HEADLINES: Top Higher Education News for the Week

November 21, 2025

While the restructuring at the Education Department doesn’t involve the federal student loan portfolio, experts warn the instability could still harm borrowers, CNBC reports... Tribal leaders and education advocates said the Education Department failed to meet a statutory requirement by not consulting with tribes before announcing the transfer of Native American education programs to other federal agencies, the Associated Press reports... The number of National Science Foundation grants fell this year by 20 percent, though the cumulative funding total remained steady, Science reports... WABE reports on the challenges DACA recipients and DACA-eligible people still face as the program remains in legal limbo... The New York Times looks at the enduring success and value of college radio stations.

Education Department Restructuring Plan Doesn’t Involve Student Debt. Still, Experts Are Worried
CNBC | Nov. 20, 2025

Tribal Leaders Say Trump Administration Failed To Consult With Them on Education Department Changes
Associated Press | Nov. 20, 2025

Despite Trump Chaos, NSF Avoided Feared Dip in Research Financing
Science | Nov. 19, 2025

Stuck in a DACA Tug of War, Young College Educated Georgia Residents’ Lives Are Stalled
WABE | Nov. 20, 2025

College Radio Keeps Its Cool
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Nov. 20, 2025

November 20, 2025

The presidents of Dartmouth College, Babson College, and Assumption University discussed the future of higher education on a Boston Globe panel... The EDU Ledger reports on a new study that outlines how governing boards can actively advance student success, particularly for underrepresented populations... Duquesne University selected David Dausey, the university's current provost, to serve as its next president.

Colleges Aren’t ‘Social Advocacy Organizations,’ Dartmouth President Tells Globe Summit Audience
The Boston Globe (sub. req.) | Nov. 18, 2025

New Report Shows How Governing Boards Can Drive Student Success at Public Institutions
The EDU Ledger | Nov. 20

Duquesne University Selects David Dausey as Next President
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | Nov. 19, 2025

November 19, 2025

The Trump administration announced plans to move many higher education programs from the Education Department to other federal agencies... Inside Higher Ed covers reactions to the announcement, including ACE President Ted Mitchell's statement condemning the policy, and Politico reports that Republican lawmakers are skeptical of the administration's plans... The Trump administration's higher education policies are creating serious challenges for community colleges, PBS reports... The Guardian reports that The State Department is proposing to suspend 38 universities from a federal research partnership program where researchers assist federal offices with foreign policy challenges... New York Institute of Technology President Jerry Balentine writes in The Wall Street Journal that colleges and universities must strive to ensure students learn how to effectively use artificial intelligence.

Trump Administration Announces Dismantling of Parts of Education Dept.
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | Nov. 18, 2025

Dismantling of ED Prompts Flurry of Reactions
Inside Higher Ed | Nov. 19, 2025

Why Republicans Are Worried About Trump’s Plans To Split the Education Department
Politico | Nov. 18, 2025

Community Colleges Face New Challenges as Trump’s Battles With Higher Education
PBS | Nov. 18, 2025

State Department To Cut 38 Universities From Research Program Over DEI Policies
The Guardian | Nov. 19, 2025

Universities Need More AI, Not Less
The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) | Nov. 18, 2025

November 18, 2025

The presidents of Dartmouth, Wesleyan, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison share with The New York Times their perspectives on the Trump administration's upheaval to higher education... Tribal Colleges and Universities are feeling uneasiness as they navigate the impacts of massive shifts in federal spending, the Associated Press reports... Inside Higher Ed explains how borrowers will be impacted by the significant student loan overhaul enacted as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act... Democratic lawmakers are trying to prevent the Trump administration from selling the government’s student loan portfolio to the private market, The Hill reports... An op-ed in EdSource showcases how colleges in Los Angeles are leading are efforts to combat California’s nursing shortage.

‘We Need to Be Worried’: Three University Leaders on the Fate of Higher Education in the Trump Era
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Nov. 18, 2025

Tribal College Leaders Are Uneasy About Us Financial Commitments Despite a Funding Increase
Associated Press | Nov. 17, 2025

What to Know About Crucial Changes to Student Loans
Inside Higher Ed | Nov. 18, 2025

Democrats Seek to Halt Trump’s Reported Plan To Sell off Student Loan Portfolio
The Hill | Nov. 17, 2025

How Los Angeles colleges are leading a regional effort to solve California’s nursing shortage
EdSource | Nov. 17, 2025

November 17, 2025

The number of international college students enrolling in U.S. institutions decreased by 17 percent this fall, according to the Institute of International Education's Open Doors Report... A federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s $1.2-billion fine against UCLA, the Los Angeles Times reports... NPR spoke with community college presidents about how the Trump administration's higher education policies are affecting their institutions... The Trump administration’s seismic policy shifts are creating challenges for religiously affiliated colleges, Inside Higher Ed reports... Byron Brooks, chair of the Nevada System of Higher Education’s Board of Regents, writes in the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Nevada colleges provide strong return on investment for students.

New International Student Enrollments Plummeted This Fall, Survey Finds
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Nov. 17, 2025

Judge Blocks Trump Administration Push to Fine UCLA $1.2 Billion for Alleged Antisemitism
Los Angeles Times (sub. req.) | Nov. 14, 2025

Three Community College Presidents Discuss the Trump Administration’s Impact on Them
NPR | Nov. 16, 2025

Faith-Based Institutions Navigate Trump’s Higher Ed Policy Changes
Inside Higher Ed | Nov. 17, 2025

Commentary: Nevada System of Higher Ed Delivers Bang for the Buck
Las Vegas Review-Journal | Nov. 16, 2025

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

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