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Grad‑loan overhaul: Education Dept. reaches consensus on borrowing caps
The U.S. Department of Education’s negotiated rulemaking concluded with agreement on new limits for graduate borrowing, marking a major change to federal student-aid rules. The AGB Policy Alert...
H‑1B shock: $100,000 fee imperils campus hiring as White House pivots
Colleges and research universities are scrambling after the White House announced a $100,000 fee on new H‑1B petitions, a move that university leaders warn will hamstring faculty and research...
AI on campus... faculty set the rules as agentic systems approach
Faculty—not central administrators—are increasingly driving campus policy on generative AI, while thought leaders in continuing and online education outline the next step: agentic AI. Survey and...
SNAP lapse: colleges expand food and aid as courts and Congress decide
Colleges have rolled out emergency food and basic‑needs programs after a federal SNAP funding disruption and as legal fights over benefit distribution continue. Reporting shows campuses boosting...
Presidents under threat: colleges assign personal security to leaders
Universities are increasing personal security details for presidents, regents and senior executives after a spike in threats tied to contentious campus protests. The Chronicle’s reporting...
Math preparedness collapses: UC San Diego reports surge in remedial placements
UC San Diego reported a dramatic surge in incoming first-year students requiring remedial math—more than a tenfold increase over five years—prompting new course design and placement strategies....
Program cull reduced — UNL chancellor pares planned closures to four
University of Nebraska–Lincoln Chancellor Rodney Bennett unveiled a revised budget plan that pares program elimination proposals from six to four as part of a structural‑deficit response....
Payback order: Texas college demands faculty return summer salaries
Tarrant County College told 65 online-campus faculty to repay portions of their summer pay after administrators said incorrect communications led to overpayments. College leaders told staff they...
UNC declines federal compact: chancellor rejects plan as written
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said it will not sign the federal 'Compact for Academic Excellence,' rejecting the administration’s offer that ties preferential funding to changes...
Education Dept. moves to cap graduate borrowing — Grad PLUS era ends
The Department of Education’s negotiated rulemaking reached consensus on new limits for federal graduate borrowing, marking a decisive shift away from the broad Grad PLUS framework. The RISE...
Enrollment bounces back — community colleges and certificates lead
Preliminary National Student Clearinghouse data show overall higher-education enrollment up about 2% this fall, driven by a 2.4% rise in undergraduates and a strong gain at community colleges. The...
Colleges expand food and basic-needs support as SNAP payments stall
Colleges nationwide are stepping in to support students after disruptions to SNAP benefits, launching emergency food distributions, expanding pantry services, and creating short-term grant...
UC San Diego flags steep math-prep decline — remedial enrollments surge
A University of California, San Diego working-group report found a dramatic rise in incoming students lacking middle-school level math skills, with remedial math enrollment ballooning nearly...
Texas orders probe of Texas Southern after audit flags accounting gaps
Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick ordered a financial investigation of Texas Southern University after a state audit found tens of thousands of invoices with timing and...
College leaders assigned security as campus threats escalate
Multiple universities have assigned personal security details to presidents, regents and other senior leaders amid an uptick in targeted threats and violent incidents tied to highly charged campus...
Texas community college demands faculty repay summer pay — 65 told to reimburse
Tarrant County College informed 65 faculty at its online campus they must repay portions of their summer salaries after administrators said staff had been given incorrect information about...
Community college leaders push back on Carnegie’s new classification
Leaders from two-year institutions publicly asked the Carnegie Classification to withdraw its new Student Access and Earnings framework, arguing the metric misrepresents community-college missions...
Faculty drive AI classroom rules as campuses prepare for agentic systems
Faculty—not central administrators—are leading campus conversations about appropriate classroom uses of generative AI, according to recent surveys, while academic leaders prepare for the next wave...
State officials press universities on leadership and compacts — UNC and U.Va. in focus
Political pressure on public and flagship universities intensified this week as Virginia’s governor-elect sought input—via the commonwealth’s board—on delaying a University of Virginia...
Graduate borrowing caps: ED negotiators seal steep limits
The U.S. Department of Education’s negotiated rulemaking reached consensus on new graduate borrowing limits that will effectively end the Grad PLUS program and impose tiered caps starting July...