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Trump’s Compact Hits a Wall: Penn Publishes Rejection Letter — White House Plan Lacks Traction
The University of Pennsylvania publicly released its letter rejecting the Trump administration’s proposed higher‑education compact, laying out concerns about academic freedom, preferential funding...
UCLA Draft Shows $1.2B Price Tag — Settlement Would Reshape Campus Policies
A 27‑page draft settlement between UCLA and the federal government made public Friday would require the university to pay as much as $1.2 billion and adopt sweeping changes to diversity,...
Treasury Opens Portal for New H‑1B Fee — USCIS Clarifies Who Pays
The U.S. Treasury Department launched an online portal for employers to pay a newly announced $100,000 fee tied to certain H‑1B petitions, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services clarified...
Talks Resume Over Student Loan Caps — Education Dept. and Colleges Still Far Apart
Federal negotiators and higher‑education stakeholders have restarted talks on caps for graduate student loan eligibility, but major disagreements persist over which programs should receive...
Administration Review Ends 120 TRIO Grants — College‑access Programs Lose Funding
Federal officials terminated funding for roughly 120 TRIO college‑access programs after a Department of Education review cited compliance issues tied to demographic enrollment language, leaving...
Harvard Warns of Widespread Grade Inflation — 60% of Undergrad Grades Are A’s
Harvard’s Office of Undergraduate Education released a report finding that roughly 60% of undergraduate course grades are now A’s — a sharp rise from two decades ago — and urged faculty to adopt...
Authors Warn U. of Chicago Board Cuts Risk Destroying Research Core — Governance Clash Escalates
Scholars Arjun Appadurai and Sheldon Pollock published a forceful critique alleging the University of Chicago’s board decisions are undermining the institution’s research mission and academic...
Black Enrollment Drops at Selective Colleges — Two Years After Affirmative‑Action Ruling
Two years after the Supreme Court ended race‑conscious admissions, enrollment data show sizable declines in Black first‑year cohorts at many selective institutions. The Associated Press analysis...
Senator Accuses AAUP Leader of Fanning Antisemitism — Union Denies Charges
Sen. Bill Cassidy sent a letter accusing the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) president and AFT vice president Todd Wolfson of fostering “organizational antisemitism,” citing...
Trump administration cuts TRIO grants; Penn declines compact — funding fight hits elite campuses
The Trump administration’s enforcement actions against diversity-linked programs escalated this week as Education Department moves led to the termination of 120 TRIO college-access grants and Ivy...
Black enrollment falls at selective colleges — affirmative-action fallout deepens
Selective colleges reported sharp declines in Black first-year enrollment this fall, two years after the Supreme Court ended race-conscious admissions. An Associated Press analysis of 20 highly...
Arrests at Michigan protest — pro-Palestinian demonstration turns to campus policing
University of Michigan public-safety officers arrested three pro-Palestinian protesters who blocked an exit to an underground parking garage during a demonstration organized by the TAHRIR...
Colleges cut staff and close programs — wave of layoffs hits public and private campuses
Universities across the U.S. announced staff cuts this week as institutions confront budget shortfalls, enrollment declines and rising costs. Michigan State University said it will lay off 99...
Campus crime lab goes domestic — Gwynedd Mercy opens simulated crime-scene house for hands-on training
Gwynedd Mercy University unveiled a fully outfitted Crime Scene House to give criminal-justice students immersive, workforce-ready training in evidence collection, fingerprinting and blood-spatter...
National transfer-student institute closes — decades of research and resources at risk
The University of North Georgia announced it can no longer fund the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students, ending an organization that provided research, policy guidance and...
Student-parents push for campus accommodations — advocates say colleges aren’t built for families
A first-person account and broader reporting highlight the barriers student-parents face on campus, from childcare and housing to participation in milestone events like commencement. The writer...
Cal State courts Big Tech to build an AI-powered classroom — system invites private sector to reshape learning
California State University invited technology companies including Amazon and OpenAI to help redesign learning with artificial intelligence, signaling a major push to position the system as a...
PhD Project fights for survival — new Vanguard Society launched after federal probe and partner withdrawals
The PhD Project, a 31-year-old nonprofit that builds faculty diversity pipelines for business schools, launched a Vanguard Society to stabilize funding after the Department of Education threatened...
Legal bid uses 1871 KKK law to end Black-only scholarship at UC San Diego — scholarship renamed after suit
A lawsuit brought by the Pacific Legal Foundation and an anti–affirmative-action group used the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 to challenge a race-restricted Black Alumni Scholarship at UC San Diego....
Columbia operating income plunges — research funding fallout
Columbia University reported a 63% drop in its operating surplus, falling to $112.6 million in fiscal 2025 after the federal government terminated hundreds of grants earlier this year. Anne...