HEADLINES: Top Higher Education News for the Week

February 2, 2026

Parts of the federal government, including the Education Department, shut down, though the lapse in funding should be brief, Inside Higher Ed reports... Changes to the FAFSA resulted in 1.7 million additional students qualifying for maximum Pell Grants, according to a new report... The start of Black History Month is causing some academics and teachers angst due to widespread attacks on DEI, the Associated Press reports... A new report provides a nuanced profile of self-supported transfer students.

Federal Government Shuts Down, Again. Here’s What to Know.
Inside Higher Ed | Feb. 2, 2026

1.7 Million More Students Qualify for Maximum Pell Grants Following FAFSA Simplification
The EDU Ledger | Feb. 2, 2026

Black History Month Centennial Channels Angst over Anti-DEI Climate into Education, Free Resources
Associated Press | Feb. 1, 2026

New Data Offers Portrait of Self-Supported Transfer Students
Inside Higher Ed | Feb. 2, 2026

January 30, 2026

The Department of Education has published draft regulations formalizing new federal loan limits for graduate students, kicking off a public comment period ahead of finalizing the rule, Inside Higher Ed reports... The Boston Globe looks at the widening gender gap in college enrollment... The Chronicle of Higher Education's new work-force survey illuminates the toll that recent financial and political pressures have had on colleges’ work force... Richmond Magazine reports on expanded education opportunities for incarcerated individuals in Virginia.

ED Takes Another Step Toward Finalizing Loan Limits
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 30, 2026

What's Missing on Campus? Men.
The Boston Globe (sub. req.) | Jan. 30, 2026

What Keeps Higher Ed Up at Night
The Chronicle of Higher Education (sub. req.) | Jan. 30, 2026

Beyond the Bars
Richmond Magazine | Jan. 29, 2026

January 29, 2026

Higher Ed Dive covers key policy trends that could shape higher education in 2026… Inside Higher Ed’s Sara Custer highlights the value of partnerships between universities and immigrant communities and examines how recent federal immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis are testing them… NPR looks at how the Trump administration has pressured universities through lawsuits, settlements, and funding threats over the past year… Inside Higher Ed also reports that new state-level pauses on H-1B visas are raising alarms among faculty and higher education groups about risks to academic freedom and research capacity.

4 Policy Trends That Should Be on College Leaders’ Radars in 2026
Higher Ed Dive | Jan. 29, 2026

Minneapolis’s Community Bonds Are Being Tested
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 29, 2026

Trump Has Sued Universities for Billions. Here’s What the Strategy Tells Us
NPR | Jan. 29, 2026

State H-1B Visa Pauses Are ‘Reckless,’ Faculty Warn
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 29, 2026

January 28, 2026

Nicholas Kent, education under secretary, said the accreditation system was broken and called for considerable reforms, Inside Higher Ed reports... Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed public universities to freeze new H-1B applications, The Texas Tribune reports... Yale University announced that tuition would be waived for students from households earning less than $200,000 annually, The Wall Street Journal reports... Jeffrey Selingo highlights in The Chronicle of Higher Education the five trends that he thinks will shape higher education this year.

At CHEA, Kent Blames Accreditors for Higher Ed’s Woes
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 28, 2026

Gov. Abbott Orders Texas Universities, Agencies to Halt H-1B Visa Petitions
The Texas Tribune | Jan. 26, 2026

Yale Will Go Tuition-Free for Families Making Up to $200,000
The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) | Jan. 27, 2026

The 5 Trends That Will Shape Higher Ed in 2026
The Chronicle of Higher Education (sub. req.) | Jan. 27, 2026

January 27, 2026

The Department of Education will convene a rulemaking panel to overhaul accreditation regulations, Inside Higher Ed reports... Inside Higher Ed also examines how colleges and universities in Minneapolis have been affected by the ongoing DHS operations and related demonstrations... Higher Ed Dive looks at a series of lawsuits that could have major implications for higher education... A new study finds that universities receive fewer federal funds than private industry contractors and federal laboratories to cover indirect research costs.

ED Eyes Rewrite of Accreditation Rules
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 27, 2026

Remote Class and Escorts: Twin Cities Universities Respond to ICE, CBP, Protests
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 27, 2026

5 Higher Ed Lawsuits to Watch in 2026
Higher Ed Dive | Jan. 27, 2026

How Indirect Rate Costs Differ Between Academia and Industry
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 27, 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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