HEADLINES: Top Higher Education News for the Week

January 8, 2025

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 Herald spotlights 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, 2025

7 College Presidents on 2026’s Top Challenges and Opportunities
Higher Ed Dive | Jan. 8, 2025

Education Funding Chaos Weighs on Colorado Community and Rural Colleges
The Colorado Sun | Jan. 8, 2025​

Introducing New Presidents at Four Colleges in the Region
Grand Forks Herald | Jan. 8, 2025

​UC Sets New Record in California Student Enrollment as It Weathers Trump Challenges
Los Angeles Times | Jan. 8, 2025

January 7, 2025

​Congressional appropriators have rejected President Trump’s proposed deep cuts to federal science agencies, opting instead to keep funding for NSF, NASA science, and Energy research programs near current levels, Science reports… Inside Higher Ed examines how the Education Department is directing $169 million in grants toward the Trump administration’s policy priorities… New graduate loan caps could disproportionately harm students with low credit scores, raising concerns about access to graduate education, Inside Higher Ed reports… Frank Weller, president of Great Lakes Christian College, writes in Christian Standard about why he remains optimistic about the future of Christian higher education… Caltech has named Johns Hopkins provost Ray Jayawardhana as its next president.

Congress Set to Reject Trump’s Major Budget Cuts to NSF, NASA, and Energy Science
Science | Jan. 5, 2026

The Trump Administration Put $169M Toward Its Priorities. Here’s Where the Money Went
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 6, 2026​

Grad Loan Caps Could Hurt Students With Low Credit Scores
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 7, 2026

Why I’m Optimistic About the Future of Christian Higher Education, and Why You Should Be Too
Christian Standard | Jan. 6, 2026

Caltech Names New President, an Astrophysicist Who Vows to Empower ‘Brilliant Minds’
Los Angeles Times (sub. req.)| Jan. 7, 2026​

January 6, 2025

A federal appeals court has blocked the Trump administration from sharply cutting NIH research funding, The New York Times reports… Inside Higher Ed reports that NIH has approved hundreds of grant applications it previously denied or shelved… Inside Higher Ed also examines a new Education Department proposal to streamline accountability measures… The PIE looks ahead at what 2026 could bring for U.S. international education.​

Appeals Court Upholds Prohibition on Trump’s Medical Research Cuts
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Jan. 5, 2026

NIH Approves Hundreds of Grant Applications It Shelved or Denied
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 2, 2026

ED Plans to ‘Harmonize’ Accountability Metrics
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 6, 2026

What Will 2026 Bring for U.S. International Education?
The PIE | Jan. 5, 2026

January 5, 2025

​​Inside Higher Ed examines congressional Republicans’ higher education agenda for 2026… Politico reports on President Trump’s effort to lock in his education policies through an aggressive regulatory push… ACE President Ted Mitchell spoke with U.S. News about major higher education policy developments in 2025 and what issues exist in 2026… The Washington Post looks at how cuts to financial aid will reshape how students access higher education… Foreign countries are ramping up efforts to recruit top U.S. talent impacted by the Trump administration's research funding cuts, Higher Ed Dive reports... Michael Nietzel highlights in Forbes six higher education issues to watch in state legislatures this year.

Congressional Republicans Look to Build on 2025 Higher Ed Reforms
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 5, 2026​

Politico | Jan. 4, 2026

How Student Loans and Financial Aid Are Changing in 2026

The Washington Post (sub. req.)| Jan. 2, 2026

Will Higher Education Researchers Leave for Opportunities Abroad?
Higher Ed Dive | Jan. 5, 2026

Six Higher Education Issues To Watch In State Legislatures This Year
Forbes | Jan. 4, 2025​

December 22, 2025

​​The Chronicle of Higher Education looks at the impact of rising costs on college and university budgets...Higher Ed Dive explores how community colleges are training the next generation of manufacturing workers...The New York Times reports on what is known about the suspect who carried out the mass shooting at Brown University and the killing of an M.I.T. professor...

These Rising Costs Are Squeezing College Budgets
The Chronicle of Higher Education | Dec. 19, 2025

Community Colleges Are Training the Next Generation of Manufacturing Workers
Higher Ed Dive | Dec. 22, 2025

Brown Shooting and an M.I.T. Professor’s Killing: What We Know
The New York Times | Dec. 20, 2025


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