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Senate Dems Grill Trump’s Pick to Lead Civil Rights Office
Richey positioned herself as prepared to continue the Trump administration’s crusades against trans women athletes and campus antisemitism—but provided little insight into how she plans to do so with OCR’s skeleton crew staff. Kimberly Richey, a Florida education official, made her case Thursday about why she should lead the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, pledging “unwavering” support of the administration’s priorities such as protecting Jewish students.
Purdue Cuts Off Student Paper Citing Institutional Neutrality
Purdue University has ended a long-standing partnership with its independent student newspaper, The Purdue Exponent, and will no longer distribute papers, give student journalists free parking passes or allow them to use the word “Purdue” for commercial purposes. The Purdue Student Publishing Foundation board (PSPF), the nonprofit group that oversees The Exponent—the largest collegiate newspaper in Indiana—said the changes came without warning.
A Chance for Constructive Engagement (opinion)
Mark Zupan recounts a constructive exchange with an alumnus and higher ed critic. Earlier this spring, I was one of hundreds of college, university and scholarly society leaders to sign “A Call for Constructive Engagement” published by the American Association of Colleges and Universities.
Housing Program Increases Student Success in Calif.
A state program designed to address student homelessness holistically greatly improved retention and attainment, according to new data from Cal State Long Beach. An estimated 20 percent of college students experience housing insecurity and 14 percent experience homelessness, according to fall 2024 data from Trellis Strategies.
What America Needs Most From the Class of 2025
Advice for graduates. I humbly and gratefully accepted my sixth honorary degree from Long Beach City College yesterday. Much more importantly, I also had the enormous privilege of crafting a speech for more than 5,300 members of the Class of 2025. It was the most ethnically diverse group of graduates to whom I have delivered a commencement address. They looked like California and reflected the very best of America.
Emails Shed Light on UNC’s Plans to Create a New Accreditor
University of North Carolina system officials say it’s past time for a new accreditor, arguing the current setup fails to focus on students, emails obtained by Inside Higher Ed show. Last month, Peter Hans, president of the University of North Carolina system, casually dropped a bombshell announcement that the system and others were in talks to launch a new accreditor.
Trump Proclamations Escalate International Student Attacks
Trump issued two orders Wednesday night that could deal a major blow to international enrollment. One targets Harvard; the other restricts travel from more than a dozen countries, raising alarms across higher ed. President Trump issued two directives targeting international students just hours apart on Wednesday night. One is a ban on entering the U.S. for citizens from 12 countries and heightened visa restrictions for those from another seven.
New Ed-Tech Tools for International Student Support
In April, unexpected changes to students’ SEVIS statuses required staff to manually check on them each day. Ed-tech providers see growing interest in tools designed to address such challenges. Managing international student enrollment and retention requires significant attention to detail, as students and institutions juggle compliance, data reporting and other regulatory concerns.
Supporting Campus Mental Health Amid Uncertainty: Key Podcast
Mental health experts Tara Harper and Seli Fakorzi join Inside Higher Ed’s editor in chief, Sara Custer, in a new episode of The Key, IHE’s news and analysis podcast, to talk about how colleges are supporting students and staff as they grapple with economic uncertainty and political division.
Trump Policy Moves to Make Grant Makers Political Appointees
Officials say the policy, which would make it easier to fire thousands of government employees, is designed to increase accountability. But experts say it would increase corruption and threaten the nation’s health and economy. Hundreds of scientists are pushing back against a federal policy proposal that would make it easier to fire grant makers, among many other government employees, who don’t adhere to the Trump administration’s political whims.
Featured Gigs: Learning Designer, Learning Technologist, Brown
Four questions for Melissa Kane, director of online program development. If there is anyone in higher education that you want to work with, that person is Melissa Kane. As director of online program development at Brown University, Melissa leads a talented team doing incredible work at the intersection of learning, technology and institutional change. You can learn more about Melissa and her professional and educational journey here.
What to Expect as the Senate Tackles Reconciliation
The Senate faces a July 4 deadline to pass its own version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, leaving little time for compromise or significant changes. The clock is ticking for Senate Republicans as they rush to approve a sweeping bill that cuts spending and taxes and pays for some of President Donald Trump’s top agenda items by the Fourth of July.
