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H-1B visas: federal court strikes down new $100K fee impacting university hiring
A federal judge on Monday struck down the Trump administration’s $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitions, ruling the administration exceeded its authority and violated the Administrative Procedure...
Race data reporting and admissions: more applicants decline to disclose ethnicity after affirmative-action shift
A new report finds college applicants are increasingly reluctant to report race and ethnicity on applications following the Supreme Court’s rejection of affirmative action in 2023. The “Known...
Faculty and student well-being: faculty burnout increasingly tied to student support capacity
A new argument in higher education circles links faculty well-being directly to student outcomes, warning that instructor burnout is reducing the capacity for mentoring, teaching, and crisis...
AI in higher ed: universities expand AI degrees while quality and pedagogy lag
Universities are accelerating the rollout of AI-focused degree programs, with a growing gap between the speed of program creation and researchers’ ability to track curriculum quality. The...
Teacher preparation and “science of reading” implementation: more programs align, but outdated practices persist
A national review finds teacher-preparation programs have improved their alignment with evidence-based reading instruction since 2023, but outdated methods still reach the classroom. The report...
Enrollment pressures: University of Oregon expects a nonresident downturn to persist
The University of Oregon told its Board of Trustees it is treating a multi-year nonresident enrollment slowdown as a new reality, with out-of-state domestic first-year enrollment for fall 2026...
Student support and institutional services: community colleges build job-aligned pathways to credentials of value
A new Brookings Institution brief highlights which community colleges are producing “credentials of value” and recommends policy shifts for states and federal agencies. The brief defines...
Higher ed cybersecurity: experts warn students remain the sector’s weak link
Experts warn that colleges and universities may be investing in staff cybersecurity training while overlooking a persistent risk: students’ cybersecurity practices. The report frames students as...
K-12 digital infrastructure and compliance: FCC review of E-rate program amid screen-time debate
The Federal Communications Commission is launching a review of the E-rate program, which funds broadband connectivity for K-12 schools, to ensure it meets Congress’s vision for educational...
Faculty governance and academic leadership: Michigan State president exits amid trustees’ conflict allegations
Kevin Guskiewicz stepped down as Michigan State University president after two years to become Clemson University’s president, but his exit has intensified scrutiny of university governance and...
Admissions data & race reporting after Supreme Court limits
Fewer applicants are reporting race and ethnicity on college applications following the Supreme Court’s 2023 rejection of affirmative action, according to Class Action’s “Known Unknowns” analysis....
H-1B cost shock tossed out by federal court
A federal judge on Monday vacated the Trump administration’s $100,000 fee for new H-1B visa petitions, ruling the administration exceeded its authority. The decision followed a lawsuit by...
Enrollment revenue model under strain at a public flagship
The University of Oregon’s long-running enrollment strategy—recruiting out-of-state students to support financial stability—is weakening, with expected fall 2026 domestic nonresident enrollment...
Board-and-leadership conflict reshapes campus governance
Michigan State University President Kevin Guskiewicz’s exit highlights intensifying friction between presidents and governing boards, with concerns that partisan or dysfunctional boards are...
Community colleges’ pathways to high-value workforce credentials
Brookings released a new research brief identifying practices used by “excelling” community colleges that produce workforce credentials of value—defined in the analysis as certificates worth at...
Cybersecurity weak spot: student readiness lags behind staff training
College technology leaders broadly feel positive about internal cybersecurity training, but experts warn that students remain a major vulnerability in higher education security posture. Reporting...
Teacher-prep curriculum still includes outdated reading instruction
A national review of reading in teacher preparation finds that while many programs have improved, a substantial portion still trains future teachers in discredited methods. The National Council on...
Higher ed grade policies intensify over A-capping at Harvard
Harvard faculty approved a policy capping the percentage of A grades in undergraduate courses to address grade compression and inflation. The change is intended to restore differentiation at the...
Research funding timelines face scrutiny in UKRI grant process
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is facing criticism over grant calls with extremely short application windows, which critics say place unfair pressure on university research offices and can...
Domestic and student AI adoption raises compliance questions
New survey research at the University of Chicago suggests AI usage among students may be difficult to measure accurately, raising stakes for campus policy enforcement. In an anonymous survey of...