HEADLINES: Top Higher Education News for the Week

January 20, 2026

Inside Higher Ed and Higher Ed Dive examine the Trump administration’s sweeping upheaval of higher education during its first year in office… Colleges and universities are scrambling to comply with vastly expanded federal admissions data reporting requirements, reports The Hechinger Report reports… The New York Times reports on how Trump administration immigration policies have driven sharp declines in international student enrollment, focusing on the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a case study... A federal court ordered the Education Department to reconsider some previously cut TRIO grants, Inside Higher Ed reports... Alycia Marshall, the new president of the Community College of Philadelphia, spoke with WHYY about leadership, equity, and the role of community colleges in economic mobility…KTVB looks at Idaho’s LAUNCH program, which state officials say is helping more students access postsecondary education.

4 Takeaways From Trump’s First Year in Office
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 20, 2025

Trump 2.0’s Impact on Higher Ed: The First Year in 8 Numbers
Higher Ed Dive | Jan. 20, 2025

Trump’s Admissions Data Collection Strains College Administrators
The Hechinger Report | Jan. 19, 2026

How Trump Made Life Difficult for International Students and UWisconsin
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Jan. 19, 2026

Federal Court Orders Reconsideration of Canceled TRIO Grants
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 20, 2025

Studio 2 Extra: Community College of Philadelphia’s New President Dr. Alycia Marshall
WHYY | Jan. 16, 2026

Idaho LAUNCH Program Expanding Opportunities for Postsecondary Education, Research Shows
KTVB | Jan. 19, 2026

January 16, 2026

The Hill reports that the Education Department will move some employees to the Department of Labor as part of its downsizing, while Democrats in Congress are seeking to block the department’s dismantling, according to Politico... Legislatures in 15 states enacted higher education censorship bills last year, according to a new report... Americans want the United States to be a global leader in science, but views on the state of research differ by political party, according to a new survey.

Education Department Announces Some Personnel Shifting to Labor Department with Programs
The Hill | Jan. 15, 2026

Education Department Breakup a Sticking Point in Spending Talks
Politico | Jan. 15, 2026

Report: State Lawmakers Enacted a Record 21 Censorship Bills in 2025
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 15, 2026

Democrats Say America’s Role as a Scientific Leader Is Slipping, While Republicans Remain Unworried
STAT | Jan 15, 2026

January 15, 2026

Enrollment at colleges and universities climbed to the highest levels in a decade, according to new National Student Clearinghouse Research Center data, and Inside Higher Ed analyzes key trends in these data... A Department of Justice memo declaring funding to Minority-Serving Institutions as unconstitutional poses yet another threat to MSIs, Inside Higher Ed reports... The EDU Ledger looks at how colleges and universities will observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

College Enrollment Hits 10-Year High, Fueled by Community College Growth
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | Jan. 15, 2026

5 Fall 2025 Enrollment Takeaways
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 15, 2026

DOJ Report Compounds MSI Advocates’ Worries
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 15, 2026

Universities Mark MLK Day 2026 with Community Service, Civil Rights Programming
The EDU Ledger | Jan. 14, 2026

January 14, 2026

The Senate advanced funding bills rejecting steep cuts to research proposed by the Trump administration, Higher Ed Dive reports... State higher education leaders identified economic and workforce development and college affordability as their top priorities in 2026, according to a new report... A report revealed that Michigan public universities generate $45 billion annually in economic activity statewide... Also in Michigan, colleges and universities are expanding humanities education to incarcerated individuals, Michigan Advance reports... Clark Gilbert, co-chair of the ACE's Commission on Faith-based Colleges and Universities, writes in The Chronicle of Higher Education about the benefits of religious colleges.

Senate Advances Bills Rejecting Trump’s Efforts to Slash Research Funding
Higher Ed Dive | Jan. 13, 2025

Economic and Workforce Development Tops State Higher Education Priorities for 2026
The EDU Ledger | Jan. 14, 2025

Michigan Universities Generate $45B in Economic Activity, Report Says
The Detroit News | Jan. 13, 2025

Michigan Prison College Programs Get $750K Grant to Expand Humanities Education
Michigan Advance| Jan. 13, 2025

Religious Colleges Are Booming. Why?
The Chronicle of Higher Education (sub. req.) | Jan. 13, 2025

January 13, 2026

Kent D. Syverud will be the next president of the University of Michigan, reports The New York Times... Inside Higher Ed covers the announcement by ACE and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching that more than 230 colleges and universities received the 2026 Community Engagement classification... Higher Ed Dive looks at three big takeaways from CIC's Presidents Institute...

University of Michigan Picks Syracuse Leader as Its Next President
The New York Times | Jan. 12, 2026

Carnegie Recognizes Colleges for Community Engagement
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 13, 2026

3 Big Takeaways from CIC’s Presidents Institute
Higher Ed Dive | Jan. 12, 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

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