HEADLINES: Top Higher Education News for the Week

January 26, 2026

The Education Department will no longer require the owners of private colleges to take on personal liability to access federal funds, Inside Higher Ed reports... Columbia University has chosen Jennifer Mnookin, the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as its next president... Florida is considering a policy barring public universities from hiring any new employees through the H-1B visa program, Higher Ed Dive reports.

Education Dept. Rolls Back Key Accountability Measure for Corporate College Owners
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 26, 2026

Columbia Selects University of Wisconsin Chancellor as Its President
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Jan. 25, 2026

Florida Proposal Seeks 1-Year Pause on H-1B Hires at Public Universities
Higher Ed Dive | Jan. 22, 2026

January 23, 2026

The House passed a funding package that rejected steep education cuts proposed by the Trump administration... The turmoil the Trump administration unleashed on higher education has caused critical financial impacts on colleges and universities, Inside Higher Ed reports... Nearly 70 percent of researchers in North America said research funding is declining, a significantly higher rate than other continents, according to a new survey... Colleges and universities are prepping for a large winter storm, with some institutions in Maryland and Georgia announcing preemptive closures.

House Approves DHS Funding, Other Final Spending Bills amid ICE Uproar
Politico | Jan. 22, 2026

Universities Count the Cost, One Year Into Trump’s Second Term
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 23, 2026

More than Half of Authors of Leading Research Say Funding Is Declining
Nature | Jan. 21, 2026

Some Maryland Schools Announce Monday, Jan. 26 Closures Ahead of Snowstorm
CBS News Baltimore | Jan. 22, 2026

Metro Atlanta Colleges and Schools Canceling Activities Ahead of Storm
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (sub. req.) | Jan. 22, 2026

January 22, 2026

The Trump administration dropped its appeal of a federal court ruling that blocked efforts to cut federal funding to colleges and universities over their DEI policies, the Associated Press reports... States are stepping up to create or expand graduate financial aid programs in response to steep federal cuts, The Washington Post reports... The Department of Education has been successful in advancing its policies through negotiated rulemaking, though some tactics used have raised concern, Inside Higher Ed reports... The PIE looks at how the Trump administration upended U.S. international education over the past year...

Trump Administration Drops Legal Appeal over Anti-DEI Funding Threat to Schools and Colleges
Associated Press | Jan. 21, 2026

States Eye Expansion in Graduate Student Loans as Feds Retreat
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | Jan. 22, 2026

High-Stakes Policy Talks Shed Light on ED’s Playbook
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 22, 2026

Trump 2.0: A Year of Disruption for Us International Education
The PIE | Jan. 21, 2026

January 21, 2026

Higher Ed Dive and The Chronicle of Higher Education cover ACE's latest Pulse Point survey of senior higher education leaders... House and Senate lawmakers have jointly proposed legislation that would generally maintain the Education Department’s funding levels and slightly increase NIH funding, Inside Higher Ed reports... The New York Times reports on the Trump administration's unprecedented crackdown of American higher education, and WBRU looks at how higher education has changed during the first year of Trump's second term... Inside Higher Ed looks at how new federal ADA regulations could impact students and institutions.

College Presidents Can’t Escape Trump
The Chronicle of Higher Education (sub. req.) | Jan. 20, 2026

Federal Policy Uncertainty Is Disrupting Planning, College Leaders Say
Higher Ed Dive | Jan. 21, 2026

Again Defying Trump, Congress Proposes Increasing NIH Budget, Maintaining ED
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 21, 2026

Investigations and a Billion-Dollar ‘Shakedown’: How Trump Targeted Higher Education
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Jan. 21, 2026

How Trump’s Second Term Has Changed Higher Education
WBRU | Jan. 20, 2026

Higher Ed Prepares for New Era of Accessibility
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 21, 2026

January 20, 2026

Inside Higher Ed and Higher Ed Dive examine the Trump administration’s sweeping upheaval of higher education during its first year in office… Colleges and universities are scrambling to comply with vastly expanded federal admissions data reporting requirements, reports The Hechinger Report reports… The New York Times reports on how Trump administration immigration policies have driven sharp declines in international student enrollment, focusing on the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a case study... A federal court ordered the Education Department to reconsider some previously cut TRIO grants, Inside Higher Ed reports... Alycia Marshall, the new president of the Community College of Philadelphia, spoke with WHYY about leadership, equity, and the role of community colleges in economic mobility…KTVB looks at Idaho’s LAUNCH program, which state officials say is helping more students access postsecondary education.

4 Takeaways From Trump’s First Year in Office
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 20, 2025

Trump 2.0’s Impact on Higher Ed: The First Year in 8 Numbers
Higher Ed Dive | Jan. 20, 2025

Trump’s Admissions Data Collection Strains College Administrators
The Hechinger Report | Jan. 19, 2026

How Trump Made Life Difficult for International Students and UWisconsin
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Jan. 19, 2026

Federal Court Orders Reconsideration of Canceled TRIO Grants
Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 20, 2025

Studio 2 Extra: Community College of Philadelphia’s New President Dr. Alycia Marshall
WHYY | Jan. 16, 2026

Idaho LAUNCH Program Expanding Opportunities for Postsecondary Education, Research Shows
KTVB | Jan. 19, 2026