HEADLINES: Top Higher Education News for the Week

January 5, 2025

​​Inside Higher Ed examines congressional Republicans’ higher education agenda for 2026… Politico reports on President Trump’s effort to lock in his education policies through an aggressive regulatory push… ACE President Ted Mitchell spoke with U.S. News about major higher education policy developments in 2025 and what issues exist in 2026… The Washington Post looks at how cuts to financial aid will reshape how students access higher education… Foreign countries are ramping up efforts to recruit top U.S. talent impacted by the Trump administration's research funding cuts, Higher Ed Dive reports... Michael Nietzel highlights in Forbes six higher education issues to watch in state legislatures this year.

Congressional Republicans Look to Build on 2025 Higher Ed Reforms
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 5, 2026​

U.S. News | Jan. 2, 2025​

Politico | Jan. 4, 2026

How Student Loans and Financial Aid Are Changing in 2026

The Washington Post (sub. req.)| Jan. 2, 2026

Will Higher Education Researchers Leave for Opportunities Abroad?
Higher Ed Dive | Jan. 5, 2026

Six Higher Education Issues To Watch In State Legislatures This Year
Forbes | Jan. 4, 2025

December 22, 2025

​​​The Chronicle of Higher Education looks at the impact of rising costs on college and university budgets...Higher Ed Dive explores how community colleges are training the next generation of manufacturing workers...The New York Times reports on what is known about the suspect who carried out the mass shooting at Brown University and the killing of an M.I.T. professor...

These Rising Costs Are Squeezing College Budgets
The Chronicle of Higher Education | Dec. 19, 2025

Community Colleges Are Training the Next Generation of Manufacturing Workers
Higher Ed Dive | Dec. 22, 2025

Brown Shooting and an M.I.T. Professor’s Killing: What We Know
The New York Times | Dec. 20, 2025

December 19, 2025

The Hechinger Report looks back at how education shifted under Trump this year, and Inside Higher Ed assesses a turbulent year for research... Sonny Perdue, chancellor of the University System of Georgia, writes in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that higher education has countless benefits for students... The Education Department has a backlog of more than 800,000 applications for income-driven loan repayment plans, according to a new court filing... Denver's 5280 Magazine looks at how federal cuts to the College Assistance Migrant Program are preventing students from accessing higher education.

How Education Changed in One Year under Trump
The Hechinger Report | Dec.18, 2025​

The Year That Changed Research
Inside Higher Ed | Dec. 19, 2025

Sonny Perdue: College Still Pays. We Can’t Afford to Pretend Otherwise.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | Dec. 19, 2025

AFT Pushes Back on Slow Loan Repayment Processing
Inside Higher Ed | Dec. 19, 2025

A Federal Freeze Cut a Lifeline For Colorado’s Migrant College Students
5280 Magazine | Dec. 18, 2025

December 18, 2025
Inside Higher Ed rounds up the year’s biggest moments in a photo slideshow and revisits the most consequential higher ed policy stories on The Key podcast... Whitworth University President Scott McQuilkin writes in The Journal of Business about the importance of aligning education, industry needs, and community values... Bryon Grigsby, president of Moravian University, writes in The Morning Call that colleges and universities can help solve aviation's workforce gaps... Los Rios Community College District has named Torence Powell as its next chancellor.

The Year in Photos
Inside Higher Ed | Dec. 18, 2025​

The Key Podcast: Higher Ed Policy in 2025
Inside Higher Ed | Dec. 18, 2025

Our Civic DNA: A Partnership between Business and Higher Education to Boost Our Future Labor Market
The Journal of Business | Dec. 18, 2025

Opinion: Universities Must Step up as Aviation’s Workforce Gap Widens
The Morning Call | Dec. 18, 2025

Los Rios Names Torence Powell As Its Next Chancellor
The Observer | Dec. 15, 2025

December 17, 2025

A meeting of the federal advisory committee that oversees college accreditors, now staffed with some new Trump appointees, featured fiery rhetoric toward accreditors and scrutiny of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, Inside Higher Ed reports... The Trump administration expanded travel restrictions to include 20 additional countries... A group of 20 states filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's $100,000  H-1B visa fee, adding to at least two other legal challenges, Higher Ed Dive reports... Inside Higher Ed looks at how federal research agencies are alerting their grant review processes... STAT reports on a growing exodus of U.S. scientists as Trump administration policies fuel uncertainty around research...

“Buckle Up”: Trump Official Pledges to Fix Accreditation
Inside Higher Ed | Dec. 17, 2025

Trump Expands Travel Ban and Restrictions to 20 More Countries
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Dec. 16, 2025

State AGs Launch Third Lawsuit Seeking to Stop Trump’s H-1B Fee
Higher Ed Dive | Dec. 16, 2025

NSF Lowers Grant Review Requirements, NIH Hunts for Phrases
Inside Higher Ed | Dec. 17, 2025

Amid Talk of a Brain Drain, Some Scientists Leave U.S. Behind
STAT | Dec. 17, 2025


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