HEADLINES: Top Higher Education News for the Week

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

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

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