Higher Education & The Trump Administration

President Trump’s return to office has ushered in significant changes to federal policy affecting colleges and universities.

From proposals to dismantle the Department of Education to efforts to roll back diversity and civil rights protections, the administration is pursuing a broad restructuring of higher education’s policy landscape—undermining research, curbing global engagement, and threatening the sector’s public funding foundation.

This page organizes key actions under the Trump administration by topic area. Each section highlights executive orders, agency guidance, and ACE responses to help institutions track developments, assess risk, and prepare for continued disruption.

Executive Orders and Actions Impacting Higher Education

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General Executive Order Tracker (Akin Gump)

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Federal Funding and Government Restructuring

The administration is moving to fundamentally reshape the role of the federal government in higher education. Actions include significant staffing reductions at the Department of Education, drastically reducing discretionary funding for research, and freezing grants already supporting critical work. These cuts not only jeopardize institutions' ability to serve students but also threaten innovation in areas like health care, energy, and technology—sectors that rely on federally funded university research to drive economic growth.

Executive Orders and Actions

Urgent National Action to Save College Sports | April 3, 2026

Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors | March 26, 2026

Ensuring Continued Accountability in Federal Hiring | Oct. 15, 2025

Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking | Aug. 7, 2025

Eliminating Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in Medicaid | June 6, 2026

Restoring Gold Standard Science | May 23, 2025

Improving the Safety and Security of Biological Research | May 5, 2025

Protecting American Energy from State Overreach | April 8, 2025

Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy | March 14, 2025

Implementing the President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Cost Efficiency Initiative | Feb. 26, 2025

America First Investment Policy | Feb. 21, 2025

Ensuring Lawful Governance and Implementing the President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Deregulatory Initiative | Feb. 19, 2025

Radical Transparency About Wasteful Spending | Feb. 18, 2025

Implementing The President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Workforce Optimization Initiative | Feb. 11, 2025

Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation | Jan. 31, 2025

OMB Q&A Document on Federal Funding Freeze | Jan. 28, 2025

OMB Memo to Federal Agencies on Temporary Funding Freeze | Jan. 27, 2025

OMB Instructions for Federal Program Analysis

Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid | Jan. 20, 2025

Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions | Jan. 20, 2025

Regulatory Freeze Pending Review | Jan. 20, 2025

Agency Guidance and Announcements

Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance
From the Federal Register: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposes to revise the Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance to improve government-wide policies and requirements related to the management of grants, cooperative agreements, and other forms of assistance. | May 29, 2026

U.S. Department of Education Ends Funding to Racially Discriminatory Discretionary Grant Programs at Minority-Serving Institutions | Sept. 10, 2025

NSF Policy Notice: Implementation of Standard 15 Percent Indirect Cost Rate | May 2, 2025
National Science Foundation

Notice of Civil Rights Term and Condition of Award | April 21, 2025
National Institutes of Health

Updates on NSF Priorities | April 18, 2025
National Science Foundation

Secretary Noem Terminates $2.7 Million in DHS Grants; Orders Harvard to Prove Compliance with Foreign Student Requirements | April 16, 2025
Department of Homeland Security

ED, HHS, and GSA Announce Additional Measures to End Anti-Semitic Harassment on College Campuses | March 3, 2025

Adjusting Department of Energy Grant Policy for Institutions of Higher Education | April 11, 2025
Department of Energy

Guidance on Agency RIF and Reorganization Plans Requested by Implementing The President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Workforce Optimization Initiative | Feb. 26, 2025
Office of Management and Budget & Office of Personnel Management

Supplemental Guidance to the 2024 NIH Grants Policy Statement: Indirect Cost Rates | Feb. 7, 2025
National Institutes of Health

NSF Implementation of Recent Executive Orders (updated regularly) |National Science Foundation

Notice on Implementation of Executive Order on Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid | Jan. 24, 2025
U.S. Agency for International Development

Memorandum to the Heads of Departments and Agencies: Guidance Regarding Section 7 of the Executive Order Unleashing American Energy | Jan. 21, 2025
Office of Management and Budget

Immediate Pause on Issuing Documents and Public Communications | Jan. 21, 2025
Department of Health and Human Services

Memorandum for Heads of Departmental Elements: Agency-wide Review of Program and Administrative Activities | Jan. 20, 2025
Department of Energy

Lawsuits

Higher Education Association Lawsuits Challenge to F&A Reimbursement

News and Resources

Lawsuits Related to the Freeze on Payments for Grants & Contracts & Removal of Information from Government Websites (COGR)

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Department of Education and Civil Rights

TThe Department of Education is central to enforcing civil rights and ensuring access, accountability, and fairness in higher ed. Under the Trump administration, the department is effectively being dismantled, and what remains is being used to weaken oversight, shift accreditation rules, and roll back student protections. These changes undermine equity and make it harder for colleges to fulfill their mission.

