HEADLINES: Top Higher Education News for the Week

January 14, 2026

The Senate advanced funding bills rejecting steep cuts to research proposed by the Trump administration, Higher Ed Dive reports... State higher education leaders identified economic and workforce development and college affordability as their top priorities in 2026, according to a new report... A report revealed that Michigan public universities generate $45 billion annually in economic activity statewide... Also in Michigan, colleges and universities are expanding humanities education to incarcerated individuals, Michigan Advance reports... Clark Gilbert, co-chair of the ACE's Commission on Faith-based Colleges and Universities, writes in The Chronicle of Higher Education about the benefits of religious colleges.

Senate Advances Bills Rejecting Trump’s Efforts to Slash Research Funding
Higher Ed Dive | Jan. 13, 2025

Economic and Workforce Development Tops State Higher Education Priorities for 2026
The EDU Ledger | Jan. 14, 2025

Michigan Universities Generate $45B in Economic Activity, Report Says
The Detroit News | Jan. 13, 2025

Michigan Prison College Programs Get $750K Grant to Expand Humanities Education
Michigan Advance| Jan. 13, 2025

Religious Colleges Are Booming. Why?
The Chronicle of Higher Education (sub. req.) | Jan. 13, 2025

January 13, 2026

 Kent D. Syverud will be the next president of the University of Michigan, reports The New York Times... Inside Higher Ed covers the announcement by ACE and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching that more than 230 colleges and universities received the 2026 Community Engagement classification... Higher Ed Dive looks at three big takeaways from CIC's Presidents Institute...

January 12, 2026

The Washington Post writes that President Trump's higher education agenda may have lasting impact on research and culture, with ACE President Ted Mitchell commenting that, “For the first time in my memory, the government is seen on campus as a threat, rather than a potential partner."... After a week of talks and a final compromise from the Education Department, an advisory committee on Friday signed off on regulations that would require all postsecondary programs to pass a single earnings test, Inside Higher Ed reports... Higher Ed Dive looks at the share of graduate borrowers who would be harmed by new federal aid cuts... 

Trump’s College Agenda May Have a Lasting Impact on Research, Culture
The Washington Post | Jan. 11, 2026

ED Panel Signs Off on New Earnings Test

Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 9, 2026

How Many Graduate Borrowers Will be Impacted by the Looming Lending Limits? 
Higher Ed Dive | Jan. 9, 2026

January 9, 2026

The Department of Education and a rulemaking committee of stakeholders appeared to be far from agreeing on new accountability regulations heading into the final day of discussions, Inside Higher Ed reports... Higher Ed Dive looks at the share of graduate borrowers who would be harmed by new federal aid cuts... Student parents have been especially harmed by federal funding cuts, Inside Higher Ed reports.

ED Panel Divided as Consensus Vote Looms on Earnings Test
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 8, 2026

January 8, 2026

Higher Ed Dive looks at higher education trends to watch this year and reports on what college presidents see as this year's greatest opportunities and challenges... Community colleges and small rural colleges in Colorado have been especially harmed by federal funding cuts, The Colorado Sun reports... The Grand Forks Heraldspotlights four new college presidents in North and South Dakota... The University of California enrolled a record number of students in 2025, the Los Angeles Times reports.

6 Higher Education Trends t​o Watch in 2026
Higher Ed Dive | Jan. 8, 2026

7 College Presidents on 2026’s Top Challenges and Opportunities
Higher Ed Dive | Jan. 8, 2026

Education Funding Chaos Weighs on Colorado Community and Rural Colleges
The Colorado Sun | Jan. 8, 20256

Introducing New Presidents at Four Colleges in the Region
Grand Forks Herald | Jan. 8, 2026

​UC Sets New Record in California Student Enrollment as It Weathers Trump Challenges
Los Angeles Times | Jan. 8, 2026


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