New Grant Rules, Accreditation, and the Summer Policy Outlook

Aired June 2, 2026

The hosts talk live to an audience of ACE Fellows about the White House's new proposal to rewrite the rulebook that governs how campuses manage federal grant funds, along with other higher education policy developments we're watching this summer.

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

Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards
Department of Education

Office of Management and Budget Proposed Rule on Uniform Guidance
Federal Register | May 29, 2026

White House Aims to Establish Political Oversight of Federal Grants
Inside Higher Ed | May 29, 2026

Negotiators Pass Draft Rules to Overhaul College Accreditation
ACE | May 22, 2026

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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New Grant Rules, Accreditation, and the Summer Policy Outlook

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