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State rules and bargaining maps reshape faculty rights — Indiana sanctions, Virginia excludes faculty from new bargaining
State‑level policy is remaking faculty governance and employment protections. Indiana University sanctioned a faculty member under the state’s intellectual‑diversity law after a classroom...
Education Dept. ramps up probes — Harvard and Cornell face federal scrutiny
The U.S. Department of Education opened new investigations into Harvard while federal scrutiny also returned to Cornell after a recent settlement and fine. The Education Department’s inquiries...
State laws tighten faculty oversight: Indiana sanction, Virginia bargaining exclusions
Indiana University Bloomington disciplined a tenured professor under a two‑year‑old state ‘intellectual diversity’ law after a student complaint about in‑class remarks, producing a formal...
Universities trim programs amid deficits — community college and Leicester axe courses
Financial strain forced Lane Community College leaders to propose eliminating roughly 20 positions and suspending two programs to close a projected $4.2 million shortfall for fiscal 2027. The...
Faculty and staff strikes halt campuses — NYU, Portland confront labor standoffs
Faculty and classified staff walked off campuses this week, halting classes and services at two multi‑campus institutions. Portland Community College’s classified and faculty unions continued a...
Assessment reboot... Sydney and Cornell pilot AI‑era fixes
The University of Sydney rolled out a menu‑style set of assignment options that permit AI use for most out‑of‑class work while preserving proctored, human‑assessed in‑class tasks—a redesign aimed...
Campus tech arms race: chatbots and Canvas roll out teaching agents
Colleges are facing a new competitor in classroom instruction: commercial AI chatbots and vendor‑built teaching agents. Faculty report students increasingly rely on general chatbots for research...
Students fear AI harms thinking — research shows homogenized outputs
Surveys and academic research show growing alarm among students and instructors that generative AI is undermining critical thinking and producing highly similar, model‑generated essays. A RAND...
Presidential turnover and protest — new hires amid Bard and Ohio State turmoil
Several campuses installed new presidents this cycle as others resigned amid controversies. Ohio State announced Ravi V. Bellamkonda as its 18th president three days after Walter Carter Jr.’s...
Colleges double down on career readiness: major‑finder courses and life‑skills curricula
Institutions are scaling curricular interventions aimed at faster career outcomes. The University of Delaware’s University Studies course guides first‑year students through major exploration using...
Student finance in flux: Treasury to assume loans, groups press Congress on Pell
The federal government signaled a major restructuring of student‑debt administration: Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced a plan to shift responsibility for the nearly $1.7 trillion...
Federal scrutiny widens: Cornell hit with fresh probe; Harvard faces two investigations
Federal investigators opened a new inquiry into Cornell University following a recent settlement and fine, the Chronicle reports, signalling heightened federal oversight of campus compliance. The...
Campus climate: Boston University yanks pride flags — Bard students mobilize over presidential investigation
Boston University removed pride flags from a campus display citing a rule on hanging signs, a move that scholars and faculty say risks chilling protest and debate on campus. Administrators pointed...
Programs on the chopping block: U.S. community college and UK university announce cuts
Lane Community College told trustees it could eliminate roughly 20 positions and close two programs as part of a plan to erase a projected $4.2 million shortfall for fiscal 2027. Leaders said cuts...
Students and tests: RAND survey flags AI anxiety — assessment experts weigh pros and cons
A RAND Corporation survey found majorities of middle, high school and college students say AI use is eroding critical thinking—70% of college students and nearly seven in ten K‑12 students...
Teaching vs. chatbots: Canvas and colleges roll out AI agents as faculty push back
Canvas introduced an AI teaching agent designed to automate low‑value faculty tasks and accelerate workflows, positioning the tool as a time‑saver while stopping short of full grading automation....
Labor and oversight: NYU faculty strike while accreditors face federal rebuke
About 950 full‑time non‑tenure‑track faculty at New York University walked out in a pay and job‑security strike, the institution said classes would continue but the labor action underscores...
Federal funding and loans: Treasury to collect student debt—advocates warn Pell gaps remain
Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced a plan to shift responsibility for the roughly $1.7 trillion federal student loan portfolio to the Treasury Department, starting with loans in default....
Cross‑border campuses and visa barriers: UK universities push into India while some nations face study‑visa bans
Nine UK universities, including York and Southampton, are moving to open campuses in India as post‑2020 policy changes allowed foreign institutions to establish operations there. Universities...
Curriculum redesign: Drexel to launch 3‑year MD; Gies Business doubles down on practice
Drexel University announced a three‑year medical program launching for the 2028–29 academic year to shorten training, reduce student debt and accelerate physicians into shortage specialties....