‘Undercutting your future’: What a higher endowment tax would mean for colleges

The sector is worried about more risk, fewer resources and a disincentivized donor base as Republicans eye a bigger levy on university investments.

By Ben Unglesbee • March 26, 2025

AAUP and AFT sue Trump administration over threats to defund Columbia University

The unions accused federal officials of trying to “overpower” the Ivy League institution’s autonomy and are asking that a court restore all funding.

By Ben Unglesbee • March 25, 2025

Explore the Trendline➔

Artificial Intelligence

As AI continues its forward march in education and the workplace, colleges are grapplling with how best to incorporate the emerging technology into admissions, courrsework and elsewhere

By Higher Ed Dive staff

AAUP, AFT sue to block Education Department dismantling

The plaintiffs allege that the executive branch has exceeded its constitutional authority and violated law after the president’s order to wind the agency down.

By Ben Unglesbee • March 24, 2025

‘Turbulence’ and ‘confusion’: Groups raise alarm over Trump’s push to kill the Education Department

Opponents of the effort to dismantle the agency worry the executive order will disrupt critical services, such as federal financial aid.

By Ben Unglesbee • March 21, 2025

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear vetoes bill to ban DEI at public colleges

Civil rights groups in the state celebrated the move, but Republicans are expected to override the governor's decision next week.

By Laura Spitalniak • March 21, 2025

University of California freezes hiring as it braces for funding cuts

The system cited uncertainty at both the federal and state level, including heavy potential cuts from the National Institutes of Health.

By Ben Unglesbee • March 20, 2025

Trump signs order closing Education Department to ‘maximum extent appropriate’

The directive comes on the heels of U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon's decision to gut half the agency as its "final mission.”

By Naaz Modan • Updated March 20, 2025

Judge blocks cuts to Education Department teacher training grants

The agency must also reinstate canceled grants to the members of AACTE and two other educator preparation groups that sued.

By Anna Merod • March 20, 2025

Feds suspend $175M to University of Pennsylvania over trans athletics policy

The Trump administration shared the news in a social media post, but a Penn spokesperson said the institution hasn’t received “official notification.”

By Natalie Schwartz • March 19, 2025

Moody’s turns negative on higher ed’s financial outlook amid Trump cuts

Federal policy changes like layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education and funding reductions create major new risks for the sector, analysts said.

By Ben Unglesbee • March 19, 2025

What will NCES layoffs mean for the Nation’s Report Card?

The U.S. Department of Education claims mandated tests like NAEP won’t be impacted, but laid-off employees beg to differ.

By Naaz Modan • March 18, 2025

Democrats demand details on Education Department layoffs

The cuts could hinder the agency’s ability to uphold its duties under key federal laws, according to the letter from three congressional leaders.

By Roger Riddell • March 18, 2025

Trump administration can enforce anti-DEI orders, appeals court rules

The three-judge panel lifted a lower court’s preliminary injunction that had blocked major portions of two executive orders. 

By Natalie Schwartz • March 17, 2025

Wyoming’s anti-DEI law is ‘a tool for censorship,’ free speech group says

PEN America lambasted the Republican-led Legislature for interfering in instruction and taking a "battering ram" to the state’s education system.

By Laura Spitalniak • March 17, 2025

Education Department launches probes into over 50 colleges after anti-DEI guidance

The new investigations are part of the agency’s aggressive tactics to carry out President Donald Trump’s higher education policy priorities.

By Natalie Schwartz • March 14, 2025

Columbia University faces ultimatum from Trump administration to keep federal funding

Federal officials told the Ivy League institution to remake its disciplinary process and suspend or expel some pro-Palestinian protesters by March 20.

By Laura Spitalniak • March 14, 2025

Johns Hopkins to lay off 2,200 workers as it reels from Trump’s USAID cuts

The university said previously it faced an $800 million funding shortfall from the hollowed-out aid agency and would have to wind down programs.

By Ben Unglesbee • March 14, 2025

Trump administration silent on Muslim students’ civil rights

While this Education Department has taken strong action on antisemitism, its directives to date have not mentioned Islamophobia.

By Naaz Modan • Updated March 14, 2025

USDA restores funding to University of Maine System

In an about-face, the agency resumed payments after Sen. Susan Collins spoke with Trump administration officials.

By Ben Unglesbee • March 13, 2025

Kentucky lawmakers vote to ban DEI spending at public colleges

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear is unlikely to sign the bill, but Republican lawmakers hold a veto-proof supermajority in the Legislature.

By Laura Spitalniak • March 13, 2025

Half of OCR eliminated after Trump Education Department layoffs

The shuttering of seven civil rights enforcement offices means thousands of cases impacting colleges in half the nation are up in the air.

By Naaz Modan • March 13, 2025

‘Reckless, foolish and vicious’: Education Department cuts slammed by critics

Democratic lawmakers and higher ed groups voiced concerns that the firings would leave the agency without enough people to carry out key functions.

By Natalie Schwartz • March 12, 2025

USDA pauses funding to University of Maine System

The funding freeze follows a spat between President Donald Trump and Gov. Janet Mills over his order restricting transgender students from women’s sports.

By Ben Unglesbee • March 12, 2025

How college presidents are quietly resisting federal attacks on higher education

Many leaders of institutions favor behind-the-scenes resistance over protests and op-eds, the Council of Independent Colleges’ president writes. 

By Marjorie Hass • March 12, 2025

Education Department announces massive layoffs, slashing nearly half its workforce

The agency’s employee count will plummet from 4,133 when President Donald Trump was inaugurated to about 2,183.

By Naaz Modan • Updated March 11, 2025