HEADLINES: Top Higher Education News for the Week

May 19, 2026

The Department of Education has released a final Workforce Pell Grant rule. . .The University of Arizona is making an intentional effort to lower its student numbers, writes The Chronicle of Higher Education. . .Stuart R. Bell has been named the sole finalist for the presidency of the University of Florida. . .

Workforce Pell Regulations Finalized
Inside Higher Ed (sub. req.) | May 19, 2026

The University That Chose to Shrink
The Chronicle of Higher Education (sub. req.)| May 18, 2026x

University of Florida Selects Dr. Stuart Bell as Sole Finalist for 14th President
The Gainesville Sun | May 13, 2026

May 18, 2026

Inside Higher Ed reports that colleges and universities are adjusting their internal operations and oversight structures to comply with incoming federal rules on the college accreditation process . . . NPR looks at how selective colleges successfully wooed rural students to boost application numbers, though the institutions now face the tougher challenge of getting them to enroll . . . The University of Chicago has announced a major financial aid expansion that will fully cover undergraduate tuition for students whose families earn less than $250,000 per year . . . Axios highlights a significant policy shift as President Trump hardens his stance on immigration, abandoning his past expressions of sympathy for DACA recipients.

Institutions Prepare for New Accreditation Regulations
Inside Higher Ed (sub. req.) | May 18, 2026

Colleges got more rural students to apply. The challenge is getting them to attend
NPR | May 16, 2026x

University Of Chicago To Pay Tuition For Families With Incomes Below $250,000
Forbes | May 13, 2026

Trump Abandons Dreamers Despite Past Sympathy
Axios (sub. req.) | May 18, 2026

May 15, 2026

MIT President Sally Kornbluth warned that the institution is doing less research and enrolling fewer graduate students as a result of federal actions, reports The Washington Post. . . Higher Ed Dive covers a House hearing where House Republicans and Democrats alike questioned Education Secretary Linda McMahon over new regulations that exclude graduate nursing program students from higher loan caps. . . The Chronicle of Higher Education looks at plans for a new "AI-first" college.

MIT President Blames Federal Policy Shifts for Big Drop in Research on Campus
The Washington Post | May 15, 2026

McMahon Grilled Over Professional Degree Definition, OCR Caseload
Higher Ed Dive | May 14, 2026

A New ‘AI-First’ College Aims to Offer Cheaper, Employer-Friendly Degrees
The Chronicle of Higher Education | May 14, 2026

May 14, 2026

A new study of nearly a million college students has reinforced that getting a two- or four-year degree is worth the price for a large majority of those who enroll, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education. . .An opinion piece in Higher Ed Dive makes the case for embracing program depth over breadth. . .The Triangle Business Journal looks at moves by East Carolina University to reshape the institution. . .

An Unusual New Study of Nearly a Million Students Details What College Does for Earnings
The Chronicle of Higher Education | May 14, 2026

Opinion: Why Colleges Should Embrace Program Depth Over Breadth
Higher Ed Dive | May 14, 2026

How ECU’s $25M Initiative Is Reshaping the University Amid Higher Ed Headwinds
Triangle Business Journal | May 14, 2026

May 13, 2026

Lumina and Gallup’s annual survey of alumni shows they are confident about their decision to go to college, but concerns remain about costs and debt, reports Inside Higher Ed. . .Canvas is fully back online, writes The Chronicle of Higher Education. . .Higher Ed Dive looks at how colleges and universities are responding to drought warnings by upgrading their institutions’ water management systems and irrigation practices. . .

Even as AI Use Spreads, Graduates Maintain Their Degree Was Worth It
Inside Higher Ed | May 12, 2026

Canvas Is Fully Back Online After Parent Company Says It Reached Deal With Hackers
The Chronicle of Higher Education | May 12, 2026

How Universities Are Saving Water
Higher Ed Dive | May 12, 2026

News RoomACE In the News

Explore More

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

Explore More​​

ACE Op-Eds

Letters to the Editor

Higher Education News Links

Explore More