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Latest Higher Education News
England’s post‑16 white paper: fees return — but tied to quality measures
Lead: The UK government’s Post‑16 Education & Skills White Paper puts inflation‑linked increases to home tuition and maintenance support back on the table while attaching those rises to...
$100K H‑1B fee rattles campuses — hiring international faculty could become costlier
Lead: A new presidential proclamation imposing a $100,000 fee on certain H‑1B petitions has prompted urgent questions across research universities about the policy’s scope and exemptions and...
Shutdown exposes higher‑ed data risk — advocates warn federal collections could fragment
Lead: Advocates and higher‑education data experts warned that the government shutdown and Education Department staff reductions risk fracturing federal higher‑education data systems such as IPEDS...
Judge: Education Dept’s partisan out‑of‑office messages violate First Amendment
Lead: A federal judge ruled that automated out‑of‑office emails from Department of Education accounts that blamed Democratic senators for the government shutdown violated employees’ First...
Faculty run campus AI rules — instructors set student expectations more than admins
Lead: Survey data show that faculty—not administrators—are leading conversations about acceptable AI use in classrooms, and students report that instructors set the practical boundaries for...
Community colleges push back — Carnegie classification sparks sectorwide objection
Lead: Leaders of community colleges formally asked the Carnegie Classification project to withdraw a new Student Access and Earnings Classification after advocates said the system misrepresents...
Undergraduate enrollment edges up — certificates and two‑year colleges lead the rise
Lead: Preliminary National Student Clearinghouse data show overall postsecondary enrollment up about 2% this fall, driven by a 2.4% gain in undergraduate enrollment and strong growth in...
Payment processing blind spots cost campuses — finance leaders lack end‑to‑end visibility
Lead: A new Transact + CBORD report finds just 17% of higher‑education institutions have full visibility into payment processing costs, leaving most campuses with fragmented systems, hidden fees...
UNC Chapel Hill refuses Trump administration compact — university rejects federal conditions
Lead: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill publicly said it will not sign the federal “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” rejecting proposed conditions that would tie...
H-1B shock: $100K fee imperils campus hiring
President Donald Trump signed a proclamation in September instituting a $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions, a move university leaders say will directly affect faculty and research hiring. Colleges...
Ed Dept. grant push — staffing and shutdown imperil rollout
The Education Department on Monday released new priorities for the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), designating accreditation reform, AI, civil discourse and short-term...
UNC Chapel Hill won't sign compact — chancellor refuses federal offer
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill told faculty leaders it will not sign the Trump administration’s proposed “Compact for Academic Excellence,” a federal offer that linked...
Certificates surge: Community colleges drive fall enrollment growth
Preliminary National Student Clearinghouse and research-center data show higher education enrollment rose about 2% this fall, with community colleges and short-term credentials producing the...
Undergraduate uptick... computer science enrollment plunges
The National Student Clearinghouse’s early fall snapshot shows undergraduate enrollment is up for a third straight year, but the rise masks major shifts in fields of study and student...
AI on campus: Faculty set rules as accreditors tighten standards
Survey data and campus reports show faculty—not administrators—are shaping classroom expectations for AI use, with instructors leading conversations about acceptable generative-AI applications and...
Community colleges push back: Leaders ask Carnegie to pull new classification
Community college advocates formally requested that the Carnegie Classification withdraw its new Student Access and Earnings Classification, arguing the metric misrepresents community colleges'...
Shutdown fallout: Veterans and food-insecure students seek campus lifelines
The government shutdown and federal policy shifts have strained campus supports for vulnerable students. College food pantries — such as the Basic Needs Resource Center at Sacramento State —...
Money shifts: Endowments rally as tuition and aid trends evolve
TIFF Investment Management reported that $1B-plus university endowments delivered an average 11.5% return in fiscal 2025, driven by private equity, venture and AI-related equities — marking the...
Governance clash: Job cuts and public-syllabi mandates roil campuses
Campus governance and academic freedom are under pressure from both labor disputes and state-level transparency mandates. Staff at Lancaster University began working to rule in response to...
H‑1B fee jump: $100,000 levy jolts campus hiring
The White House’s sudden $100,000 H‑1B fee is forcing colleges to reassess international hiring strategies. President Trump signed the proclamation on Sept. 19; universities that rely on H‑1B...