HEADLINES: Top Higher Education News for the Week

December 19, 2025

The Hechinger Report looks back at how education shifted under Trump this year, and Inside Higher Ed assesses a turbulent year for research... Sonny Perdue, chancellor of the University System of Georgia, writes in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that higher education has countless benefits for students... The Education Department has a backlog of more than 800,000 applications for income-driven loan repayment plans, according to a new court filing... Denver's 5280 Magazine looks at how federal cuts to the College Assistance Migrant Program are preventing students from accessing higher education.

How Education Changed in One Year under Trump
The Hechinger Report | Dec.18, 2025​

The Year That Changed Research
Inside Higher Ed | Dec. 19, 2025

Sonny Perdue: College Still Pays. We Can’t Afford to Pretend Otherwise.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | Dec. 19, 2025

AFT Pushes Back on Slow Loan Repayment Processing
Inside Higher Ed | Dec. 19, 2025

A Federal Freeze Cut a Lifeline For Colorado’s Migrant College Students
5280 Magazine | Dec. 18, 2025

December 18, 2025

Inside Higher Ed rounds up the year’s biggest moments in a photo slideshow and revisits the most consequential higher ed policy stories on The Key podcast... Whitworth University President Scott McQuilkin writes in The Journal of Business about the importance of aligning education, industry needs, and community values... Bryon Grigsby, president of Moravian University, writes in The Morning Call that colleges and universities can help solve aviation's workforce gaps... Los Rios Community College District has named Torence Powell as its next chancellor.

The Year in Photos
Inside Higher Ed | Dec. 18, 2025

The Key Podcast: Higher Ed Policy in 2025
Inside Higher Ed | Dec. 18, 2025

Our Civic DNA: A Partnership between Business and Higher Education to Boost Our Future Labor Market
The Journal of Business | Dec. 18, 2025

Opinion: Universities Must Step up as Aviation’s Workforce Gap Widens
The Morning Call | Dec. 18, 2025

Los Rios Names Torence Powell As Its Next Chancellor
The Observer | Dec. 15, 2025

December 17, 2025

A meeting of the federal advisory committee that oversees college accreditors, now staffed with some new Trump appointees, featured fiery rhetoric toward accreditors and scrutiny of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, Inside Higher Ed reports... The Trump administration expanded travel restrictions to include 20 additional countries... A group of 20 states filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's $100,000  H-1B visa fee, adding to at least two other legal challenges, Higher Ed Dive reports... Inside Higher Ed looks at how federal research agencies are alerting their grant review processes... STAT reports on a growing exodus of U.S. scientists as Trump administration policies fuel uncertainty around research...

“Buckle Up”: Trump Official Pledges to Fix Accreditation
Inside Higher Ed | Dec. 17, 2025

Trump Expands Travel Ban and Restrictions to 20 More Countries
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Dec. 16, 2025

State AGs Launch Third Lawsuit Seeking to Stop Trump’s H-1B Fee
Higher Ed Dive | Dec. 16, 2025

NSF Lowers Grant Review Requirements, NIH Hunts for Phrases
Inside Higher Ed | Dec. 17, 2025

Amid Talk of a Brain Drain, Some Scientists Leave U.S. Behind
STAT | Dec. 17, 2025

December 16, 2025

The Chronicle of Higher Education looks at the Trump administration's efforts to reshape college accreditation...The Department of Education launched a  $15 million grant program to promote the development of systems that track credentials, employment records, and skills of students and graduates, Inside Higher Ed reports... Nine in 10 international students reported being fearful about their student visa status, according to a new survey... Alexander Mayer, MDRC's director of postsecondary education, writes in The Hechinger Report that workforce Pell could be highly beneficial for students so long as proper supports are implemented.

Trump’s Higher-Ed Policy Fight
The Chronicle of Higher Education (sub. req.) | Dec. 15, 2025

Education Department Creates $15M Fund for Talent Marketplaces
Inside Higher Ed | Dec. 16, 2025

Nine in 10 International Students Fear for U.S. Visa Status
The PIE | Dec. 15, 2025

Opinion: Workforce Pell Can Lead to Good Jobs for Students if They Get the Support Needed for Long-Term Success
The Hechinger Report | Dec. 16, 2025

December 15, 2025

The Brown University community is reeling in the aftermath of a mass shooting on campus, President Christina Paxson said... A negotiated rulemaking panel agreed on proposed regulations that would allow students to use Pell Grants at some short-term programs, Inside Higher Ed reports... A bipartisan coalition of over 100 lawmakers is calling on the Education Department to designate nursing as a professional degree, The Hill reports... Cuts to graduate federal financial aid have left universities working to figure out how to help students access graduate programs, Inside Higher Ed reports... An essay in The Conversation explores how the NIH became a cornerstone of U.S. research and the risks of slashing its funding.

Shooter in Brown University Mass Shooting Still on the Run as Authorities Release Detained Perso
The Boston Globe (sub. req.) | Dec. 15, 2025

Consensus Reached on Workforce Pell, Earnings Test Looms
Inside Higher Ed | Dec. 15, 2025


​


News RoomACE In the News

 

Explore More

ACE Op-Eds

Letters to the Editor

Higher Education News Links