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UC Davis lands $120M gift — vet school to expand clinical and translational research
Philanthropists Joan and Sanford I. Weill pledged $120 million to UC Davis, marking one of the largest gifts in the university’s history and the biggest ever for veterinary medicine, the...
Colleges form alliance to resist government meddling — states push counsels
A newly formed Alliance for Higher Education aims to defend institutional autonomy after a year of increased federal and state scrutiny, focusing on legal support and advocacy to prevent...
Academic freedom tested — UNC proposes limits as visa enforcement chills speech
The University of North Carolina’s Faculty Assembly advanced a proposed definition of academic freedom that explicitly states ‘‘academic freedom is not absolute,’’ a move that drew objection from...
Federal research agencies lost thousands of Ph.D.s — hires lagged
Fourteen federal research agencies experienced a sharp net loss of Ph.D. holders in STEM and health roles in 2025, according to a Science analysis of Office of Personnel Management data....
ED to rewrite accreditation rules: negotiated rulemaking set in motion
Federal education officials moved to overhaul the U.S. accreditation system, launching negotiated rulemaking that would ease entry for new accreditors and remove existing diversity, equity and...
States pause H-1B hiring: universities told to halt new sponsorships
Two Republican governors ordered stops to new H-1B hiring at public universities, triggering immediate concern at research institutions that rely on international talent. Florida and Texas...
Ph.D. exodus at federal labs: agencies lose thousands of researchers
Fourteen federal research agencies reported a large net outflow of Ph.D.-level STEM and health staff in 2025, with hires trailing departures by about 11 to 1 and a net loss of roughly 4,224...
Yale expands free tuition: families under $200k now covered
Yale University broadened its undergraduate tuition guarantee to cover all families with incomes under $200,000, and pledged to cover total cost of attendance for households under $100,000. The...
Nevada raises tuition: multi-year increases approved to plug budget gap
Nevada’s governing board approved tuition and fee increases of up to 12% for four-year public universities and 9% for two-year colleges over three years to fill a projected fiscal shortfall. The...
ADA Title II compliance clock: institutions must fix web access by 2026
The Department of Justice’s new ADA Title II web accessibility rule has begun a compliance countdown, and higher-education leaders are being urged to remediate websites, portals, and digital forms...
School cellphone bans...mixed results: states grade policies, students report little change
A new state-by-state analysis graded K–12 cellphone policies and found wide variation: North Dakota and Rhode Island earned top marks for bell-to-bell bans with inaccessible storage, while many...
AI and cheating: students use tools to avoid false detector flags
A growing number of college students are turning to generative AI to avoid accusations of cheating after many were flagged by imperfect AI detectors, according to reporting on campus practices....
New alliance to defend campus autonomy: sector groups push back on government meddling
A newly launched Alliance for Higher Education announced a mission to shield colleges and universities from what organizers call government overreach, framing institutional autonomy as essential...
AGB names Ross Mugler CEO: governance group picks longtime trustee leader
The Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) appointed Ross Mugler as its president and CEO after a year in the interim role. Mugler, a former city commissioner and...
Federal labs hemorrhage Ph.D. talent: 11-to-1 departures outpace hires
A mass exodus of Ph.D. scientists and health researchers from 14 federal research agencies left a net shortfall of roughly 4,224 positions last year, Science reported. The National Institutes of...
Texas freezes H‑1B hiring at public universities — pause through May 2027
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered a freeze on new H‑1B visa applications at state colleges and universities through May 31, 2027, the Texas Tribune reported. The directive requires institutions to...
Nevada Regents approve multi‑year tuition surge to plug funding gap
The Nevada System of Higher Education’s board voted 8–5 to raise tuition and fees up to 12% at four‑year campuses and 9% at two‑year colleges over three years, starting with modest increases in...
Yale expands tuition guarantee: families under $200K pay no tuition
Yale University announced it will offer free tuition to undergraduates from families earning less than $200,000 a year and cover the full cost of attendance for families under $100,000. The policy...
ETS markets GRE and TOEFL as test demand and international enrollments slip
Educational Testing Service (ETS) is exploring a sale or strategic investment for the GRE and TOEFL, the Wall Street Journal reported. Participation in the GRE has fallen sharply since the...
Education Department targets accreditors: draft rules to reshape recognition
The Education Department unveiled plans to overhaul accreditation regulations, proposing changes to make it easier for new accreditors to gain recognition and to constrain diversity, equity and...