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Enrollment shift: adult learners surge, traditional pipeline shrinks
New data show two enrollment shifts reshaping higher education: an increase in adult learners and a shrinking pool of traditionally aged applicants. State and institutional analysis indicates...
MacKenzie Scott drops $700M on HBCUs — unrestricted gifts roll out
Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott announced a fresh round of gifts that push her recent HBCU giving past $700 million. The donations—unrestricted in many cases—went to multiple historically Black...
Tsinghua surges: patents and citations reshape the global AI map
Chinese universities are closing the gap with U.S. institutions in AI research and patents. Analysis shows Tsinghua University now produces more of the world’s most‑cited AI papers and has filed...
NIH cuts cancel 383 trials — universities left in limbo
A JAMA Internal Medicine analysis found that 383 NIH‑funded clinical trials were disrupted after grant cancellations tied to federal funding cuts—affecting tens of thousands of participants and...
Education Department broken up: interagency deals shift K‑12 and college programs
The U.S. Department of Education announced a package of interagency agreements that will move major K‑12 and postsecondary program management to other federal agencies. The department signed deals...
Lawmakers push back on plan to sell federal student loans: legal, borrower protections at stake
More than 40 Democratic lawmakers demanded the Biden administration — and now the Trump administration’s reported advisors — halt discussions about selling parts of the federal student‑loan...
Cuts ripple through research: NIH grant cancellations disrupt hundreds of clinical trials
An analysis published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that cuts to NIH grant funding this year led to cancellations affecting more than 380 clinical trials and tens of thousands of participants....
Judge blocks federal freeze on UC grants — court finds administration overreach
A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Trump administration from withholding research funding from the University of California system amid civil‑rights investigations....
Epstein documents roil academe — emails link donors to researchers; Summers steps back
Newly released emails from Jeffrey Epstein’s archive show correspondence between the financier and prominent researchers seeking funding and advice, sparking scrutiny of university ties. The trove...
MacKenzie Scott pours $700M into HBCUs — large unrestricted gifts land at multiple campuses
Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott announced another round of major unrestricted gifts to historically Black colleges and universities, bringing recent HBCU donations to roughly $700 million. The...
Special‑education services imperiled as Education Department shrinks — advocates alarmed
Advocates warn that proposals to dismantle large portions of the U.S. Department of Education could jeopardize special‑education services that 7.5 million students rely on. Groups such as the...
AI in the classroom: cocreated integrity rules and AI‑driven differentiated instruction
Higher‑education practitioners are designing agile, equity‑minded academic‑integrity guidelines for generative AI through co‑creation with faculty, students and staff to avoid punitive,...
Boards, foundations and stewardship: governance moves from oversight to impact
A new Association of Governing Boards report details how trustees at four public institutions are advancing student success through strategic board engagement—making student outcomes central to...
International and adult enrollment shift: Open Doors shows steep drop in new foreign students
The Open Doors fall snapshot shows a 17% decline in new international student enrollment this year, driven largely by fewer incoming graduate students and visa delays, the Institute of...
Education Department break-up: Programs shifted to Labor, HHS
The U.S. Department of Education announced interagency agreements that move management of major K–12 and postsecondary programs to other federal agencies, signaling a near-term functional...
Research funding crunch: NIH cuts and global R&D rivalry
Federal research funding is under stress on two fronts: domestic cancellations and international competition. A JAMA Internal Medicine analysis found cuts to NIH grants disrupted more than 380...
Special-education and K‑12 services at risk as Education Department shrinks
Advocates and lawyers are warning that the Education Department’s rapid downsizing and interagency transfers threaten services for students with disabilities and other K–12 supports....
International enrollment slips: Open Doors snapshot shows sharp drop in new students
New-data snapshots show a pronounced fall in incoming international students: Open Doors reported a 17% drop in new international enrollments this fall across responding U.S. campuses, while...
Harvard’s Larry Summers steps back after Epstein-era emails
Harvard economist Larry Summers said he will step back from public commitments after newly released emails showed he maintained contact with Jeffrey Epstein years after the financier’s 2008 guilty...
Oxford Saïd dean resigns after probe upholds harassment findings
Oxford University’s Saïd Business School said Soumitra Dutta resigned as dean after an external university inquiry upheld multiple harassment allegations by a female colleague. The investigation...