HEADLINES: Top Higher Education News for the Week

February 18, 2026

New federal student loan caps on health care programs could disproportionately impact underserved communities, The 19th reports... The Department of Defense is considering blocking service members from using tuition assistance at dozens of institutions, CNN reports... The Department of Labor announced that it will allocate $65 million to help community colleges develop short-term training programs that qualify for Workforce Pell... Mississippi Today spotlights a Hinds Community College program expanding access to nontraditional students.

New Student Loan Limits Could Threaten Diversity in Nursing and Public Health Programs
The 19th | Feb. 17, 2026

Pentagon May Bar Tuition Aid for Top Universities in Hegseth’s Crackdown on ‘Biased’ Schools
CNN | Feb. 13, 2026

Labor Dept. Dedicates $65M to Community Colleges Preparing for Workforce Pell
Inside Higher Ed | Feb. 18, 2026

‘It’s Just Convenient for Me’: New Hinds Community College Program Topples Barriers to Higher Education
Mississippi Today | Feb. 17, 2026

February 17, 2026

Funding for the Pell Grant could fall billions short without congressional action, potentially triggering significant cuts for students, Inside Higher Ed reports... Higher Ed Dive examines how colleges and universities are responding to Trump administration policies affecting international student enrollment... CNBC looks at how changes to Parent PLUS loans included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will soon impact borrowers... Forbes examines the growing momentum behind accelerated degree programs... Writing in The Hechinger Report, JP Flores, a Ph.D. candidate in biology, calls for greater investment to broaden undergraduate research opportunities for students at more institutions.

Pell Grant Facing $11.5B Shortfall, CBO Says
Inside Higher Ed | Feb. 13, 2026

International Enrollment Is under Pressure. How Can Colleges Respond?
Higher Ed Dive | Feb. 17, 2026

Parents with Student Loans Have a Short Window to Secure Affordable Repayment and Forgiveness
CNBC | Feb. 16, 2026

Three Reasons Why Momentum For 3-Year College Degrees Is Growing
Forbes | Feb. 13, 2026

Opinion: Pathways for Future Scientists Are Becoming Scarce, Threatening a Strong and Innovative Workforce
The Hechinger Report | Feb. 16, 2026

February 13, 2026

United Press International looks at how federal policy is making it much more challenging for undocumented students to access higher education... The National Science Foundation is returning applications for its Graduate Research Fellowship Program without review, Inside Higher Ed reports... The leaders at five colleges and universities in Milwaukee are teaming up on AI, Wisconsin Public Radio reports.

Immigration Policies Closing Doors for Undocumented Students
United Press International | Feb. 11, 2026

NSF Returning Fellowship Applications With Little Explanation
Inside Higher Ed | Feb. 13, 2026

Milwaukee’s 5 Higher Education Leaders Team up on AI
Wisconsin Public Radio | Feb. 12, 2026

February 12, 2026

The recently enacted education spending bill includes new restrictions on the Trump administration's ability to divert or withhold some higher education funding, Inside Higher Ed reports... The Hechinger Report analyzes the effects of the ban on race-conscious admissions... Two new reports detail the state of college endowments and the evolving higher education priorities of governors.

How Congress’s Budget Could Hamper Trump ED Agenda
Inside Higher Ed | Feb. 12, 2026

After Affirmative Action: Four Takeaways — And Puzzles — From College Admissions Data
The Hechinger Report | Feb. 12, 2026

Down 9.2%: Colleges See Drop in New Gifts to Endowments
Higher Ed Dive | Feb. 12, 2026

Here Are 4 Education Priorities Fresh on the Mind of Governors in 2026
University Business | Feb. 11, 2026

February 11, 2026

Despite a court order blocking Trump administration cuts to TRIO, thousands of first-generation and low-income students are no longer receiving supports to help them access higher education, The 74 reports... Higher Ed Dive reports on improvements to the FAFSA... Nearly 3 million high school students are taking college courses through dual enrollment programs, according to a new report.

Despite Lawsuit, 44,000 Low-Income, 1st-Gen Students Lose College Access Help
The 74 | Feb. 11, 2026

‘We’re Now Seeing the Results’: Education Department Officials Tout FAFSA Progress
Higher Ed Dive | Feb. 11, 2026

Dual Enrollment Surges to 2.8 Million Students as Equity Gaps Persist
The EDU Ledger | Feb. 10, 2026