Practical Lessons for Leaders in Crisis (opinion)
It’s not just about surviving the storm—it’s about coming out stronger on the other side, Janet N. Spriggs and Paula Dibley write. Crises are an inevitable part of leadership, challenging the resilience of both leaders and institutions. In these moments, leaders must make tough decisions under immense pressure, and how we respond can shape the outcome of the crisis and the legacy we leave behind. It’s not just about surviving the storm but also about learning from it, adapting and coming out stronger on the other side.
Texas Ends In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students
Hours after the Trump administration filed a lawsuit against the state Wednesday arguing the policy was unlawful, a district judge agreed to reverse it. Thousands of undocumented students in Texas no longer have access to in-state tuition. The U.S. Department of Justice sued the state on Wednesday over its policy of allowing undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at public universities. Within hours, Texas sided with the Justice Department, and U.S.
McMahon Faces Angry House Democrats
The fiery three-hour hearing was McMahon’s third appearance on Capitol Hill in less than a month. Four key moments stood out. Education Secretary Linda McMahon faced off with congressional Democrats Wednesday as they pummeled her with a slew of questions about the morality and effectiveness of the staffing cuts she has already made within her department as well as the spending cuts and program reforms she wants to make.
University of Idaho Scraps Plan to Buy University of Phoenix
The deal had been in the works since spring 2023 but faced criticism from lawmakers and others in the state. More than two years after detailing plans to acquire the University of Phoenix, the University of Idaho won’t be buying the for-profit college after all.
ED Pressures Accreditor to Act on Columbia
The Trump administration called on Middle States to take action against Columbia for alleged civil rights violations, arguing it is out of compliance with accreditation standards. The Department of Education has publicly called on Columbia University’s accreditor, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, to take action against the university’s alleged noncompliance with federal nondiscrimination laws.
If Harvard Falls, So Does Our Democratic Republic
I’m the last person I thought would ever say this. If you were to page through the decade-plus of archives of this blog you will find many criticisms of our nation’s elite private universities. My complaints and grievances as cataloged in these pieces are almost too numerous to mention. I do not approve of their distorting effects on college admissions; I find their claims of being meritocracies hollow; I decry their lousy leadership; I lament the amount of attention and money they suck up relative to their paltry share of the overall higher education sector.
Students’ Sense of Purpose Tied to College Retention
A recent study from the University of Washington at Tacoma finds that a student’s decision to leave higher education can be driven by a lack of goals or sense of self. The number of adults in the U.S. who have attended some college but have yet to earn a certificate or degree has grown to over 43 million. Between January 2022 and July 2023 alone, 2.1 million students left higher ed—a 2.2 percent year-over-year increase, according to new data from the National Student Clearinghouse published today.
This Is a Summer to Organize (opinion)
Faculty may want a break, but the architects of the assault on higher ed won’t be breaking and neither should we, Jennifer Lundquist and Kathy Roberts Forde write. We’re entering what would normally be the long-awaited reprieve of summer—a time to write, think, travel, to escape the demands of the academic year. But this will not be a normal summer.
After Delay, Chapel Hill Board Votes to Award Tenure
After faculty raised alarm over the board’s delay on the decisions, trustees finally debated and voted by email. A couple of them said they generally opposed tenure. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees, after not publicly explaining why it hadn’t awarded tenure to faculty outside of health-related schools since 2025 began, granted tenure to 33 faculty members this week. “The university administration and Board of Trustees moved these personnel actions forward given the impact the deferral caused on departments,” the university said in a statement. “The university will continue to weigh all factors when considering the timing of expenditures given the current fiscal environment.”
McMahon Faces Bipartisan Grilling in Senate Hearing
The education secretary fielded outrage from Democrats and tough questions from Republicans about massive proposed budget cuts at a hearing Tuesday. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon defended major spending cuts to indignant Democrats and skeptical Republicans at a Senate budget hearing Tuesday. It was the second of three appearances McMahon is making on Capitol Hill in quick succession: In late May, McMahon defended the cuts at a House appropriations committee hearing, and later today she will speak before the House Education and Workforce Committee.
