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UNC declines federal compact: chancellor rejects plan as written
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said it will not sign the federal 'Compact for Academic Excellence,' rejecting the administration’s offer that ties preferential funding to changes...
Education Dept. moves to cap graduate borrowing — Grad PLUS era ends
The Department of Education’s negotiated rulemaking reached consensus on new limits for federal graduate borrowing, marking a decisive shift away from the broad Grad PLUS framework. The RISE...
Enrollment bounces back — community colleges and certificates lead
Preliminary National Student Clearinghouse data show overall higher-education enrollment up about 2% this fall, driven by a 2.4% rise in undergraduates and a strong gain at community colleges. The...
Colleges expand food and basic-needs support as SNAP payments stall
Colleges nationwide are stepping in to support students after disruptions to SNAP benefits, launching emergency food distributions, expanding pantry services, and creating short-term grant...
UC San Diego flags steep math-prep decline — remedial enrollments surge
A University of California, San Diego working-group report found a dramatic rise in incoming students lacking middle-school level math skills, with remedial math enrollment ballooning nearly...
Texas orders probe of Texas Southern after audit flags accounting gaps
Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick ordered a financial investigation of Texas Southern University after a state audit found tens of thousands of invoices with timing and...
College leaders assigned security as campus threats escalate
Multiple universities have assigned personal security details to presidents, regents and other senior leaders amid an uptick in targeted threats and violent incidents tied to highly charged campus...
Texas community college demands faculty repay summer pay — 65 told to reimburse
Tarrant County College informed 65 faculty at its online campus they must repay portions of their summer salaries after administrators said staff had been given incorrect information about...
Community college leaders push back on Carnegie’s new classification
Leaders from two-year institutions publicly asked the Carnegie Classification to withdraw its new Student Access and Earnings framework, arguing the metric misrepresents community-college missions...
Faculty drive AI classroom rules as campuses prepare for agentic systems
Faculty—not central administrators—are leading campus conversations about appropriate classroom uses of generative AI, according to recent surveys, while academic leaders prepare for the next wave...
State officials press universities on leadership and compacts — UNC and U.Va. in focus
Political pressure on public and flagship universities intensified this week as Virginia’s governor-elect sought input—via the commonwealth’s board—on delaying a University of Virginia...
Graduate borrowing caps: ED negotiators seal steep limits
The U.S. Department of Education’s negotiated rulemaking reached consensus on new graduate borrowing limits that will effectively end the Grad PLUS program and impose tiered caps starting July...
ED grant priorities shift—AI, accreditation and workforce funding in the crosshairs
The U.S. Department of Education announced new priorities for the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), signaling a focus on accreditation reform, artificial intelligence,...
Undergraduate rebound...but the picture is uneven
Preliminary data from the National Student Clearinghouse show undergraduate enrollment rose about 2.4% this fall, driving an overall 2% increase in postsecondary enrollment and marking a third...
Trump stakes a pragmatic case: U.S. still open to foreign students
President Trump publicly defended maintaining large numbers of international students at U.S. campuses, arguing their tuition underwrites many university budgets and warning against policies that...
H‑1B fee shock: $100,000 levy could reshape campus hiring
A new White House proclamation creating a $100,000 fee on certain H‑1B petitions has jolted research universities that rely on foreign scholars and postdocs. Higher‑education legal experts warn...
UC San Diego flags dramatic remedial math spike — pandemic effects blamed
A UC San Diego Senate–Administration working group report found a near‑30‑fold rise in incoming students placing below middle‑school math levels over five years, with remedial math enrollment...
Justice Dept. opens probe after clashes at Berkeley event
Federal authorities announced an investigation into protests and security breaches at a Turning Point USA event held at UC Berkeley after hundreds of demonstrators confronted attendees. The...
Tribal colleges under pressure as funding and oversight shift
NPR reporting highlights fragile finances and policy headwinds facing tribal colleges and universities, using Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College as an example of institutions that fuse Indigenous...
Campus care: counseling and basic‑needs programs scale amid SNAP chaos
Colleges are expanding embedded counseling and basic‑needs supports as federal safety‑net disruptions and rising student needs collide. Virginia Tech’s model—placing counselors inside residence...