to add nursing to a new list of graduate ‘professional’ programs after the administration proposed steep new borrowing caps for...

Mergers and purges: colleges consolidate as systems cut low‑demand programs

December 15, 2025

Faced with a roughly 15% decline in undergraduate enrollment over the past decade and mounting fiscal pressure, colleges are increasingly pursuing mergers, acquisitions and strategic partnerships...

MacKenzie Scott showers rural and tribal colleges with record gifts

December 15, 2025

Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott made a fresh round of large unrestricted gifts to multiple small colleges, including a $24 million donation to Robeson Community College and major gifts to Carl...

DEI at the turning point — leaders say work is ‘evolving, not dead’

December 15, 2025

National leaders in campus diversity work described a tumultuous five years for higher‑education DEI offices and argued the field is shifting rather than vanishing. Paulette Granberry Russell, who...

Big 12 eyes $500M lifeline – conference in talks with RedBird‑backed fund

December 15, 2025

The Big 12 Conference is in advanced negotiations with a RedBird‑backed investment vehicle for roughly $500 million to provide member schools with lines of credit and growth funding. The proposed...

Universities team up: collaboration and global ties to stem enrollment decline

December 15, 2025

Public systems and individual universities are piloting coordination strategies and international recruitment initiatives to stabilize enrollments. Michigan’s public universities are exploring...