President Trump’s administration appears to be retooling its aggressive campaign to reshape elite universities, bringing lawsuits into a fight that it has primarily waged with funding freezes and executive action.
Donald Trump is dismantling the Education Department piece by piece. Since taking office they've laid off 40% of its staff and moved billions in grant programs to other agencies.
We dug into the numbers and the impact of the White House's plan: www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
NEW: Trump is pausing plans to garnish the wages of millions of student loan borrowers in default, less than a month after announcing the effort.
The about-face comes amid a broader affordability push from the White House ahead of this year's crucial midterms.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
The Trump admin will start garnishing wages for student loan borrowers in default next year, sending the first 1,000 notices the week of January 7.
More than 5 million borrowers are in default on their student loans, and that number could balloon next year.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Colleges were once a bulwark of skepticism about AI's role in education. Now they're a growing customer base for OpenAI, according to documents we obtained, and the company is making a push for more deals.
How did higher ed learn to stop worrying and love ChatGPT?
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Three days after a tragic shooting killed two students at Brown University, the attacker remains at large. Security footage is scarce, a vexing challenge for a campus with more than 800 cameras.
As Brown closes down early, anxiety and frustration is mounting:
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Scoop: The Education Department ordered more than 260 Office for Civil Rights staff laid off in March to return to work this month as a court case over the firings drags on, according to emails I obtained.
A spokesperson told me the order is temporary, and ED will still pursue the layoffs.
Excited to share my first weekend essay for @bloomberg.com!
I wrote about Trump's college funding compact, the schools he saw as potential allies in his campus reform crusade, and why its getting harder and harder for universities to stay out of politics:
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
An email sent to Peace Corps personnel about DOGE As you are probably aware, a DOGE employee visited Peace Corps today. She and a few of her colleagues will be working here with us over the coming weeks. They will be sitting in conference room 7218 for the duration of their stay. During their stay with us, please observe the following: • Do NOT walk by the conference room to peek in. The location was selected for their privacy. Be mindful of your hallway conversations. • Do NOT discuss their presence outside the agency. Do NOT share their names with anyone. • Be courteous and respectful of their time. These folks are professionals with a big job to do and a narrow window in which to do it. We want them to be able to do their job safely and effectively. Your decorum and professionalism is expected.
NEW FOIA Files newsletter is out!
‘This is Not a Drill.’ How the Peace Corps Prepared for a DOGE Visit
The agency spent two months running through training exercises leading up to DOGE’s arrival in April, according to emails I obtained via #FOIA
www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
The Trump admin is leveraging the accreditation system to reshape campuses. I sat down for an exclusive interview with the man leading that charge, Nicholas Kent, who laid out his plans for a higher ed "revolution."
"We're not afraid to fire accreditors," he said.
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Dartmouth rejected the White House’s funding compact this morning, a day after meeting with administration officials to discuss the deal.
They’re the sixth college to decline in the past week.
president.dartmouth.edu/news/2025/10...
The University of Southern California declined the Trump administrations preferential college funding compact, hours after Penn did the same.
USC is the fourth of nine formally invited schools to reject the White House’s deal.
UPenn declined to sign the Trump administration's preferential funding compact, becoming the third of nine formally invited schools to do so.
But Penn president Larry Jameson said the university provided substantive feedback, unlike MIT and Brown, which rejected the deal's "fundamental premise."
One billionaire has waged a five-year campaign to force Credit Suisse and later UBS to examine the mishandling of Holocaust victims’ money — and that quest is nearing completion.
Read The Big Take ⬇️
NEW: Federal officials pressuring Harvard University over allegations of mishandling antisemitism on campus considered an unprecedented tactic to force compliance: placing a lien on school property.
-- with @janetlorin.bsky.social
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
I’ll be taking a few weeks off but will be back on July 14 to hit the ground running, and will be staying in D.C. so please reach out to talk education policy!
I’m beyond excited for this next chapter, but it’s bittersweet to leave IHE after three formative years. I got to work with a sharp, indomitable team of excellent editors and journalists at a pivotal time for the higher education beat, and I’m so proud of the work we’ve done.
Some personal news: tomorrow will be my last day at Inside Higher Ed.
I’m thrilled to be joining @bloomberg.com as education reporter, covering the Trump administration's efforts to reshape the education landscape.
DeSantis Announces Launch of New Accreditor
Florida governor announced the state is launching its own accrediting body. Other states involved in the effort are Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. #HigherEd #EDUSky #AcademicSky bit.ly/4k8PL8s
Only about 12 percent of nondegree credentials offered graduates significant wage gains of 10 percent or more that they wouldn’t have gotten otherwise compared to similar workers. www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-in...
Workforce Pell, which both houses of Congress support, would allow students enrolled in short-term credential programs to receive the federal aid grants. That could spur unaccredited providers to seek a piece of the burgeoning credentials market. @liamknox.bsky.social reports: tinyurl.com/un455zu9
Congress Opens the Credential Floodgates
Lawmakers are poised to extend Pell eligibility to short-term credential programs. With few guardrails in place, it could incentivize an explosion in unaccredited and for-profit providers. #HigherEd #EDUSky #AcademicSky bit.ly/4jOZctB
Could congress' proposed workforce Pell provision unlock the floodgates to thousands of unaccredited non-degree awarding providers? @liamknox.bsky.social reports www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...
Why did the Fulbright foreign scholars' board members resign en masse? @liamknox.bsky.social has the inside story:
www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...
So much is happening and the Senate is looking to pass its version of the One Big Beautiful Bill in two weeks. Here's @jessicablake.bsky.social on what to expect as we await the draft of the Senate bill.
www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...