Executive Orders and Actions

Ensuring Transparency in Higher Education Admissions | Aug. 7, 2025

Saving College Sports | July 24, 2025

White House Unveils America’s AI Action Plan | July 23, 2025

Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy | April 23, 2025

Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Futur| April 23, 2025

Transparency Regarding Foreign Influence at American Universities | April 23, 2025

White House Initiative to Promote Excellence and Innovation at Historically Black Colleges and Universities | April 23, 2025

Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education April 23, 2025

Ordering the shutdown of the Department of Education: Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities | March 20, 2025

Restoring Public Service Loan Forgiveness | March 7, 2025

Keeping Education Accessible and Ending Covid Vaccine Mandates in Schools | Feb. 15, 2025

Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism | Jan. 29, 2025

Agency Guidance and Announcements

U.S. Department of Education Announces Six New Agency
Partnerships to Break Up Federal Bureaucracy | Nov. 18, 2025

U.S. Department of Education Releases Seven Priorities Under the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education | Nov. 10, 2025

U.S. Department of Education Concludes Negotiated Rulemaking Session to Implement the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's Loan Provisions | Nov. 6, 2025

U.S. Department of Education Announces Final Rule on Public Service Loan Forgiveness to Protect American Taxpayers | Oct. 10, 2025

U.S. Department of Education Bolsters Office of the Ombudsman to Improve Consumer Education and Increase Transparency for Student Borrowers | Sept. 5, 2025

U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Labor Take Next Steps in Implementing Their Workforce Development Partnership | Sept. 8, 2025

U.S. Department of Education Ends Funding to Racially Discriminatory Discretionary Grant Programs at Minority-Serving Institutions | Sept. 10, 2025

U.S. Department of Education Prohibits Federal Funds from Supporting Political Activism on College Campuses | Aug. 19, 2025

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon Directs National Center for Education Statistics to Collect Universities’ Data on Race Discrimination in Admissions | Aug. 7, 2025

U.S. Department of Education Opens Investigations into Five Universities for Alleged Exclusionary Scholarships Benefitting Illegal Alien Students | July 23, 2025

Federal Student Loan Program Provisions Effective Upon Enactment Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Dear Colleague Letter) (PDF) | July 18, 2025

U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Labor Implement Workforce Development Partnership | July 15, 2025

U.S. Department of Education Ends Taxpayer Subsidization of Postsecondary Education for Illegal Aliens | July 10, 2025

U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services Notify Harvard University’s Accreditor of Harvard’s Title VI Violation | July 9, 2025

U.S. Department of Education Announces the University of Pennsylvania Has Entered into a Resolution Agreement to Resolve its Title IX Violations | July 1, 2025

Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism Letter to Harvard University | June 30, 2025

Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism Statement on Additional Harvard Actions | May 13, 2025

Request for Institutions to Provide Repayment Information to Former Students to Prevent Defaults | May 5, 2025

Changes to the Approval Process for Changing Accrediting Agencies | May 1, 2025

U.S Department of Education and U.S. Department of Justice Announce Title IX Special Investigations Team | April 4, 2025

U.S. Department of Education Initiates Reduction in Force | March 11, 2025

Frequently Asked Questions About Racial Preferences and Stereotypes Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (PDF) | Feb. 28, 2025)

U.S. Department of Education Cuts Over $600 Million in Divisive Teacher Training Grants |Feb. 17, 2025

Dear Colleague Letter on the Use of Race in Policies and Programs (PDF) | Feb. 14, 2025

U.S. Department of Education Cancels Additional $350 Million in Woke Spending | Feb. 13, 2025

U.S. Department of Education Rescinds Biden 11th Hour Guidance on NIL Compensation | Feb. 12, 2025

Dear Colleague Letter on the Enforcement of Title IX Under the Provisions of the 2020 Title IX Rule (PDF) | Feb. 4, 2025

U.S. Department of Education Probes Cases of Antisemitism at Five Universities | Feb. 3, 2025

Justice Department Announces Formation of Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism | Feb. 3, 2025

HHS’ Civil Rights Office Acts Swiftly to Combat Anti-Semitism | Feb. 3, 2025

U.S. Department of Education to Enforce 2020 Title IX Rule Protecting Women | Jan. 31, 2025

U.S. Department of Education Takes Action to Eliminate DEI | Jan. 23, 2025

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Federal actions targeting DEI programs are part of a broader national effort to roll back progress on racial and gender equity. On campuses, this includes efforts to restrict inclusive hiring practices, curriculum, and student support services, and even threatening to go beyond what the Supreme Court’s Students for Fair Admissions decision actually permits. These moves interfere with institutions’ legal discretion and ability to foster their committment to fairness and opportunity.

