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Education Department Shrinks: Programs Shift to Labor, Investigations Dwindle
The Department of Education is ceding higher-education program management to the Department of Labor and has sharply cut civil-rights enforcement capacity, administration officials disclosed this...
College Budgets Under Siege — Leaders Warn of Closures and Long‑Term Pain
Higher‑education finance officers and presidents are adjusting to a second year of policy-driven uncertainty, and several leaders warn the sector faces severe consolidation. Analysts and college...
Court and Congress Reopen Grant Threats — TRIO, Research Funding in Play
Federal courts and Congress are intervening after the Education Department canceled or moved multiple grant programs last year. A federal judge ordered the department to reconsider its...
Board Turmoil and Reinstatement: Morris Brown, Virginia Appointments Move Fast
Two governance flash points this week underscore how trustee decisions are driving campus leadership turmoil. Morris Brown College reinstated President Kevin James days after firing him, saying...
Political Pressure and Data Demands — Academic Freedom Faces New Tests
A new report from PEN America and multiple legal actions show state and federal pressures are reshaping campus speech and curricular control. Researchers documented record numbers of states...
Campus Climate and Leadership Anxiety — Free‑Speech Dust‑Ups and Presidential Worry
Campus free‑speech incidents and a pulse survey of college presidents are reflecting rising anxiety about political interference. A Bowdoin student’s sarcastic email about conservative commentator...
Campus Labor Action Brewing — Staff Ballots at Scottish University
More than 400 staff at the University of Strathclyde are voting on strike action over proposed job cuts and alleged failure to consult unions. Unite and UCU said the cuts — part of a campus...
Contested Cultural Funding and Federal Scrutiny Hit Universities
The National Endowment for the Humanities, under new leadership, awarded $75.1 million to projects aligned with conservative priorities, a shift university humanists say will reshape grant flows....
Student Aid Moves: Wage‑Garnishment Pause and Pell Enrollment Shifts
The Department of Education announced an unexpected pause on involuntary collections such as Administrative Wage Garnishment and Treasury offsets while it implements new repayment reforms under a...
Civil-rights crossfire: subpoenas and Title IX enforcement shift
A federal enforcement tug-of-war intensified this week as the University of Pennsylvania publicly rebuked a federal demand for lists of Jewish staff and internal Education Department data show a...
Ed Dept. rewires: higher‑ed unit moves to Labor — loan garnishments paused
The Trump administration moved core higher‑education functions out of the Department of Education and into the Department of Labor while pausing plans to garnish wages of defaulted student‑loan...
Research budgets under pressure: settlements, canceled grants and fiscal shock
Colleges are recalibrating budgets after a year of federal probes, canceled research grants and multi‑million dollar settlements tied to the administration’s push to police campus policies....
Admissions scramble: new federal reporting and presidential pressure strain campuses
Colleges nationwide reported scrambling to meet a sudden federal reporting mandate while a separate survey shows presidents increasingly view federal policy as a direct threat to institutional...
Censorship and patronage: state gag laws and conservative grants reshape campuses
State legislatures and federal funding choices are reshaping what colleges may teach and who gets support. A PEN America study found record state-level censorship laws restricting campus speech...
Sector shakeout looms — enrollment, pricing and unsustainable models put colleges at risk
Senior university leaders warned that a meaningful share of America’s colleges could close as declining international enrollments, tuition‑dependent finances and rising costs converge. Brandeis...
Federal aid under review: court reconsiders TRIO cancellations as Pell enrollments rise
A federal judge ordered the Education Department to reconsider its decision to cancel TRIO grants, finding the agency failed to follow statutory and regulatory requirements, even as Pell‑eligible...
AI in the engine room: campuses run systems they don’t yet govern
Universities have rapidly embedded AI across recruitment, admissions, scheduling, assessment and student support — but most lack a comprehensive map of those systems and clear accountability. What...
State boards and MSIs: governance moves and funding cuts reshape access
Governance shakeups and program cuts are producing immediate effects on institutional oversight and access for underserved students. Virginia’s new governor named 27 board members on his first...
Education Programs Shift to Labor: DOE higher‑ed staff moved into Labor Department
The Department of Education transferred staff from its Higher Education Programs Division to the Department of Labor this week, formalizing a policy realignment that ties postsecondary oversight...
Student wage garnishment paused: Education halts involuntary collections ahead of repayment overhaul
The Department of Education announced an indefinite pause on involuntary debt collection—including administrative wage garnishment and Treasury offsets—citing pending implementation of broad...