HEADLINES: Top Higher Education News for the Week

October 21, 2025

ACE President Ted Mitchell writes in U.S. News that the Trump administration's higher education compact is bad for colleges and bad for America... Seven of the nine universities that the White House initially approached have declined to sign its compact by yesterday's deadline to provide feedback, The New York Times reports... The ongoing government shutdown offers a glimpse at the potential effects of closing the Education Department, The New York Times reports... After the Trump administration gutted the Institute of Education Sciences, it is now seeking feedback on how to “modernize” the agency, Inside Higher Ed reports...  A new report found that federal disinvestment in Pell Grants have especially hurt institutions in southern states and Black students.

Trump’s ‘Compact’ Is Bad for Colleges – And Bad for America
U.S. News | Oct. 20, 2025

All but 2 Universities Decline a Trump Offer of Preferential Funding
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Oct. 20, 2025

No Education Department? No Problem, Trump’s Education Secretary Says.
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Oct. 21, 2025

Trump Gutted the Institute of Education Sciences. Its Renewal Is in Doubt.
Inside Higher Ed | Oct. 21, 2025

Drop in Pell Funds Hurts Black Students, Southern Colleges
Inside Higher Ed | Oct. 21, 2025

October 20, 2025

The New York Times and NPR report on how colleges and universities have so far pushed back against the Trump administration's higher education compact, the Associated Press looks at a meeting between the White House and institutions on the compact, and former Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) writes in The Wall Street Journal that the compact is an attempt at federal overreach... Inside Higher Ed looks at the movement to expand awarding associate degrees for credit previously earned, know as reverse transfer... Purdue professors Michael Johnston and Kevin Kircher write that efforts to decarbonize a public campus in a red state are worth pursuing.

Universities Are Standing Up to Trump
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Oct. 17, 2025

With No Takers Yet, White House Meets With Colleges Still Weighing an Agreement With Trump
Associated Press | Oct. 17, 2025

As Deadline for Trump’s Colleges Compact Looms, Schools Signal Dissent
NPR | Oct. 20, 2025

Donald Trump Isn’t a University President
The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) | Oct. 16, 2025

Giving Credit Where It’s Overdue
Inside Higher Ed | Oct. 20, 2025

On Climate Action, a View From Behind the Pack
Inside Higher Ed | Oct. 20, 2025

October 17, 2025

The University of Pennsylvania and the University of Southern California joined Brown University and MIT in declining to sign the Trump administration's higher education compact... Connecticut College President Andrea Chapdelaine writes in Inside Higher Ed about the vital role small colleges play in research and the unique opportunities they provide for students to engage in faculty-led projects... Radenka Mari, a Bosnian-born engineer who is University of Connecticut's president, told Times Higher Education that her academic career shows how the United States has supported foreign academics like no other country... Louisiana colleges are expanding entrepreneurship programs, incubators, and pitch competitions to help undergraduates launch lasting startups in the state, NOLA.com reports.

Penn and U.S.C. Become Latest Universities to Reject White House Deal
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Oct. 16, 2025 

The Case for Sustaining Undergraduate Research at Small Colleges
Inside Higher Ed | Oct. 17, 2025

Foreign Academics Won’t Give Up on American Dream, Says Bosnian-Born President
Times Higher Education | Oct. 17, 2025

Louisiana Colleges Help Undergraduate Entrepreneurs Build Businesses That Will Stick Around
NOLA.com | Oct. 17, 2025

October 16, 2025

Most Americans oppose the Trump administration’s higher education funding cuts and continue to trust universities more than many other institutions, according to a new poll… Higher education leaders and advocates are opposing the Trump administration’s proposal to require new admissions data reporting, Inside Higher Ed reports… Brown University joined MIT in rejecting the Trump administration’s proposed compact… A group of Republican lawmakers is urging Education Secretary Linda McMahon to reverse cuts to Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Higher Ed Dive reports… Georgetown University has named Eduardo M. Peñalver, president of Seattle University, as its next president.

Survey: Americans Overwhelmingly Oppose Trump’s Higher Ed Cuts
Inside Higher Ed | Oct. 16, 2025

Colleges Push Back Against Trump’s Effort to Collect More Admissions Data
Inside Higher Ed | Oct. 16, 2025

Brown University Rejects Trump’s Higher Education ‘Compact’
The Boston Globe (sub. req.) | Oct. 15, 2025

Republican Lawmakers Ask McMahon To Restore Funding for Hispanic-Serving Colleges
Higher Ed Dive | Oct. 15, 2025

Georgetown University Has Named Its Next President. Meet Eduardo Peñalver.
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | Oct. 15, 2025

October 15, 2025

Inside Higher Ed and The Chronicle of Higher Education cover the Trump administration's invitation to all colleges and universities to sign its compact... The Trump administration's higher education cuts have especially hurt community colleges, reports The Washington Post... The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights and Office of Special Education Programs were slashed in the latest rounds of layoffs at the agency, The New York Times reports... West Virginia University Michael Benson outlined his vision for the institution in his first state of the university address, West Virginia Public Broadcasting reports.

Deciphering Trump’s Compact Invitation to All of Higher Ed
Inside Higher Ed | Oct. 15, 2025

Dartmouth’s President Balks at Trump Compact, Sources Say, as Feds Expand Offer to ‘Any Institution’
The Chronicle of Higher Education (sub. req.) | Oct. 14, 2025

Community Colleges Are Losing Millions in Funding Under Trump
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | Oct. 15, 2025

White House Guts Education Department With More Layoffs
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Oct. 14, 2025

New WVU President Establishes Lofty Goals For University
West Virginia Public Broadcasting | Oct. 14, 2025


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