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DEI under siege — national body retools while colleges drop partnerships
Diversity officers and campus programs are retooling amid legal and political pressure: the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education named Emelyn dela Peña its new president...
Epstein files force campus reckonings — Bard probes president, sector-wide linkages exposed
Universities are reopening investigations and reviews after the Justice Department’s release of Jeffrey Epstein‑era emails: Bard College launched a review of President Leon Botstein’s ties to...
Small college closure — Labouré winds down academic operations
Labouré College of Healthcare announced it will cease academic operations Aug. 31 and transfer its nursing programs to Curry College, citing persistent financial, enrollment and regulatory...
Students seek pandemic-era redress — mass Covid compensation claims hit universities
Thousands of former students have joined a coordinated legal push arguing universities failed to deliver the in‑person, hands‑on education they paid for during Covid lockdowns. Pre‑action letters...
Student support and learning at risk — accommodation surge meets AI‑driven erosion fears
Colleges are contending with parallel pressures on student success: disability accommodations for neurodivergent and mental‑health conditions have surged at elite campuses, even as educators warn...
Access and nationality under strain — Purdue accused of blocking Chinese admits; Project 2025 targets undocumented students
Access to U.S. campuses is under political pressure from multiple angles. Purdue University faces accusations that it rescinded dozens of offers to students from China after warnings from...
Campus IT and security arms race — observability tools and AI code scanners rise
Universities are consolidating IT monitoring and investing in new security capabilities as campuses scale cloud services and AI workloads. New Jersey Institute of Technology standardized on Splunk...
Boards and leadership churn — trustees gather as presidential turnover lifts pay
Trustees and presidents are recalibrating governance priorities as turnover pushed up compensation for private‑college presidents in 2023. The Association of Governing Boards’ National Conference...
Trump drops appeal — $1.2B fight with UC heads for quiet exit
The Justice Department quietly withdrew its appeal last week of a federal judge’s injunction that had blocked the administration’s effort to cancel grants and extract roughly $1.2 billion from the...
Education Department warns colleges: fix loan repayment or risk federal aid
The U.S. Department of Education issued fresh guidance this week urging hundreds of institutions to tighten practices that keep former students from defaulting on federal loans, warning that...
Labouré to close — nursing programs moving to Curry College
Labouré College of Healthcare announced it will cease academic operations Aug. 31 and transfer its nursing programs to nearby Curry College after citing persistent financial, enrollment and...
Universities probe Epstein ties — fundraising and leadership reviews accelerate
New disclosures tied to the Jeffrey Epstein files prompted multiple universities to review past donor relationships and faculty connections, with some institutions placing employees on leave and...
Trustees pivot to student outcomes — AGB events push boards to act now
Governing board leaders and trustees gathered at Association of Governing Boards events this month to emphasize a shift from oversight toward direct action on student success. AGB programming —...
Texas boards adopt teaching limits — faculty warn of academic‑freedom clash
The University of Texas System board voted unanimously to adopt new rules restricting faculty instruction on topics the board described as “controversial” or “contested,” requiring disclosure of...
Colleges sever PhD Project ties — DEI programs face new pressure
Thirty‑one colleges have agreed to end campus partnerships with the PhD Project amid heightened scrutiny from federal guidance and political pressure targeting race‑based programming, Education...
Donor scrutiny escalates — Gates no‑show, Scott gift under audit
Two major private‑sector donor controversies have forced universities and foundations into rapid response mode this month. Microsoft co‑founder Bill Gates withdrew from a high‑profile AI summit...
FERPA threat chills campus civic work — campaign aims to reshape public opinion
Department of Education moves to limit use of a national student‑voting survey and warning language tied to FERPA have prompted campus leaders to flag a potential chilling effect on voter...
Pay spikes as turnover rises — private‑college presidents’ compensation jumped in 2023
A Compensation Report and follow‑up analysis found 2023 saw an unusual spike in pay for private‑college presidents driven largely by costly leadership transitions. Analysis of 223 chief executives...
Education Department Backs Off UC Fight — Appeal Dropped
The U.S. Education Department quietly withdrew its appeal seeking roughly $1.2 billion from the University of California system and to enforce sweeping policy changes tied to civil‑rights probes....
UT System Adopts Broad Teaching Limits — Regents Vote Unanimous
The University of Texas System’s board adopted a new policy restricting faculty instruction on so‑called “controversial” topics and requiring syllabus disclosures after a unanimous regents vote....