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Latest Higher Education News

Assessment integrity in the generative AI era: Cornell expands oral defenses to prevent AI paper perfection

March 27, 2026

Cornell University is expanding a shift toward oral exams designed to make it harder for generative AI to replace learning evidence. In Chris Schaffer’s biomedical engineering class, students...

Higher-education AI security failures

March 27, 2026

Anthropic acknowledged that it is testing a new, more capable AI model—after an unsecured data cache accidentally exposed internal details, including draft blog material and references to the...

Defense AI investment boom

March 27, 2026

Defense startup Shield AI announced a $1.5 billion Series G round that more than doubles its valuation to $12.7 billion, alongside revenue projections of at least $540 million this year. The...

Accreditation and Department of Education pressure

March 27, 2026

The Higher Learning Commission’s president, Barbara Gellman-Danley, pushed back against what she characterized as politically driven threats by the U.S. Department of Education. Speaking at the...

Federal footprint and campus-adjacent policy infrastructure

March 27, 2026

The Trump administration announced it will downsize the U.S. Department of Education’s physical footprint by leaving its Lyndon B. Johnson building headquarters and moving into a nearby location...

Academic freedom clash in public curricula

March 27, 2026

Florida’s Board of Governors removed Introduction to Sociology from the state’s public universities’ general-education curriculum, escalating a multi-year fight over course content, ideology, and...

Student mental health and platform accountability

March 27, 2026

A New Mexico jury found Meta platforms and imposed $375 million in civil penalties related to harm to children’s mental health, part of a broader wave of state and federal cases scrutinizing...

Accreditation risk from enrollment and finances

March 27, 2026

Hampshire College received another escalation signal on accreditation risk after a show-cause process tied to enrollment, declining unrestricted endowment dollars, and inability to refinance a $21...

Faculty and staff labor disruption at a large community college

March 27, 2026

Portland Community College faced renewed operational instability as unionized faculty and staff remained on strike, delaying most spring-term classes and pushing credit-bearing start dates back....

Federal research funding stability under threat

March 27, 2026

A peer-reviewed analysis reported that NIH terminated nearly 2,300 federal research grants over a defined period in 2025, and the cancellations disproportionately harmed women and early-career...

Campus cyber risk in clinical infrastructure

March 27, 2026

A new cybersecurity incident spotlighted how hospital networks taken offline can directly disrupt patient care, with a real-world event mirroring the scenario depicted in HBO Max’s “The Pitt.” The...

Pell Grant funding cliff

March 26, 2026

AGB’s federal policy update highlighted a projected $17 billion Pell Grant funding shortfall spanning fiscal 2026 and 2027, with the Congressional Budget Office projecting additional gaps for...

Accreditation jeopardy and institutional survival

March 26, 2026

Hampshire College received a new “show cause” notice from the New England Commission of Higher Education, citing enrollment underperformance, declining unrestricted endowment dollars,...

NACIQI rejects naturopathic accreditor renewal

March 26, 2026

The National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) voted against renewing recognition of the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education, sending the matter to the...

College labor shutdowns at Oregon’s largest community college

March 26, 2026

Portland Community College’s two unions—representing both faculty and classified staff—began a coordinated strike amid stalled contract negotiations, shutting down instruction for more than 53,000...

Faculty and administrative power struggles at Oxnard College

March 26, 2026

Oxnard College is operating with a “power vacuum” after its top leadership roles were placed on leave or left vacant, according to reporting from the Ventura County Star. Both President Roberto...

Federal probes into medical school admissions data

March 26, 2026

The Justice Department’s latest admissions-related data demands targeted Stanford, Ohio State, and the University of California, San Diego, representing an expanded enforcement posture toward...

Cybersecurity risk exposure in academic health systems

March 26, 2026

A new analysis on health-care cyberattacks highlighted how a hospital network shutdown can immediately disrupt patient care workflows and clinical decision-making. The discussion used HBO Max’s...

AI assessments shift: oral exams to verify learning

March 26, 2026

Cornell biomedical engineering is among universities experimenting with “oral defense” exams designed to verify students’ understanding in an era of generative AI. The approach replaces...

Student safety and campus environment pressures

March 26, 2026

A nationwide women’s personal safety survey found that campus-relevant risks shape how students move and whether they participate in evening and off-campus activities. The study reported that 67%...