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Endowments under strain: Gifts fall, withdrawals spike
New NACUBO‑Commonfund data show colleges’ new gifts to endowments fell 9.2% in fiscal 2025 while institutions increased withdrawals to $33.4 billion to cover operating shortfalls. Average one‑year...
Small college closures: Two private campuses announce shutdowns
Two private institutions announced they will close at the end of the academic year after prolonged enrollment and fiscal distress. Providence Christian College cited accreditation shortfalls,...
Epstein files fallout: Faculty face probes, titles stripped
Universities continue to respond to newly released Jeffrey Epstein‑era documents with personnel actions and institutional reviews. Several faculty members who corresponded with Epstein have been...
Governance and surveillance: Boards defend roles as campus monitoring rules shift
The Association of Governing Boards (AGB) pressed the Virginia legislature to codify clear, distinct roles for trustees, presidents and faculty—arguing that faculty voting on boards creates...
AI and students: Companies’ tactics, classroom fights reach courts
Universities and students are grappling with commercial AI tools that aggressively recruit campus users and reshape academic practices. Reporting shows some AI vendors targeting undergraduates...
Student aid stress: FAFSA fixes meet rising defaults
The Education Department said recent FAFSA reforms improved customer satisfaction and increased Pell eligibility, but federal loan data show delinquencies and defaults are rising: roughly one...
Admissions and degrees: Post‑affirmative action shifts and 3‑year proposals
New federal enrollment data show complex, uneven effects after the end of affirmative‑action admissions, with many selective private colleges reporting drops in Black and Hispanic first‑year...
Campus safety and crisis planning: Viral altercation spotlights gaps
A viral video showing an assistant professor tackling a documentarian seeking comments from a former university president prompted an administrative leave and renewed calls for robust campus...
Education Dept. publishes 2025 foreign‑funding data: campuses flagged
The U.S. Department of Education posted a new 2025 dataset showing colleges reported more than $5 billion in foreign gifts and contracts. The public release names top recipients — including...
Endowments under pressure: gifts fall, withdrawals jump
New NACUBO‑Commonfund data show gifts to college endowments fell 9.2% in fiscal 2025 while institutions withdrew a record $33.4 billion to cover operating budgets. Average one‑year investment...
Small colleges shutter: closures spread across sector
Two private institutions announced closures this week as financial strain and enrollment shortfalls forced boards to opt for an orderly wind‑down. Lourdes University said it will close in May...
Epstein files force campus reckoning — faculty face sanctions
Universities are acting after newly released Jeffrey Epstein documents connected donors and academics to the financier. Several faculty members have been stripped of titles or teaching duties; at...
Admissions shakeup: affirmative‑action fallout and program cuts
New federal enrollment analysis finds that after the Supreme Court ended affirmative action, Black and Hispanic first‑year enrollment fell at many highly selective colleges even as overall...
Accreditation reshaped: federal rulemaking and lifted probations
The Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education are signaling regulatory change: the Education Department announced a negotiated rulemaking committee (AIM) to...
Aid and defaults: FAFSA steadies while borrower distress rises
The Education Department reported improved metrics for the 2026 FAFSA rollout — earlier launch, lower call wait times and higher satisfaction — while federal data show rising student‑loan...
Campus conduct and governance: violent moments, quick administrative responses
Ohio State University placed an assistant professor on administrative leave after a viral video showed him tackling a documentarian who sought to interview a university figure. University police...
Credentials in flux: remote LSAT ends; states back faster degrees
Law admissions will change course: the remote LSAT is ending over cheating concerns, pushing test‑takers back to proctored formats and forcing law schools and prelaw advisors to retool timelines...
Campus AI: tailored tutors and governance frameworks emerge
Colleges are piloting AI assistants trained on institutional content while publishing frameworks for responsible campus deployment. Utah Valley University rolled out Ask Wilson, an AI coach...
Endowments strained: gifts fall, spending soars
Colleges and universities are drawing more heavily on endowments even as donor giving weakens. New NACUBO‑Commonfund data show gifts dropped 9.2% in fiscal 2025 while institutions increased...
Small colleges close: athletics, accreditation and finances collide
Two small private colleges announced closures this week after years of financial strain. Providence Christian College said its board will shut the campus at the end of the 2025–26 year, citing...