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Digital friction... Belonging matters: tech failures erode retention
New student-survey research links fragmented digital services to lost time, stress and weaker belonging—factors that correlate with lower persistence and graduation. Institutions with unified...
Enrollment pressure and completion metrics: small colleges hit hardest
Hampshire College fell well short of its recruitment target—enrolling roughly half the expected new students—illustrating acute competition and waitlist dynamics in regional markets. Meanwhile,...
Board duties and admin inflation: governance under a microscope
Higher‑education governance advice from AGB calls on trustees to rehearse fiduciary duty regularly as boards confront budget stress and contentious stakeholder debates. The guidance arrives amid...
Appeals court upholds block on NIH cap: Indirect-cost lifeline preserved
A federal appeals court on Monday upheld a lower-court order blocking the National Institutes of Health from imposing a 15% cap on indirect-cost reimbursement for research grants. The First...
Congress rejects deep science cuts: NSF and NASA largely spared
Appropriations language released this week signals that congressional negotiators largely rejected President Trump’s proposed, steep cuts to major federal research agencies. Lawmakers pared back...
Martin University closure finalized: Trustees cite enrollment, debt
Martin University’s board has confirmed the institution will shut down after a brief pause in operations, ending months of uncertainty for students and staff. Trustees said declining enrollment,...
2025 visa chaos forces campus pivot: Institutions plan 2026 fixes
Colleges report that 2025’s disruptions—visa appointment backlogs, OPT threats, SEVIS revocations and guidance uncertainty—created severe complications for international students and campus...
Agentic AI in higher ed... campuses test autonomous systems
Universities are moving beyond chat-based tools toward agentic AI—systems that act autonomously to perform tasks—and some institutions are framing the technology as a colleague rather than a tool....
UVA hire sparks trust gap: Beardsley’s start shadowed by board politics
The University of Virginia’s appointment of Scott Beardsley to the presidency has generated internal concerns about process and trust, with faculty and stakeholders citing board politics and the...
AGB tells boards to double down: Fiduciary duty framed as ongoing work
The Association of Governing Boards issued a start‑of‑year call for trustees and foundation boards to reinforce fiduciary duty through sustained education and governance practices. The guidance...
Accreditation in transition: Federal metrics and board duties tighten
Accreditation policy and federal accountability are shifting, and boards must prepare to respond as accreditors and the U.S. Department of Education update expectations around quality, student...
Signs of an institutional death spiral: Cuts, closures and the warning checklist
Analysts and sector leaders are flagging recurring signals that precede campus closures—declining enrollment, rising debt, program cuts, accreditoral sanctions and audit warnings—and publishing...
Vice presidentialization meets faculty revolt: Nebraska chancellor exits
Critiques of administrative expansion and contested program cuts converged this month when University of Nebraska–Lincoln Chancellor Rodney D. Bennett abruptly announced his resignation following...
NIH Overhead Cap Struck Down — Appeals Court Restores Negotiated Rates
A federal appeals court ruled that the National Institutes of Health’s unilateral 15% cap on indirect research costs violated law and agency procedures, handing universities a legal win and...
Teacher-Prep Funding Cuts Force Local Solutions — Residencies Survive on Crowdfunds
Federal cancellations of discretionary teacher-preparation grants forced program leaders and districts to scramble to keep resident stipends and coaching in place. Winston-Salem TEACH lost most of...
Martin University to Close — Small HBCU Shuts After Accreditation Loss
Martin University, Indiana’s only predominantly Black institution, announced a wind‑down after a brief operational pause failed to produce a rescue plan. Trustees cited declining enrollment,...
Board Duty Reset — AGB Urges Ongoing Fiduciary Training for Governing Bodies
The Association of Governing Boards issued parallel CEO updates urging trustees and foundation board members to treat fiduciary duty as an ongoing discipline rather than a one‑time onboarding...
Capitol to Campus — Republicans Push Higher‑Ed Reforms as Universities Mount a Defense
Republican lawmakers are moving to build on 2025’s higher‑education policy changes, and university leaders are mobilizing legal and public‑affairs strategies in response. Congressional Republicans...
Accountability and Accreditation — ED Moves to Harmonize Metrics as Boards Prep
The U.S. Department of Education is planning to 'harmonize' accountability metrics across federal programs, pushing institutions to align stronger evidence on student outcomes and governance....
Free Speech and Campus Climate Spike — Censorship Cases Hit a New High
Student censorship incidents reached a record in 2025, with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression documenting 273 attempts to investigate, punish or censor student expression. Cases...