HEADLINES: Top Higher Education News for the Week

April 17, 2026

Higher Ed Dive reports on a study by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education finding that gifts to U.S. colleges and universities rose by 4% year-over-year, while Fortune writes about philanthropist MacKenzie Scott's contributions to HBCUs and community colleges. . .Inside Higher Ed looks in separate stories at how civil rights law is being used to target antisemitism on campuses and, in a story reported by Times Higher Education, at how virtual fellowships are a lifeline for Gazan academics . . .

Donations to Colleges Hold Steady Amid Higher Ed Disruption
Higher Ed Dive | April 14, 2026

MacKenzie Scott is Bypassing the Ivy League and Rewriting the $79 Billion Higher Ed Playbook by Giving to HBCUs and Community Colleges
Forbes (sub. req.) | April 16, 2026

A ‘Legal Movement’ Against Campus Antisemitism
Inside Higher Edv | April 17, 2026

Virtual Fellowships a ‘Lifeline’ for Gazan Academics
Inside Higher Ed | April 17, 2026

April 16, 2026

An Inside Higher Ed analysis finds that fewer college and university leaders have a seat at the accreditation negotiating table compared to a similar rule-making effort in 2019. . .Yale University is weighing changes to admissions and grading policies to help raise public trust in higher education, after releasing a report on the topic, writes The Washington Post. . .University of Georgia System Chancellor Sonny Perdue has announced he will retire. . .

In Accreditation Talks, Colleges and Accreditors Have Fewer Votes
Inside Higher Ed | April 16, 2026

Yale Considers Changes to Admissions, Grading to Regain Trust in Higher Ed
The Washington Post | April 15, 2026

Sonny Perdue to Retire From Georgia's University System
Savannah Morning News | April 16, 2026

April 15, 2026

After fierce advocacy efforts from college leaders and students, Maine is permanently funding the state's free college program, writes Inside Higher Ed . . .Kent Syverud, Syracuse University chancellor and University of Michigan president-elect, is stepping down after his cancer diagnosis, reports The Detroit News. . .Higher Ed Dive looks at how two institutions are using AI to support nontraditional learners. . .

After Uncertainty, Maine’s Free College Program Is Here to Stay
Inside Higher Ed | April 15, 2026

University of Michigan President-Elect Diagnosed With Cancer, Steps Down
The Detroit News | April 15, 2026

‘There Is No Silver Bullet’: How 2 Colleges Use AI to Support Nontraditional Learners
Higher Ed Dive | April 15, 2026

April 14, 2026

A federal judge ruled Monday that institutional members of six higher education associations, along with six private nonprofit colleges, will now have until April 24 to submit admissions data broken down by race and sex to the Department of Education, Higher Ed Dive reports, while Inside Higher Ed also looks at the issue of whether institutions that have submitted data are protected from fines and investigation. . .Susan Ballabina has been named as the sole finalist for president of Texas A&M University, writes Texas Monthly. . .The National Conference on Higher Education in Prison wrapped up Friday in Ohio. . .

Dozens of Colleges Get More Time to Submit Race and Sex Admissions Data
Higher Ed Dive | April 14, 2026

In Admissions Data Legal Fight, Colleges Want Protection From Punishment
Inside Higher Ed | April 14, 2026

Executive Vice Chancellor Named the Sole finalist to Be Texas A&M President
Texas Monthly | April 13, 2026

Hundreds Come to Ohio to Discuss Higher Ed in Prison
The Ohio Newsroom | April 13, 2026

April 13, 2026

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that higher education and legal experts are warning that the Education Department's proposed accreditation rules and how the department is handling the process may violate federal law and regulations. . . Inside Higher Ed looks at the potential fallout from the Trump administration's decision to rescind some Title IX agreements. . . The Hechinger Report, in a story carried by NPR, writes about a new projection showing that a number of private colleges are at risk of closing. . .

Many of the Education Dept.’s Accreditation Ideas May Be Illegal
The Chronicle of Higher Education (sub. req.) | April 10, 2026

Rescinding Title IX Agreements Risks Further Fracturing Trump–Higher Ed Relationship
Inside Higher Ed | April 13, 2026

More Than a Quarter of Private Colleges Are at Risk of Closing, a New Projection Shows
NPR | April 10, 2026

