HEADLINES: Top Higher Education News for the Week

October 17, 2025

The University of Pennsylvania and the University of Southern California joined Brown University and MIT in declining to sign the Trump administration's higher education compact... Connecticut College President Andrea Chapdelaine writes in Inside Higher Ed about the vital role small colleges play in research and the unique opportunities they provide for students to engage in faculty-led projects... Radenka Mari, a Bosnian-born engineer who is University of Connecticut's president, told Times Higher Education that her academic career shows how the United States has supported foreign academics like no other country... Louisiana colleges are expanding entrepreneurship programs, incubators, and pitch competitions to help undergraduates launch lasting startups in the state, NOLA.com reports.

Penn and U.S.C. Become Latest Universities to Reject White House Deal
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Oct. 16, 2025

The Case for Sustaining Undergraduate Research at Small Colleges
Inside Higher Ed | Oct. 17, 2025

Foreign Academics Won’t Give Up on American Dream, Says Bosnian-Born President
Times Higher Education | Oct. 17, 2025

Louisiana Colleges Help Undergraduate Entrepreneurs Build Businesses That Will Stick Around
NOLA.com | Oct. 17, 2025

October 16, 2025

Most Americans oppose the Trump administration’s higher education funding cuts and continue to trust universities more than many other institutions, according to a new poll… Higher education leaders and advocates are opposing the Trump administration’s proposal to require new admissions data reporting, Inside Higher Ed reports… Brown University joined MIT in rejecting the Trump administration’s proposed compact… A group of Republican lawmakers is urging Education Secretary Linda McMahon to reverse cuts to Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Higher Ed Dive reports… Georgetown University has named Eduardo M. Peñalver, president of institution Seattle University, as its next president.

Survey: Americans Overwhelmingly Oppose Trump’s Higher Ed Cuts
Inside Higher Ed | Oct. 16, 2025

Colleges Push Back Against Trump’s Effort to Collect More Admissions Data
Inside Higher Ed | Oct. 16, 2025

Brown University Rejects Trump’s Higher Education ‘Compact’
The Boston Globe (sub. req.) | Oct. 15, 2025

Republican Lawmakers Ask McMahon To Restore Funding for Hispanic-Serving Colleges
Higher Ed Dive | Oct. 15, 2025

Georgetown University Has Named Its Next President. Meet Eduardo Peñalver.
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | Oct. 15, 2025

October 15, 2025

Inside Higher Ed and The Chronicle of Higher Education cover the Trump administration's invitation to all colleges and universities to sign its compact... The Trump administration's higher education cuts have especially hurt community colleges, reports The Washington Post... The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights and Office of Special Education Programs were slashed in the latest rounds of layoffs at the agency, The New York Times reports... West Virginia University Michael Benson outlined his vision for the institution in his first state of the university address, West Virginia Public Broadcasting reports.

Deciphering Trump’s Compact Invitation to All of Higher Ed
Inside Higher Ed | Oct. 15, 2025

Dartmouth’s President Balks at Trump Compact, Sources Say, as Feds Expand Offer to ‘Any Institution’
The Chronicle of Higher Education (sub. req.) | Oct. 14, 2025

Community Colleges Are Losing Millions in Funding Under Trump
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | Oct. 15, 2025

White House Guts Education Department With More Layoffs
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Oct. 14, 2025

New WVU President Establishes Lofty Goals For University
West Virginia Public Broadcasting | Oct. 14, 2025

October 14, 2025

ACE President Ted Mitchell is among those supporting MIT's decision not to sign the Trump administration's proposed "compact," reports Politico...The Wall Street Journal editorializes that MIT declined the federal compact on persuasive grounds... Bloomberg reports that the Trump administration is offering its compact to all U.S. higher education institutions... Inside Higher Ed looks at how the government shutdown is harming research at colleges and universities... Student support services are at risk of being eliminated after the Trump administration cut funding for Minority-Serving Institutions, the Los Angeles Times reports.

‘One-Sided Deal’: College Presidents See Trump Offer Rife With Peril
Politico | Oct. 11, 2025

Trump, Merit and MIT
The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) | Oct. 10, 2025

Trump Offers All Colleges Preferential Funding Plan Rejected by MIT
Bloomberg (sub. req.) | Oct. 13, 2025

Already Battered by Cuts, Researchers and Colleges Face Federal Shutdown Impacts
Inside Higher Ed | Oct. 14, 2025

Student Programs in Peril After Federal Cuts at Latino-Serving Community Colleges
Los Angeles Times (sub. req.) | Oct. 14, 2025

October 10, 2025

ACE President Ted Mitchell joined AirTalk on LAist to discuss the compact that the Trump administration sent nine schools and the broader attacks on higher education... As the Supreme Court begins its new term, higher education cases are expected to feature prominently, Inside Higher Ed reports... Ohio State University President Ted Carter Jr. writes in The Columbus Dispatch that the university’s new strategic vision can strengthen Ohio’s workforce and expand higher education’s impact statewide... Colorado colleges are losing millions after the Trump administration ended federal grants for Minority-Serving Institutions, The Denver Post reports...

U.S. Colleges Asked To Sign Trump Administration Compact for Access to Federal Funding
LAist | Oct. 9, 2025

Higher Ed Will Likely Be a Key Topic for SCOTUS. Which Cases Will Make the Cut?
Inside Higher Ed | Oct. 10, 2025

OPINION: Ohio State President's 10-Year Plan is Taking Shape
The Columbus Dispatch (sub. req.) | Oct. 10, 2025

Trump Cuts Grants to Colorado’s Minority-Serving Institutions
The Denver Post | Oct. 9, 2025

News RoomACE In the News

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ACE Op-Eds

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

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