2.1M Students Left Higher Ed Without a Degree Last Year
New data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center finds more students are leaving higher ed without a degree each year than are re-enrolling and completing. Even as more states and colleges invest in efforts to improve postsecondary persistence, the total number of adults in the U.S. who have completed some college credits but not earned a credential (SCNC) grew 2.2 percent, or by nearly 800,000 people, between 2022–23 and 2023–24, according to new data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
Judge Rules to Keep Lawsuit Challenging NIH Cuts Alive
A lawsuit challenging sweeping grant cuts at the National Institutes of Health can move forward, a federal judge ruled Monday. Judge William Young of the District of Massachusetts did grant part of the Trump administration’s motion to dismiss but denied the bulk of the motion, allowing the lawsuit to continue. The lawsuit is one of several challenging grant cuts at federal agencies.
Cross-Functional Marcomm Teams Drive Strategic Success
How unified teams deliver results. During my first foray into marcomm leadership, every project seemed on fire. If the project was due at 3 p.m., the first draft was ready at 2 p.m., giving little time for adjustments. I noticed this happened with almost every project. As I did some research into the production calendar, I realized there were more projects than time. That meant if one project got behind, there was a ripple effect that continued to impact more and more projects the team was working on.
Post-Tenure Review Resulted in Florida Faculty Brain Drain
The number of faculty who left Florida increased by a percentage point in the wake of the new policy, which researchers say also failed to increase productivity. Florida’s controversial post-tenure review policy has led tenure-track faculty members at public institutions to leave the state, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Southern California. At the same time, the policy resulted in no improvement in professors’ productivity, the researchers found.
May Brought Deep Cuts at Multiple Colleges
Colleges laid off well over 800 employees last month due to a mix of enrollment challenges and state funding issues. Ivy Tech saw the deepest cuts with more than 200 jobs axed. With the academic year coming to an end, multiple universities announced deep cuts in May, shedding dozens of jobs amid financial pressures often linked to enrollment shortfalls.
Indiana U: Most Complaints Under Law Were “Form of Protest”
Indiana University says that, out of 46 complaints it received in 2024 under a state law that threatens the jobs of faculty who don’t foster "intellectual diversity,” 37 were “frivolous complaints that were anonymously submitted as a form of protest.”
Florida Board Rejects Ono for UF Job
The Florida Board of Governors decided against confirming Santa Ono as president of the University of Florida in a contentious vote focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. The Florida Board of Governors voted Tuesday to reject Santa Ono as the next president of the University of Florida, bowing to opposition from conservatives over his past support of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Anti-DEI activist Chris Rufo led the conservative backlash, while multiple elected officials in Florida alleged that Ono failed to protect Jewish students during his time as president of the University of Michigan. Amid those concerns, the Board of Governors voted 10 to 6 to reject Ono for the UF job.
Chronicling Trump’s Evolving International Student Policies
After a series of court losses spurred Trump officials to change course on their international student agenda, they’ve returned with a slate of new and devastating policies. Almost three months after the arrest of Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil, international students in the U.S. still face unprecedented challenges and threats from the federal government. For many, this semester has been a roller coaster of existential fear, fleeting hope and, above all, uncertainty about their future.
New Details of Trump’s Budget Cuts Alarm Researchers
The billions in proposed funding cuts would involve restructuring and consolidating the National Institutes of Health and slashing the majority of the National Science Foundation’s budget for scholarships and fellowships. Academics are alarmed by newly released details that show how exactly the Trump administration plans to cut billions from scientific research. Among other things, the administration’s proposed cuts would drastically reduce funding earmarked for building a robust STEM workforce pipeline and redefine the government’s priorities for which types of research it will fund with the money that’s left.
Encouraging Alumni to Assist in Career Development
Mentorships, job shadows and office hours can connect students to other graduates of their alma mater. A May 2024 Student Voice survey by Inside Higher Ed and Generation Lab found that 29 percent of respondents believe their college or university should prioritize connecting students to alumni or other potential mentors.