HEADLINES: Top Higher Education News for the Week

September 12, 2025

At least seven HBCUs went into lockdown yesterday in response to threats, Inside Higher Ed reports... College leaders are thinking through security procedures on their campuses following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, NPR Reports... A federal judge declined to restore more than $1 billion in research grants cut by the NSF while a lawsuit against the agency moves forward, Higher Ed Dive reports... EdSource reports on how the Trump administration's cuts to MSI funding will cause “irreparable harm” to California institutions...The Government Accountability Office warned that technical issues at the Education Department could lead to issues for the FAFSA in the coming years.

Historically Black Colleges Issue Lockdown Orders, Cancel Classes After Receiving Threats
Associated Press | Sept. 11, 2025

Charlie Kirk’s Killing Raises the Stakes for Campus Security
NPR | Sept. 11, 2025

Federal Judge Declines To Restore $1B in Grants Cut by NSF
Higher Ed Dive | Sept. 11, 2025

Trump Administration To End Grant Funding for Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Affecting Many California Colleges
EdSource | Sept. 11, 2025

GAO Raises Concern About Future FAFSAs
Inside Higher Ed | Sept. 12, 2025

September 11, 2025

The Trump administration announced that it will withhold $350 million in grants to hundreds of colleges that serve large populations of minority students... Institutions are racing to preserve clean energy projects as looming deadlines in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act threaten their federal support, reports The Hechinger Report... Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the federal government should get half the dollars generated from patents that universities and their researchers develop with federal funding... Some college towns will lose thousands of jobs if the NIH implements President Trump’s drastic proposed budget cuts, according to a new report... The Trump administration's efforts to curb federal spending have already cost North Dakota's universities—and the state—millions in research funding, and more cuts are anticipated, the North Dakota Monitor reports.

Education Department Ends Some Aid Aimed at Minority College Students
The Washington Post | Sept. 10, 2025

Students, Schools Race To Save Clean Energy Projects in Face of Trump Deadline
The Hechinger Report | Sept. 11, 2025

Commerce Secretary Says He Wants Half of University Patent Money
Inside Higher Ed | Sept. 11, 2025

NIH Cuts Mean Job Losses in College Towns
Inside Higher Ed | Sept. 11, 2025

North Dakota University Research Could See ‘Devastating’ Cuts, Officials Warn
North Dakota Monitor | Sept. 10, 2025

September 10, 2025

USA Today profiles Ted Carter, Ohio State president and ACE board member... Brandeis President Arthur Levine outlines in The Hechinger Report how he believes colleges should reshape themselves by focusing on applied learning, career opportunities, and faculty leadership... The Department of Labor said it intends to revisit its overtime regulations but did not detail a timetable for doing so, Higher Ed Dive reports... Tribal Colleges and Universities offer major returns to taxpayers and the broader economy, according to a new economic impact study by the American Indian Higher Education Consortium and Lightcast… Inside Higher Ed spotlights institutions that saw enrollment bumps this year... New data revealed math and reading declines among the nation's 12th-graders.

How Ohio State’s President Is Navigating an Ever-Changing Higher Education Landscape
USA Today (sub. req.) | Sept. 10, 2025

OPINION: Higher Education Has Been Under Attack. Here’s a New Way To Fight Back and Help Today’s Students
The Hechinger Report | Sept. 10, 2025

DOL Says It’s Thinking About Overtime as It Provides Timelines for Regulations
Higher Ed Dive | Sept. 10, 2025

New Report: Tribal Colleges Boost the Economy
Inside Higher Ed | Sept. 10, 2025

Fall 2025’s Unexpected Enrollment Successes
Inside Higher Ed | Sept. 10, 2025

A New Nation’s Report Card Shows Drops in Science, Math and Reading Scores
NPR | Sept. 9, 2025

September 9, 2025

Inside Higher Ed reports that Education Secretary Linda McMahon criticized higher education in a speech, while the administration took another step toward dismantling the department by creating a new portal that will allow the Department of Labor to jointly administer adult education programs.... The Seattle Times and KCUR, Kansas City's local NPR station, report on how the Trump administration's efforts to restrict international students from attending U.S. institutions are impacting the colleges in their communities.

McMahon to Higher Ed Leaders: Join Us to ‘Make Higher Ed Great Again’
Inside Higher Ed | Sept. 9, 2025

Trump Administration Takes Next Step in Dismantling ED
Inside Higher Ed | Sept. 9, 2025

Kansas City Colleges Increasingly Rely on International Students. Trump Is Pushing Them Away
KCUR | Sept. 9, 2025

International Students Are Waiting To Commit to WA Colleges
The Seattle Times | Sept. 9, 2025

September 8, 2025

The Education Department indicated that changes to accreditation and interpretations of civil rights violations are on the table for regulatory overhaul, Inside Higher Ed reports... Many foreign students are still struggling to get visa appointments, leaving students and institutions scrambling with the fall semester underway... Harvard professor Stephen Greenblatt argues in The New York Times that instead of slashing federal research funding, the United States must defend the scientific leadership and intellectual freedom that secured its global preeminence… The Chronicle of Higher Education spoke with Nicola Pitchford, president of Dominican University of California, on how the elimination of the Hispanic-Serving Institutions grant program would impact the university and its students... The Education Department said that its Ombudsman Office will expand its mission to provide students and families information on the benefits and risks of college loans.

Education Dept.’s Rule-Making Agenda Includes Accreditation, Title VI
Inside Higher Ed | Sept. 8, 2025

Even as Classes Begin, Some Foreign Students Are Still in Visa Limbo
The Chronicle of Higher Education (sub. req.) | Sept. 5, 2025

We Are Watching a Scientific Superpower Destroy Itself
The New York Times(sub. req.)| Sept. 8, 2025

The Future of HSI Funding Is in Jeopardy. Here’s What One Institution Stands to Lose.
The Chronicle of Higher Education(sub. req.)| Sept. 5, 2025

Education Dept. Revamps Ombudsman Office to Focus on Financial Literacy
Inside Higher Ed | Sept. 8, 2025

News RoomACE In the News

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ACE Op-Eds

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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