HEADLINES: Top Higher Education News for the Week

March 25, 2026

Inside Higher Ed looks at an Association of American Medical Colleges analysis finding that near the halfway point of the federal fiscal year the National Institutes of Health has only obligated around 15 percent of the estimated $38 billion it has to distribute in grants and contracts to universities and other research institutions. . .A federal judge has again moved the deadline, but only for some institutions, for the Department of Education's race and sex admissions data requirement, reports Higher Ed Dive. . .The Wall Street Journal explores the broken U.S. college dreams of African students whose student visas were canceled by the Trump administration. . .

Halfway Through the Fiscal Year, NIH Has Only Obligated 15% of Research Funding
Inside Higher Ed | March 25, 2026

Federal Judge Again Bumps Deadline for New Race and Aex Admissions Data
Higher Ed Divee | March 24, 2026

He Had a Full Ride at Duke—Until America Cut Him Off

The Wall Street Journal | March 24, 2026

March 24, 2026

Inside Higher Ed looks at how the Trump administration is using interagency agreements to siphon off various Education Department programs to other agencies...Separate stories by The Chronicle of Higher Education and Wisconsin Public Radio look at how higher education institutions and academics are handling AI in the classroom and educating the public about the technology...

Breaking Down ED’s Interagency Agreements
Inside Higher Ed | March 24, 2026

AI Broke College Assessment. One University Believes It’s Got a Fix.
The Chronicle of Higher Education (sub. req.) | March 23, 2026

AI is Growing. Universities of Wisconsin Wants to Help You Understand It.

Wisconsin Public Radio | March 24, 2026

March 23, 2026

Politico reports that the Trump administration's moves to tighten voting rules could dampen student participation in the midterm elections...Inside Higher Ed looks at how apprenticeships are diversifying, as are apprentices themselves, and how colleges are serving a growing role in this shifting landscape...A new University of Pittsburgh internship will train students to assist small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Trump’s Voter Crackdown Reaches College Campuses
Politico | March 22, 2026

The Apprenticeship (R)Evolution
Inside Higher Ed | March 23, 2026

New Pitt Internship will Train Students to Assist Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (sub. req.) | March 23, 2026

March 20, 2026

Higher education organizations are calling on Congress to protect the Pell Grant program as it faces a looming funding shortfall, Higher Ed Dive reports . . . Higher education leaders, professors, and advocates are imploring the Education Department to reverse a new policy limiting graduate students' access to federal financial aid, The Chronicle of Higher Education reports . . . The Treasury Department will assume responsibility for collecting on defaulted student loans, The Washington Post reports . . . Academic freedom in the United States has rapidly declined, according to a global index . . . The University of Notre Dame will cover full tuition costs for students from families with annual incomes below $150,000, joining a growing list of institutions expanding their financial aid programs . . . Jennifer Walsh will be William Peace University's next president.

Higher Ed Organizations Press Congress to Quickly Fill Pell Funding Gaps
Higher Ed Dive | March 19, 2026

Hundreds of Colleges and Professors Implore Ed. Dept. to Reverse ‘Dangerous’ Changes for Grad Students
The Chronicle of Higher Education (sub. req.) | March 19, 2026

Trump Administration Moves Key Student Loan Oversight to Treasury
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | March 19, 2026

‘Unusually Steep’ Decline in U.S. University Autonomy, Index Shows
Inside Higher Ed | March 20, 2026

University of Notre Dame to Waive Tuition for Students with Families Who Earn Under $150,000 Per Year
CBS Chicago | March 19, 2026

William Peace University Announces 13th President
WRAL | March 19, 2026

March 19, 2026

The Chronicle of Higher Education covers the heavy toll the Trump administration's expanded admissions reporting requirements is having on colleges and universities... The Education Department is considering making it easier for colleges and universities to merge, Inside Higher Ed reports... A new STAT survey of federally funded researchers reveals that many academic scientists are reeling... Inside Higher Ed covers the Department of Agriculture and historically Black land-grant universities' agreement to reaffirm and deepen their collaboration... DeRionne Pollard, president of the American Association of Community Colleges, writes in The EDU Ledger about the importance of including student voices in workforce planning... Chantae Recasner, interim president of Seattle Central College, will be Olympic College's next president.

How Trump’s Demand for Admissions Data Is Burdening Your College
The Chronicle of Higher Education (sub. req.) | March 18, 2026

ED Plans to Ease Merger Pathways
Inside Higher Ed | March 19, 2026

National Survey of NIH-Funded Researchers Shows Precarious State of U.S. Science — ‘This Is like the Titanic’
STAT | March 19, 2026

Historically Black Land-Grant Universities Celebrate USDA Agreement as ‘Big Win’
Inside Higher Ed | March 19, 2026

The Missing Link in the Talent Pipeline: Why Student Voices Matter
The EDU Ledger | March 18, 2026

Olympic College Names Candidate to Become Next President
Kitsap Sun | March 18, 2026