A Funding Deal, the Pell Shortfall, and New Federal Pressure on Campuses

Aired February 17, 2026

The hosts run a rapid-fire policy lightning round on the biggest higher ed issues right now, from federal funding and a looming Pell shortfall to new graduate loan limits. They also dig into two fast-moving flashpoints: the Education Department’s scrutiny of a long-running student voting study and the administration’s escalating actions aimed at Harvard, including potential impacts on service members’ education benefits. Plus, an update on Sarah's favorite topic, Section 117 foreign gift reporting.

Here are some of the links and references from this week’s show:

Hosts and Guests

Mushtaq Gunja

Executive Director

Carnegie Classification Systems

Mushtaq Gunja serves as executive director of the Carnegie Classification systems and senior vice president at ACE, where he is in charge of running and reimagining the Carnegie framework. Prior to joining ACE, Gunja served as assistant dean in academi...

Co-host

Mushtaq Gunja

Executive Director

Carnegie Classification Systems

Jon Fansmith

Senior Vice President

Government Relations and National Engagement

Jonathan Fansmith is the senior vice president for Government Relations and National Engagement at the American Council on Education (ACE), where he leads federal advocacy efforts on behalf of the nation's colleges and universities. He oversees ACE's e...

Co-host

Jon Fansmith

Senior Vice President

Government Relations and National Engagement

Sarah Spreitzer

Vice President and Chief of Staff

Government Relations

Sarah Spreitzer represents ACE and its members on matters related to research policy and funding, federal policy, international students, immigration, and legislative issues. Before joining ACE, Spreitzer held senior positions in higher e...

Co-host

Sarah Spreitzer

Vice President and Chief of Staff

Government Relations

Transcript

Transcript to come

About the Podcast

Each episode of dotEDU presents a deep dive into a major public policy issue impacting college campuses and students across the country. Hosts from ACE are joined by guest experts to lead you through thought-provoking conversations on topics such as campus free speech, diversity in admissions, college costs and affordability, and more. Find all episodes of the podcast at the dotEDU page.

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A Funding Deal, the Pell Shortfall, and New Federal Pressure on Campuses

Appropriations

Tufts/NSLVE

Harvard v. Trump

Grad Loan Limits

Accreditation

Section 117

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