News RoomACE In the News

Explore More

ACE Op-Eds

Trump’s ‘Compact’ Is Bad for Colleges – And Bad for America
U.S. News | Oct. 20, 2025
Americans Need to Work Together to Fix Education. We’ve Both Done It Before on Opposite Sides
Fox News | July 9, 2025
Here’s Why We Cannot Permit America’s Partnership With Higher Education to Weaken or Dissolve
The Hechinger Report | March 18, 2025
The Only Certainty Is Uncertainty
Inside Higher Ed | July 2, 2024
Protect, Teach, Enforce
Inside Higher Ed | June 25, 2024
AI Can Transform the Classroom Just Like the Calculator
Scientific American | April 17, 2024
There’s a Temporary Fix to the FAFSA Mess — All Colleges Must Extend Decision Deadlines
The Hechinger Report | March 26, 2024
Answering the Call
Inside Higher Ed | March 19, 2024
Every FAFSA Delay Puts College Further Out of Reach
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Feb. 8, 2024
Don’t Dash Opportunity for America’s College Students
The Hill | Aug. 16, 2023
‘Fire the Accreditors’ Is a Bad—and Illegal—Idea
Inside Higher Ed | June 28, 2023
This Is How To Keep Academic Freedom Alive in America
Newsweek | March 23, 2023
Why U.S. News May Have to Rethink How It Creates College Rankings
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | Sept. 14, 2022
Canceling Student Loan Debt Is Just the Start
The Hill | July 1, 2022
Want to Reduce Hunger Among College Students? Stop Taxing Their Pell Grants
The Hill | Feb. 10, 2022
Doubling the Pell Grant Invests in America's Future
The Hill | Sept. 3, 2021
Making Equity Everyone’s Work
Diverse: Issues In Higher Education | March 31, 2021
Dropping the Ball
Inside Higher Ed | March 4, 2021
The Quickest And Most Effective Way Biden Can Help Millions of Americans Go to College
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | Jan. 30, 2021
Liberal, Conservative or Somewhere in the Middle?
Inside Higher Ed | Oct. 19, 2020
Should Congress Provide Additional Pandemic Relief for Colleges and Universities?
CQ Researcher | Sept. 11, 2020
The Biggest Danger to U.S. Higher Education? Losing 20 Years’ Worth of Gains in Access for First-generation and Minority Students
The Hechinger Report | Aug. 11, 2020
Our Country's Future Education Depends on Actions Congress Takes
The Hill | July 20, 2020
Why Trump’s Move to Force International Students to Take In-person Classes This Fall Is Being Blasted as Harmful
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | July 8, 2020
Supreme Court Has Ruled on DACA, Now It's Time for Congress to Act
The Hill | June 20, 2020
College Closings, Economic Upheaval Make a Case for Blockchain Adoption
Education Dive | June 18, 2020
Are Campus Leaders Prepared for the Impact of the Racial Crisis?
Inside Higher Ed | June 15, 2020
College in a Pandemic is Tough Enough — Without Reliable Broadband Access, It’s Nearly Impossible
The Hechinger Report | June 9, 2020
How College Students Can Help Reopen America
Inside Higher Ed | May 18, 2020
A Call for Ideas to Help Student Parents Succeed During and After COVID-19
Education Dive | May 6, 2020
The Courage of Medical Students
Inside Higher Ed | April 20, 2020
University Research is Key to COVID-19 Breakthroughs, Serving the Public Good
The Hill | March 23, 2020
Safeguarding Research on Campuses Against Foreign Threats
Inside Higher Ed | March 9, 2020
In Appreciation of a Public Servant
Inside Higher Ed | Dec. 9, 2019
Mental Health Challenges Require Urgent Response
Inside Higher Ed | Oct. 29, 2019
Guns on America's Campuses: Let the Colleges Decide
The Hill | Sept. 9, 2019
The Invisible China Threat: University Intellectual Property
The Hill | July 30, 2019
Ending the Stigma for College Students With Learning Disabilities
The Hechinger Report | July 16, 2019
Providing Prisoners With Expanded Access to Higher Education Is the Smart Thing to Do
The Hill | July 5, 2019
No Retreat
Inside Higher Ed | June 10, 2019
Ted Mitchell: Congress Must Act to Protect Dreamers Still Living in Legal Limbo
Fox News | May 21, 2019
Taxing College Scholarships: A Travesty to Low-income and Middle-class Students
The Hill | May 20, 2019
Black Students' 'Unprecedented and Unequal' College Debt Should Cause Alarm
The Hechinger Report | Feb. 19, 2019
Congress Must End the Purgatory for ‘Dreamers’
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | Nov. 9, 2018
Higher Education Must Clean Out Its ‘Front Porch’
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | April 25, 2018
Only in America
Inside Higher Ed | Feb. 15, 2018
FCC’s Proposed Internet Rules Could Raise College Costs and Hinder Free Exchange of Ideas
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | Dec. 8, 2017
The House GOP Tax Bill Would Raise the Cost of College. We Can’t Let That Happen.
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | Nov. 6, 2017
Why Most Republicans Don’t Like Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education | July 19, 2017
History, Moral Leadership, and Georgetown
The Washington Post | April 26, 2017
The Supreme Court Frees Colleges to Sensibly Pursue Diversity
The Chronicle of Higher Education | June 24, 2016

Letters to the Editor

Higher Education Must Rediscover Its Purpose
The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) | Jan. 29, 2024
Don’t Blame Student Loan Debt on the Few Schools With Large Endowments
The Boston Globe (sub. req.) | Sept. 11, 2022
College Is Worth It
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Oct. 29, 2021
The Harsh New Reality Schools Are Facing on Title IX
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | May 24, 2020
The Flaw in a Higher Education Bill
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Dec. 1, 2019
How Long Will ‘Dreamers’ Have to Live in Limbo?
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | July 30, 2019
Readers Critique The Post: Ageism, Skateboarding, and the International Space Station
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | July 5, 2019
Blame the NBA, Not the NCAA, for Big-Time Athletes’ Dilemma
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | Feb. 25, 2019
Weighing the Value of College
The New York Times (sub. req.) | May 26, 2018
Feds Must Help Colleges Reform and Change
The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) | May 23, 2018
Making College More Diverse Takes Hard, Customized Work
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | April 2, 2018
How to Assess What Students Have Learned
The New York Times (sub. req.) | Feb. 26, 2018
Tulane’s 41% Student Sexual Assault Rate
The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) | Feb. 15, 2018
Should Rich College Endowments Be Taxed?
The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) | Nov. 20, 2017
Proposed Tax on Private College Endowments Will Hurt Students
MinnPost (MN) | Nov. 16, 2017
The Dreamers Are a Good Part of America’s Future
The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) | July 25, 2017

HEADLINES: Top Higher Education News for the Week

Explore More​​

ACE Op-Eds

Letters to the Editor

Higher Education News Links

Explore More