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FAFSA completions surge: Class of 2026 on pace to break record
FAFSA filings for the high‑school class of 2026 have jumped sharply: by the end of January, 38.6% of seniors had completed the form, a 51.9% increase over last year’s cohort and a near‑10% rise...
Faculty unrest: adjunct inequities and pushback at Colorado State
New data show that historically underrepresented faculty are disproportionately employed in adjunct roles, while faculty governance bodies are publicly confronting administrative...
NIH avoided cuts — leadership vacuum raises research risks
Although Congress preserved NIH funding from proposed cuts, the agency is operating with acting leaders in more than half of its 27 institutes and centers, raising questions about strategic...
Computer science retools — AI shrinks entry roles, programs must adapt
Colleges are seeing declines in undergraduate and graduate computer‑science enrollment as AI tools automate routine coding and early‑career hiring pauses. Universities report an 8% drop in...
Santa Monica College approves layoffs to close budget gap
Facing a structural deficit that could approach $17.5 million next fiscal year, Santa Monica College’s trustees voted to lay off about 60 staff members and open dozens of management and...
Defense Department cuts Harvard ties — Graduate military programs halted
The Department of Defense announced it will end all graduate-level professional military training, fellowships and certificate programs for active-duty service members at Harvard starting in the...
Epstein links reverberate across campuses: Bard email, Cambridge adviser exit
Newly released documents show Bard College President Leon Botstein thanked Jeffrey Epstein for a Caribbean trip and invited him into institutional settings, while Cambridge Judge Business School...
NIH left leaderless — Acting directors run more than half of institutes
After avoiding major funding cuts, the National Institutes of Health is operating with a leadership shortfall: acting officials now lead more than half of the agency’s 27 institutes and centers....
Administration admits deportation error — Court order ignored but return blocked
The Justice Department acknowledged that Immigration and Customs Enforcement wrongfully deported Babson College student Any Lucia Lopez Belloza despite a federal court order barring her removal,...
‘Do no harm’ and the un‑college pivot — Policy shifts could redraw student funding
A suite of provisions in the GOP 'big, beautiful bill' and related tax-and-aid changes could force significant program‑level shifts across higher education. The new "do no harm" rule requires...
FAFSA completions surge — Class of 2026 on pace to break record
FAFSA filing rates for the high‑school class of 2026 have jumped dramatically: 38.6% of seniors had completed the form by the end of January, representing more than 1.5 million submissions and a...
Adjunct equity crisis — Underrepresented faculty overindexed in precarious ranks
New reporting shows adjunct instructors now make up roughly 40% of the professoriate and that historically underrepresented groups—particularly Black faculty and women—are disproportionately...
Faculty governance strains — CSU internal search criticized; Duke audit questions cuts
Faculty at Colorado State University formally rebuked the system’s decision to run an internal‑only search for the next chancellor, citing conflict‑of‑interest concerns and a compressed timetable....
Students confront immigration recruiting on campus — Protests and arrests
As colleges host spring career fairs and government agencies—including Customs and Border Protection and ICE—recruit on campuses, students and faculty have pushed back. Protests at multiple...
Community colleges press forward on bachelor’s degrees — Universities resist
Nearly half of U.S. states now allow community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees, and policymakers and college leaders say the expansion aims to broaden regional access to affordable four‑year...
Babson student deported despite court order — DOJ won’t facilitate return
The administration conceded immigration officers violated a federal court order when they removed Babson College undergraduate Any Lucia Lopez Belloza to Honduras, but the Justice Department told...
Pentagon cuts sponsorship of Harvard studies — ties fray amid policy clash
The Defense Department has ended plans to sponsor studies of service members at Harvard, signaling an escalation in its wider dispute with the Ivy League institution. The move eliminates a...
Epstein documents spill onto campuses — Bard email and Cambridge adviser resignations
Newly surfaced communications linking Jeffrey Epstein to academic patrons are prompting leadership crises at multiple institutions. An email shows Bard College president Leon Botstein thanking...
Colorado State faculty denounce internal-only chancellor search — governance under fire
Faculty at Colorado State University publicly rebuked the system Board of Governors for conducting an internal‑only search to replace Chancellor Tony Frank, arguing the closed process limits the...
San Francisco teachers strike — citywide schools close as negotiations falter
Thousands of San Francisco public school teachers launched the city’s first public school strike in nearly 50 years, closing about 120 schools and affecting roughly 50,000 students after year‑long...