HEADLINES: Top Higher Education News for the Week

March 27, 2024

PBS News Hour speaks with several high school seniors and ACE’s Ted Mitchell to examine the dire of implications of the FAFSA delays... According to Inside Higher Ed, institutions are asking the Department of Education for more time to gather gainful employment data it has requested by this July as they are busy processing student financial aid information… The Los Angeles Times profiles Tom Stritikus, who Occidental College announced on Tuesday will be its next president… Birmingham-Southern College will close at the end of this academic year after the Alabama legislature declined to fund a loan it had sought… After the Supreme Court prohibited race-conscious admissions, some students of color are feeling pressure to write their college application essays about their race, the Associated Press reports.

Troubled Rollout of FAFSA Overhaul Causes Major Delays for Students Seeking Financial Aid
PBS | March 26, 2024

Citing FAFSA Mess, Colleges Want Relief From New Gainful Rule
Inside Higher Ed | March 27, 2024

New Occidental College President Bullish on Liberal Arts, Champion of Equity and Inclusion
Los Angeles Times (sub. req.) | March 26, 2024

Birmingham-Southern College Closing May 31 as Loan Bill Fails to Gain Support: ‘This Is a Tragic Day’
AL.com | March 27, 2024

Should College Essays Touch on Race? Some Feel the Affirmative Action Ruling Leaves Them No Choice
The Associated Press (Star Tribune) (sub. req.) | March 26, 2024

March 26, 2024

ACE’s Nick Anderson, in a Hechinger Report op-ed, urges all colleges and universities to consider extending their deadlines for students to commit in light of the botched FAFSA rollout... California pushed back its deadline for students to submit state financial applications by a month, according to the Los Angeles Times... Inside Higher Ed reports that New York is weighing regulations that make it simpler for struggling private institutions in the state to merge with institutions from other states... A group of academics in Florida are suing state education officials after a new law, which restricts the hiring of researchers from countries of concern to the U.S., has halted their work... WBUR examines the changes to the new, online SAT that debuted this month.

OPINION: There’s a Temporary Fix to the FAFSA Mess — All Colleges Must Extend Decision Deadlines
The Hechinger Report | March 26, 2024

California Extends Deadline for Students Seeking State Financial Aid Amid FAFSA Turmoil
Los Angeles Times (sub. req.) | March 25, 2024

Making College Mergers Easier in New York
Inside Higher Ed | March 26, 2024

Academics Challenge Florida Law Restricting Research Exchanges From Prohibited Countries Like China
The Associated Press | March 25, 2024

New Digital SAT Is Shorter, More Adaptive for Students
WBUR | March 25, 2024

March 25, 2024

Up to 200,000 applicants’ FAFSA forms will need to be reprocessed after a calculation error led to inaccurate estimates for dependent students with assets, NPR reports... Students are anxiously awaiting financial aid packages as they weigh where to enroll amid delays related to the FAFSA, writes The Washington Post... Inside Higher Ed looks at how the final FY 2024 spending package, which President Biden signed on Saturday, affects higher education-related programs... The New York Times looks at a new Indiana law that penalizes professors at public universities who fail to encourage “intellectual diversity.”

Ed Department Error May Delay Student Financial Aid Further
NPR | March 24, 2024

With College Decisions Looming, Students Ask: What’s the Cost, Really?
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | March 25, 2024

The 2024 Federal Budget for Colleges, Researchers and Students
Inside Higher Ed | March 25, 2024

Indiana Law Requires Professors to Promote ‘Intellectual Diversity’ or Face Penalties
The New York Times (sub. req.) | March 23, 2024

March 20, 2024

Higher Ed Dive explores what’s driving soaring enrollment at several Historically Black Colleges and Universities… Alabama Republican legislators passed legislation Tuesday that strips state funding for DEI programs and limits teaching of so-called “divisive concepts” at public institutions, The New York Times reports… Patrick M. Jones, current chancellor of Penn State Schuylkill, will become the next president of Bucks County Community College.

Some HBCUs Are Seeing Enrollment Surge. Here’s Why.
Higher ED Dive | March 19, 2024

Alabama Republicans Pass Expansive Legislation Targeting D.E.I
The New York Times (sub. req.) | March 19, 2024

Bucks County Community College Names New President
The Philadelphia Inquirer (sub. req.) | March 19, 2024

March 19, 2024

ACE President Ted Mitchell and UMBC President Emeritus Freeman A. Hrabowski III write in Inside Higher Ed that the role of the college president is increasingly important in an environment rife with division and in need of leadership... California is in the process of giving students an extra month to apply for state financial aid programs, the Los Angeles Times reports... American University announced on Monday that Jonathan Alger will be its next president.

OPINION: Answering the Call
Inside Higher Ed | March 19, 2024

College Financial Aid Extension in the Works for California Students Huart by FAFSA Mess
Los Angeles Times (sub. req.) | March 19, 2024

American University Names New President: Jonathan Alger of JMU
The Washington Post (sub. req.) | March 18, 2024

 ACE Op-Eds

 Letters to the Editor