Get the Daily Brief

All action, no filler. hied.news delivers the industry’s 10 must-know updates, every morning.

Latest Higher Education News

AI in classrooms: from hype to policy and pushback

January 10, 2026

K‑12 districts and higher‑ed instructors are recalibrating expectations for classroom AI as districts adopt policies and professional development while critics push back. Coverage shows schools...

Student readiness and completion: reading gaps and graduation strategies

January 10, 2026

Professors report incoming Gen Z students display weaker reading skills, prompting instructors to alter pedagogy and assessment to rebuild basic literacy. National surveys show reading habits have...

Faculty pipeline and accountability: shortages, post‑tenure review and workforce strain

January 10, 2026

States and institutions are tackling two linked challenges: a shortage of career and technical education faculty and new post‑tenure review policies that critics say threaten faculty protections....

Financial distress and governance: lenders, campus sales and trustee fights

January 10, 2026

Financially vulnerable institutions continue to surface in the policy spotlight. Self‑Help Ventures conditioned rescue financing at Saint Augustine’s University on removing certain trustees, a...

Investigations, due process and institutional transparency

January 10, 2026

The University System of Maryland withheld the full report of a probe into alleged plagiarism by University of Maryland president Darryll Pines, a review that cost up to $600,000, even as...

Accreditor shake-up: Education Dept. pushes new tests and switching grants

January 10, 2026

The Department of Education and the White House have pushed two parallel changes that could reshape college oversight. An ED advisory panel signed off on a new earnings test for program...

Graduate aid reworked: States and students brace for federal loan caps

January 10, 2026

Federal lending changes set to take effect in July are prompting state-level action and fresh analysis of who will be hurt. A Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia study found roughly 28% of recent...

Tenure under pressure: statewide reviews and secret probes roil faculty ranks

January 10, 2026

Faculty governance and academic integrity are at the center of new policy and personnel controversies. South Dakota’s Board of Regents adopted a post-tenure review policy described by officials as...

Boardroom bargains: trustees, lenders and rushed searches reshape small campuses

January 10, 2026

Trustees, lenders and governing boards are driving urgent leadership moves at financially stressed institutions. The University of West Florida’s Board of Trustees appointed former Florida...

Course-sharing: colleges pool courses to cut costs and keep programs alive

January 10, 2026

Small and tuition-dependent colleges are expanding course-sharing consortia to preserve programs and shore up budgets. Adrian College and more than 130 institutions joined a course-sharing...

AI in the classroom: from enchantment to skepticism

January 10, 2026

K‑12 and higher‑education leaders are reassessing AI’s role in teaching as pilot programs and classroom experiments reveal limits. A sector-wide review questions whether the initial 'AI glow' is...

MBA admissions and online MBAs: video, AI checks and career pivots reshape the market

January 10, 2026

Business schools are recalibrating admissions and delivery as AI and online formats change candidate behavior. Admissions consultancies predict 2026 will be defined by tighter rules on AI use in...

Reading crisis and completion tactics: students arrive underprepared, colleges respond

January 10, 2026

Colleges are confronting weakened literacy and are adapting pedagogies and student-success strategies. Professors report incoming undergraduates who struggle with sentence-level comprehension,...

Campus climate and safety: anonymous boards, protests, and legal settlements

January 10, 2026

Campus unrest and student-led communications platforms are changing how communities experience emergencies and protests. After a December campus shooting at Brown, students used Sidechat—an...

Childcare and student parents: federal freezes and state defenses reshape campus supports

January 10, 2026

Federal moves to pause childcare and family-support funds have immediate consequences for student parents and campus services. A federal judge temporarily blocked the administration from freezing...

Education Dept. Bets on New Accreditors: $14.5M Push

January 10, 2026

The Department of Education awarded $14.5 million to projects aimed at creating alternative accreditors and easing institutional switches, accelerating a federal effort to reshape college...

Education panel greenlights earnings test — vote reveals divisions

January 10, 2026

A Department of Education advisory panel approved a new earnings test intended to assess program outcomes for undergraduate certificates and related credentials, but the vote exposed continuing...

States and students brace for new grad loan caps — Connecticut offers plan

January 10, 2026

Federal changes set to take effect in July will end Grad PLUS loans and cap graduate borrowing, prompting states and institutions to scramble for alternatives. A Federal Reserve Bank of...

Flagship shake-ups: board texts and rapid presidential picks

January 10, 2026

Campus governance turmoil continued at major public universities as boards and executives moved quickly to name presidents while internal tensions surfaced. At the University of Virginia, text...

West Florida finalizes hire — faculty warn process failed

January 10, 2026

The University of West Florida’s Board of Trustees voted 11–1 to make Manny Diaz Jr., a former Republican lawmaker and Florida education commissioner, the university’s permanent president after he...