HEADLINES: Top Higher Education News for the Week

October 28, 2025

Christianity Today reports that Christian colleges are objecting to the Trump administration's overreach on higher education policy... International student arrivals in the United States dropped by 19 percent in August, the Los Angeles Times reports... Inside Higher Ed previews next week's negotiated rulemaking session where the Department of Education will consider which graduate programs will be subjected to new student loan restrictions... The Chronicle of Higher Education covers the Trump administration's proposed cuts to adult education programs, which would impact over a million students primarily at community colleges... Higher Ed Dive reports on guidance the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued on the Trump administration's new $100,000 H-1B visa fee.

Christian Colleges Object to Trump ‘Overreach’ on Higher Ed
Christianity Today | Oct. 27, 2025

International Student Arrivals Take a Dive Under Trump
Los Angeles Times | Oct. 28, 2025

Searching for Compromise on Student Loan Caps
Inside Higher Ed | Oct. 28, 2025

The Little-Known Way That Trump Is Upending Community College
The Chronicle of Higher Education (sub. req.) | Oct. 27, 2025

Feds Launch Site for Employers To Pay Controversial H-1B Fee, Clarify Exemptions
Higher Ed Dive | Oct. 28, 2025

October 27, 2025

The Chronicle of Higher Education covers a new poll that found a wide margin of respondents opposed increasing the federal government’s role in how colleges and universities operate... Department of Education cuts resulted in the elimination of 120 TRIO programs, affecting more than 43,000 students, Inside Higher Ed reports, and Colorado Public Radio reports that college-based programs that helped thousands of Colorado migrant children enroll and succeed in higher education have been eliminated by the Trump administration... First-generation college applicants in Texas have tripled over the last five years, reports The Hechinger Report... Rob McCarron, president and CEO of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Massachusetts, writes in the Telegram & Gazette that taxing endowments threatens scholarships and grants to students, research and labs, and expansion and construction — all things that benefit Massachusetts.

Americans Think Trump Is Overreaching on Higher Ed
The Chronicle of Higher Education (sub. req.) | Oct. 24, 2025

Trump’s DEI Crackdown Closes 120 TRIO Programs
Inside Higher Ed | Oct. 27, 2025

Children of Colorado’s Farmworker Families Lose Critical College Support Program
Colorado Public Radio | Oct. 27, 2025

More First-Generation Students in Texas Are Applying for College
The Hechinger Report | Oct. 27, 2025

Opinion: Taxing Endowments Won’t Add up for Colleges, Community
Telegram & Gazette (sub. req.) | Oct. 26, 2025

October 24, 2025

A large majority of Americans oppose federal control over college admissions, hiring, and curriculum, according to a new survey... Carleton College President Alison Byerly writes in The Minnesota Star Tribune that colleges and universities are responsible to the public, not the Trump administration... A new report found that 70 percent of jobs in Utah will require postsecondary education by 2031... Colleges in Virginia, Oklahoma, and Idaho are seeking additional funding to support students amid federal and state funding cuts and increased enrollment.

70% of Americans Say Feds Shouldn’t Control Admissions, Curriculum
Higher Ed Dive | Oct. 24, 2025

Opinion | Higher Ed Is Responsible to the Public, Not the Trump Administration
The Minnesota Star Tribune (sub. req.) | Oct. 23, 2025

More Than 70% of Utah Jobs Will Require Postsecondary Education by 2031, Report Claims
KUTV | Oct. 23, 2025

VA.’s Private Colleges and Universities Seek Additional Funding Amid Federal Cuts
Virginia Mercury Oct. 23, 2025

Higher Education Leaders Ask Oklahoma Legislature To Increase Budget by Millions
Oklahoma Voice | Oct. 23, 2025

Analysis: Idaho Higher Ed Has More Students — But Fewer State Dollars To Support Them
Idaho Education News | Oct. 23, 2025

October 23, 2025

As the federal shutdown enters its fourth week, colleges and researchers face mounting strain, Inside Higher Ed reports... An essay in The New York Times warns that Trump administration policies could lead to more closures of colleges, devastating communities that depend on these institutions… The University of Virginia reached a settlement with the Trump administration to end investigations into its DEI policies...States increased the financial aid they awarded students by 12 percent in 2023-2024, according to a new report... EdSource looks at the expansion of direct admissions policies in states across the country.

In Fourth Week, Government Shutdown Increasingly Hinders Higher Ed
Inside Higher Ed | Oct. 23, 2025 

What’s Lost When Liberal Arts Schools Close
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Oct. 22, 2025

University of Virginia Reaches Deal To Pause Trump Administration Probes
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | Oct. 22, 2025

State Financial Aid Increased 12% in 2023–24
Inside Higher Ed | Oct. 23, 2025 

You’re in and Didn’t Even Apply? Why College Direct Admissions Is Growing Nationally
EdSource | Oct. 23, 2025

October 22, 2025

ACE President Ted Mitchell joined PBS News Hour to discuss how higher education has been responding to pressure from the Trump administration... The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sued to block the Trump administration's new $100,000 H-1B visa fee, Higher Ed Dive reports, and Bloomberg Law reports that the Trump administration has clarified that recent international graduates with an H-1B visa are among those who won't have to pay the new fee... Inside Higher Ed looks at how cuts at the Education Department could affect students with disabilities... The number of education degrees awarded in the United States has steadily decreased over the last two decades, according to a new report.

Another University Declines Trump’s Offer for Priority Funding
News Hour | Oct. 21, 2025

Us Chamber Sues White House To Block ‘Plainly Unlawful’ H-1B Visa Fee
Higher Ed Dive | Oct. 21, 2025

Foreign Grads Seeking H-1B Status Avoid $100,000 Trump Fee
Bloomberg Law | Oct. 20, 2025

How Will ED’s Latest Layoffs Affect Students With Disabilities?
Inside Higher Ed | Oct. 22, 2025

Where Are Tomorrow’s Teachers? Education Degrees Drop Over 2 Decades.
Higher Ed Dive | Oct. 21, 2025


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