Get the Daily Brief
Latest Higher Education News
Governance clash: Job cuts and public-syllabi mandates roil campuses
Campus governance and academic freedom are under pressure from both labor disputes and state-level transparency mandates. Staff at Lancaster University began working to rule in response to...
H‑1B fee jump: $100,000 levy jolts campus hiring
The White House’s sudden $100,000 H‑1B fee is forcing colleges to reassess international hiring strategies. President Trump signed the proclamation on Sept. 19; universities that rely on H‑1B...
UNC Chapel Hill refuses compact: won't sign federal academic deal
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill publicly rejected the Trump administration’s “Compact for Academic Excellence,” saying it will not sign the proposal as drafted. Chancellor Lee...
FIPSE competition: Education Dept names accreditation, AI, workforce as priorities
The U.S. Education Department announced priorities for the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), directing upcoming grant competitions toward accreditation reform,...
Education Department in upheaval: civil‑rights cuts and partisan auto‑replies draw court rebuke
Two developments at the Department of Education have combined to raise alarms about enforcement of campus civil‑rights protections and the agency’s political conduct. A push by some states to...
Faculty set AI boundaries: accreditation now demands proof of integration
Campus AI policy is increasingly instructor‑led: surveys show faculty, not administrators, are defining acceptable classroom uses of generative AI. That bottom‑up governance is colliding with...
Community colleges press Carnegie: pull student access and earnings classification
Community college leaders urged the Carnegie Classification to withdraw its new Student Access and Earnings metric, arguing the measure mischaracterizes two‑year institutions and could stigmatize...
NSC: undergraduate enrollment up 2.4% — computer science slides
Preliminary National Student Clearinghouse data show undergraduate enrollment rose 2.4% year‑over‑year this fall, driving a 2% rise in overall postsecondary enrollment and marking a third...
Community colleges, certificates shine: short‑term credentials drive fall gains
A sector snapshot from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center shows community colleges and nondegree credentials powering fall enrollment growth. Undergraduate certificates rose 6.6%...
Shutdown strains students: food aid uncertainty and veterans' programs take hits
The federal shutdown is reverberating on campuses: college food pantries are seeing surging demand as federal food‑aid payments remain uncertain, and student veterans face disrupted educational...
Higher‑ed data at risk: shutdown stalls IES reform and threatens integrated datasets
Advocates warn that the government shutdown imperils the Education Department’s data functions and ongoing discussions about the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). Public comments on proposed...
Florida board mandates syllabi posted for five years — faculty push back
The Florida Board has ordered that course syllabi and reading lists at state public institutions be posted publicly for five years, a policy change announced this month. The directive, reported by...
Loan cap committee reaches consensus — regulators tout savings, critics warn risks
Federal officials on the loan‑cap committee announced they had reached a consensus on new regulations aimed at capping certain student loan benefits, framing the change as a step toward reducing...
College women at greater risk: WSU study flips earlier findings
Researchers at Washington State University published an analysis in the Journal of American College Health finding that, from 2015 to 2022, women enrolled in college experienced a 74% higher risk...
Hampden‑Sydney lands $50 million gift: full‑tuition scholarship program launched
Hampden‑Sydney College announced a philanthropic gift exceeding $50 million from alumnus Rob Citrone and his wife, Cindy, to fund the new Citrone Scholars Program, the largest single donation in...
Universities as hard power: experts urge stronger federal support
A policy essay argues that U.S. universities should be treated and fortified as national‑security assets, urging federal and institutional action to protect research, talent pipelines and critical...
From training to thriving: practical fixes to retain international scientists
A feature by Sonali Majumdar and Adriana Bankston outlines concrete steps universities and professional organizations can take to remove systemic barriers confronting international Ph.D. students...
The other engagement problem — a third of students don’t participate beyond class
Colleen Flaherty reports that roughly one‑third of students do not participate in campus activities outside of class, a gap that student‑affairs leaders say threatens retention, belonging and...
Israeli academics isolated despite Gaza cease‑fire — European boycotts persist
Academic boycotts and institutional distancing in Europe have continued despite a Gaza cease‑fire, leaving many Israeli scholars reporting professional isolation, restricted collaborations, and...
The broken narrative of higher education... majority students erased from headlines
An essay argues mainstream coverage of higher education remains skewed toward elite campus controversies, neglecting the majority of learners at community colleges, regional publics, and...