News RoomACE In the News

Explore More

ACE Op-Eds

Trump’s ‘Compact’ Is Bad for Colleges – And Bad for America
U.S. News | Oct. 20, 2025
Americans Need to Work Together to Fix Education. We’ve Both Done It Before on Opposite Sides
Fox News | July 9, 2025
Here’s Why We Cannot Permit America’s Partnership With Higher Education to Weaken or Dissolve
The Hechinger Report | March 18, 2025
The Only Certainty Is Uncertainty
Inside Higher Ed | July 2, 2024
Protect, Teach, Enforce
Inside Higher Ed | June 25, 2024
AI Can Transform the Classroom Just Like the Calculator
Scientific American | April 17, 2024
There’s a Temporary Fix to the FAFSA Mess — All Colleges Must Extend Decision Deadlines
The Hechinger Report | March 26, 2024
Answering the Call
Inside Higher Ed | March 19, 2024
Every FAFSA Delay Puts College Further Out of Reach
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Feb. 8, 2024
Don’t Dash Opportunity for America’s College Students
The Hill | Aug. 16, 2023
‘Fire the Accreditors’ Is a Bad—and Illegal—Idea
Inside Higher Ed | June 28, 2023
This Is How To Keep Academic Freedom Alive in America
Newsweek | March 23, 2023
Why U.S. News May Have to Rethink How It Creates College Rankings
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | Sept. 14, 2022
Canceling Student Loan Debt Is Just the Start
The Hill | July 1, 2022
Want to Reduce Hunger Among College Students? Stop Taxing Their Pell Grants
The Hill | Feb. 10, 2022
Doubling the Pell Grant Invests in America's Future
The Hill | Sept. 3, 2021
Making Equity Everyone’s Work
Diverse: Issues In Higher Education | March 31, 2021
Dropping the Ball
Inside Higher Ed | March 4, 2021
The Quickest And Most Effective Way Biden Can Help Millions of Americans Go to College
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | Jan. 30, 2021
Liberal, Conservative or Somewhere in the Middle?
Inside Higher Ed | Oct. 19, 2020
Should Congress Provide Additional Pandemic Relief for Colleges and Universities?
CQ Researcher | Sept. 11, 2020
The Biggest Danger to U.S. Higher Education? Losing 20 Years’ Worth of Gains in Access for First-generation and Minority Students
The Hechinger Report | Aug. 11, 2020
Our Country's Future Education Depends on Actions Congress Takes
The Hill | July 20, 2020
Why Trump’s Move to Force International Students to Take In-person Classes This Fall Is Being Blasted as Harmful
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | July 8, 2020
Supreme Court Has Ruled on DACA, Now It's Time for Congress to Act
The Hill | June 20, 2020
College Closings, Economic Upheaval Make a Case for Blockchain Adoption
Education Dive | June 18, 2020
Are Campus Leaders Prepared for the Impact of the Racial Crisis?
Inside Higher Ed | June 15, 2020
College in a Pandemic is Tough Enough — Without Reliable Broadband Access, It’s Nearly Impossible
The Hechinger Report | June 9, 2020
How College Students Can Help Reopen America
Inside Higher Ed | May 18, 2020
A Call for Ideas to Help Student Parents Succeed During and After COVID-19
Education Dive | May 6, 2020
The Courage of Medical Students
Inside Higher Ed | April 20, 2020
University Research is Key to COVID-19 Breakthroughs, Serving the Public Good
The Hill | March 23, 2020
Safeguarding Research on Campuses Against Foreign Threats
Inside Higher Ed | March 9, 2020
In Appreciation of a Public Servant
Inside Higher Ed | Dec. 9, 2019
Mental Health Challenges Require Urgent Response
Inside Higher Ed | Oct. 29, 2019
Guns on America's Campuses: Let the Colleges Decide
The Hill | Sept. 9, 2019
The Invisible China Threat: University Intellectual Property
The Hill | July 30, 2019
Ending the Stigma for College Students With Learning Disabilities
The Hechinger Report | July 16, 2019
Providing Prisoners With Expanded Access to Higher Education Is the Smart Thing to Do
The Hill | July 5, 2019
No Retreat
Inside Higher Ed | June 10, 2019
Ted Mitchell: Congress Must Act to Protect Dreamers Still Living in Legal Limbo
Fox News | May 21, 2019
Taxing College Scholarships: A Travesty to Low-income and Middle-class Students
The Hill | May 20, 2019
Black Students' 'Unprecedented and Unequal' College Debt Should Cause Alarm
The Hechinger Report | Feb. 19, 2019
Congress Must End the Purgatory for ‘Dreamers’
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | Nov. 9, 2018
Higher Education Must Clean Out Its ‘Front Porch’
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | April 25, 2018
Only in America
Inside Higher Ed | Feb. 15, 2018
FCC’s Proposed Internet Rules Could Raise College Costs and Hinder Free Exchange of Ideas
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | Dec. 8, 2017
The House GOP Tax Bill Would Raise the Cost of College. We Can’t Let That Happen.
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | Nov. 6, 2017
Why Most Republicans Don’t Like Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education | July 19, 2017
History, Moral Leadership, and Georgetown
The Washington Post | April 26, 2017
The Supreme Court Frees Colleges to Sensibly Pursue Diversity
The Chronicle of Higher Education | June 24, 2016

Letters to the Editor

Higher Education Must Rediscover Its Purpose
The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) | Jan. 29, 2024
Don’t Blame Student Loan Debt on the Few Schools With Large Endowments
The Boston Globe (sub. req.) | Sept. 11, 2022
College Is Worth It
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Oct. 29, 2021
The Harsh New Reality Schools Are Facing on Title IX
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | May 24, 2020
The Flaw in a Higher Education Bill
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Dec. 1, 2019
How Long Will ‘Dreamers’ Have to Live in Limbo?
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | July 30, 2019
Readers Critique The Post: Ageism, Skateboarding, and the International Space Station
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | July 5, 2019
Blame the NBA, Not the NCAA, for Big-Time Athletes’ Dilemma
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | Feb. 25, 2019
Weighing the Value of College
The New York Times (sub. req.) | May 26, 2018
Feds Must Help Colleges Reform and Change
The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) | May 23, 2018
Making College More Diverse Takes Hard, Customized Work
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | April 2, 2018
How to Assess What Students Have Learned
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Feb. 26, 2018
Tulane’s 41% Student Sexual Assault Rate
The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) | Feb. 15, 2018
Should Rich College Endowments Be Taxed?
The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) | Nov. 20, 2017
Proposed Tax on Private College Endowments Will Hurt Students
MinnPost (MN) | Nov. 16, 2017
The Dreamers Are a Good Part of America’s Future
The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) | July 25, 2017

HEADLINES: Top Higher Education News for the Week

Explore More​​

ACE Op-Eds

Letters to the Editor

Higher Education News Links

Explore More