HEADLINES: Top Higher Education News for the Week

February 26, 2026

Some Education Department efforts targeting DEI have been blocked, but the Trump administration is continuing its crackdown on DEI, Inside Higher Ed reports… AL.com examines how Alabama’s HBCUs remain resilient amid higher education upheaval, pointing to their origins, traditions, and strong sense of community… NSF is seeking to boost staffing after last year’s cuts while consolidating grant solicitations, Inside Higher Ed reports… The Christian Science Monitor looks at how colleges are supporting students facing food or housing insecurity by expanding basic-needs support services.

ED’s DEI Guidance Is Dead, but Trump’s Crackdown Isn’t
Inside Higher Ed | Feb. 26, 2026

Alabama HBCUs’ Lasting Impact on State, Nation: ‘Freedom’
AL.com | Feb. 25, 2026

NSF Plans to Boost Staffing, Halve Grant Solicitations
Inside Higher Ed | Feb. 26, 2026

3 in 5 US Undergrads Struggle With Basic Needs. How Some Colleges Are Helping.
The Christian Science Monitor | Feb. 2026

February 25, 2026

Minority-Serving Institutions face renewed uncertainty after Congress left room for the Trump administration to redirect or withhold grants, Inside Higher Ed reports… A new poll finds that most students report positive personal experiences with higher education… Higher Education Digest features National University President Mark Milliron discussing leadership, AI, and the future of online learning, while Higher Ed Dive spotlights Drexel University President Antonio Merlo and his efforts to elevate the institution’s national profile.

Congress Gave MSIs Funding, but Uncertainty Looms
Inside Higher Ed | Feb. 25, 2026

Students Report Positive College Experiences Despite Declining Public Confidence, Gallup-Lumina Study Finds
The EDU Ledger | Feb. 24, 2026

Driving Meaningful Change in Higher Education
Higher Education Digest | Feb. 24, 2026

Can Drexel’s New President Make the University Into a Household Name?
Higher Ed Dive | Feb. 23, 2026

February 24, 2026

The Education Department announced two additional interagency agreements that will shift programs to other departments, the Associated Press reports, and Higher Ed Dive looks at how Congress has allowed the Trump administration to dismantle the department... Politico looks at how Congress could address the looming Pell Grant shortfall... The Washington Post spoke with students about benefits and challenges from their dual enrollment experiences... Creighton University President Daniel Hendrickson writes in the Nebraska Examiner about the importance of integrating AI holistically and humanistically.

Education Department Hands off More of Its Responsibilities to Other U.S. Agencies
Associated Press | Feb. 23, 2026

Congress Green-Lights Education Interagency Agreements — With Reservations
Higher Ed Dive | Feb. 24, 2026

How education experts think Congress could save a key grant program
Politico | Feb. 23, 2026

Why So Many High Schoolers Take College Courses — And Their Warnings for Others
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | Feb. 23, 2026

AI Can Enhance Higher Education if Kept Holistic, Human-Centered
Nebraska Examiner | Feb. 24, 2026

February 23, 2026

ACE President Ted Mitchell joined The Chronicle of Higher Education's College Matters podcast to discuss how higher education is responding to federal policy challenges... The New York Times examines the lasting human costs of the Trump administration's attacks on science, and STAT reports how universities have been forced to look for alternative ways to fund research following federal cuts... The Associated Press spotlights the millions of adult learners pursuing college degrees and certificates... A coalition of health care associations, colleges and universities, and advocacy groups is urging the Education Department to expand graduate students’ access to higher loan limits, Inside Higher Ed reports... Saraí Bejarano writes in the San Antonio Report that attending a Hispanic-Serving Institution transformed her life and argues these institutions must be protected to support millions more students.

Can Ted Mitchell Marshal Higher Ed Against Trump?
The Chronicle of Higher Education (sub. req.) | Feb. 18, 2026

The Human Cost of Trump’s War on Science
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Feb. 23, 2026

With Federal Research Funding Uncertain, States Debate New Science Initiatives
STAT | Feb. 20, 2026

Why Adults Pursuing Career Growth or Personal Interests Are the ‘New Majority’ Student
Associated Press | Feb. 22, 2026

Health Care Groups Form Coalition to Fight Loan Caps
Inside Higher Ed | Feb. 23, 2026

Hispanic Serving Institutions Changed My Life. Now I’m Part of the Fight to Protect Them.
San Antonio Report | Feb. 22, 2026

February 20, 2026

The Trump administration agreed to drop an appeal against a federal court’s preliminary injunction that blocked its mass grant cancellations and efforts to extract monetary penalties and policy changes from the University of California, Higher Ed Dive reported. . .Inside Higher Ed looks at how the University of Denver’s Compassion Lab helps students navigate disagreement and prepare for workplace success. . .Wisconsin Public Radio explores how campus child care facilities can help parents access and succeed in higher education. . .

Trump Administration Drops Appeal Over Its $1.2B Demand from UC System
Higher Ed Dive | Feb. 20, 2026

How One College Teaches Students Compassion
Inside Higher Ed | Feb. 20, 2026

Wisconsin’s Campus Child Care Facilities Offer Parents Foothold in Higher Education
Wisconsin Public Radio | Feb. 20, 2026

News RoomACE In the News

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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

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ACE Op-Eds

Letters to the Editor

Higher Education News Links

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