Executive Orders and Actions

Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors | March 26, 2026

Ensuring Transparency in Higher Education Admissions | Aug. 7, 2025

White House Unveils America’s AI Action Plan | July 23, 2025

Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy | April 23, 2025

Preventing Woke AI in the Federal Government | July 23, 2025

Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity | Jan. 21, 2025

Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferences | Jan. 20, 2025

Recent Executive Actions on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Congressional Research Service

Agency Guidance and Announcements

U.S. Department of Education Ends Funding to Racially Discriminatory Discretionary Grant Programs at Minority-Serving Institutions | Sept. 10, 2025

Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2024-25 Through 2026-27
Federal Register | Aug. 15, 2025

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon Directs National Center for Education Statistics to Collect Universities’ Data on Race Discrimination in Admissions | Aug. 7, 2025

Updates on NSF Priorities | April 18, 2025
National Science Foundation

Notice of Civil Rights Term and Condition of Award | April 21, 2025
National Institutes of Health

U.S. Department of Education Releases Frequently Asked Questions on Dear Colleague Letter About Racial Preferencing | March 1, 2025
Department of Education

Dear Colleague Letter on the Use of Race in Policies and Programs (PDF) | Feb. 14, 2025 Department of Education

U.S. Department of Education Takes Action to Eliminate DEI | Jan. 23, 2025
Department of Education

Rescission of DEI, CBP, and Justice40 Policy Flashes, Acquisition Letters, and Financial Assistance Letters | Jan. 31, 2025
Department of Energy

Memorandum for All DOE Funding Agreements or Awards: Cease all activities associated with DEI and CBP | Jan. 27, 2025
Department of Energy

Initial Guidance Regarding Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility (DEIA) Executive Orders | Jan. 23, 2025
NASA

Immediate Implementation of Executive Orders “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing” and “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” | Jan. 22, 2025
Department of Labor

Initial Guidance Regarding DEIA Executive Orders | Jan. 21, 2025
Office of Personnel Management

Amendment 109: Removing DEIA Requirements from ROSES-2024 | Jan. 20, 2025
NASA

Immigration and International Issues

Visa cancellations, policy reversals, and increased scrutiny of international students are creating instability across U.S. campuses. These actions not only disrupt educational pathways but also undermine a vital pipeline of global talent that fuels research, innovation, and America’s standing in the world. Higher education remains one of the nation’s strongest diplomatic and economic assets—its global reputation now at risk.

Executive Orders and Actions

Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers | Sept. 19, 2025

Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats | June 4, 2025

Enhancing National Security by Addressing Risks at Harvard University | June 4, 2025

Improving the Safety and Security of Biological Research | May 5, 2025

Protecting American Communities From Criminal Aliens | April 28, 2025

Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders | Feb. 19, 2025

Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions | Jan. 20, 2025

Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats | Jan. 20, 2025

Protecting the American People Against Invasion | Jan. 20, 2025

America First Policy Directive to the Secretary of State | Jan. 20, 2025

Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship | Jan. 20, 2025

Agency Guidance and Announcements

Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure for Nonimmigrant Academic Students, Exchange Visitors, and Representatives of Foreign Information Media
Federal Register | Aug. 28, 2025

USCIS Releases New H-IB Guidance | Sept. 20, 2025

U.S. Department of Education, Federal Partners Issue Guidance to Help Colleges and Universities Mitigate Foreign Threats to Research | Aug. 25, 2025

Investigation of Harvard University Participation in the Exchange Visitor Program
Department of State | July 23, 2025

The United States Withdraws from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Department of State | July 22, 2025

DHS Sends Administrative Subpoenas to Harvard University
Department of Homeland Security | July 9, 2025

Announcement of Expanded Screening and Vetting for Visa Applicants
Department of State | June 18, 2025

Harvard University Loses Student and Exchange Visitor Program Certification for Pro-Terrorist Conduct
Department of Homeland Security | May 22, 2025

Secretary Noem Terminates $2.7 Million in DHS Grants; Orders Harvard to Prove Compliance with Foreign Student Requirements | April 16, 2025
Department of Homeland Security

DHS to Begin Screening Aliens’ Social Media Activity for Antisemitism | April 9, 2025
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Gender and Title IX

The Trump administration has taken steps to significantly restrict federal protections related to sex, gender identity, and LGBTQ+ rights in education. An executive order issued in January could reshape how the government enforces not just Title IX but also other civil rights laws, by narrowing the definition of sex and gender. The administration has also rescinded Biden-era guidance expanding protections for transgender students.