Sara Custer

UC Davis Library Emerges as Campus “Third Place” From therapy dogs to tutoring hubs, Shields Library is redefining itself as a welcoming space for learning, connection and growth.

How some libraries are becoming “third spaces” where students find belonging, tutoring and connection to community. They’re more than just a place to study. By Joshua Bay www.insidehighered.com/news/student...

Research Offices Ask for Extension on Admissions Survey With less than a month before data is due, 81 percent of institutions recently surveyed say they are still working to collect and submit the required information.

Spare a thought today for the institutional researchers who are working to compile 7 years of disaggregated admissions data by March 18th. @kathrynpalmer.bsky.social reports that 81% of colleges still haven't submitted their data to the Department of Education www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

UNC Chancellor Scraps Secret Recording Policy Two weeks after introducing a policy that allowed administrators to secretly record faculty members during class, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill chancellor Lee Roberts told faculty he wou...

“The whole idea was to create clarity and reassurance,” UNC Capel Hill chancellor Lee Roberts said during a Faculty Senate meeting Friday. “That policy clearly has not achieved that aim.” www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-t...

CBO: Pell Grant Facing $11.5B Shortfall If Congress doesn’t add money to the Federal Student Aid account by Sept. 30, students could face dramatic grant cuts or eligibility restrictions.

After expanding access to Pell grants *twice*, Congress has not also increased the money it appropriates to the program. That's a big problem. www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

I'm over the moon that @bakerdphd.bsky.social has come on board as an @insidehighered.com's columnist. Her smart, informed and considered voice is a welcome addition to the Opinions side of the house

To better understand how universities are planning ahead, Inside Higher Ed reached out to 20 of the largest graduate programs in the nation. Most did not respond. Those that did emphasized a mix of increased corporate engagement and expanded loan options, among other measures. But for the most part, many appear to still be figuring it out. “We’re spending a lot of time this year looking at diversifying the streams of funding for graduate students,” said Bonnie Ferri, vice provost for graduate and postdoctoral education at Georgia Institute of Technology.

I'm also in wait-and-see mode on the effects of caps on grad student loans.

My big questions are:
(1) Can the private market scale up in time?
(2) Do students even want private loans?
(3) Will grad programs change admissions practices?

www.insidehighered.com/news/busines...

I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.

They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1

Penn Refuses to Disclose Jewish Faculty, Student Names The Trump administration asked the university to hand over personal information for the members of Jewish clubs and organizations as well as the Jewish Studies department.

In all of history, nothing bad has ever happened when a government asks for a list of the names of Jews @insidehighered.com www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...

5 Higher Ed Names in the Epstein Files Both houses of Congress voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to release the rest of the trove of documents related to Epstein. Here are some of the key higher ed people mentioned so far.

The five higher ed figures who appear most frequently in the Epstein emails released on November 12th. @emmawhitford.bsky.social reports www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

McMahon Breaks Up More of the Education Department Trump officials announced six agreements with four agencies to take over some of ED’s responsibilities.

And ED makes it official. Numerous programs are getting shipped out to four different agencies.

www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

Sallie Mae Launches Private Credit Strategic Partnership with KKR NEWARK, Del., November 12, 2025--Sallie Mae, the leader in private student lending, has announced a multi-year strategic partnership with KKR, a leading global investment firm.

With new caps on federal student loans, the private lending sector is going to get very interesting. Like Sallie Mae selling a seed portfolio of student loans to an investment firm and committing to selling $2 billion more annually for the next three years. finance.yahoo.com/news/sallie-...

Ep. 181: TRIO Cuts, Compact Responses and Looking for Signs of Life at ED | Inside Higher Ed In this episode, Katherine Knott, Inside Higher Ed’s news editor, is ba

I'm back on The Key this week with @saracuster.insidehighered.com. We talk about Dancing with the Stars, the romance novel I'm trying to write and all the news from the last month.

www.insidehighered.com/podcasts/key...

Trinity Christian College Announces Closure Trinity Christian College will close next year due to financial pressure following years of declining enrollment, stubborn deficits and an overreliance on a small donor pool.

Another college closure, this time nearly 900 students' educations are disrupted and 126 faculty are losing their jobs. @byjoshmoody.bsky.social dug into Trinity Christian College's finances and found that 76% of contributions came from just 3 donors in 2024 www.insidehighered.com/news/busines...

Higher Ed Tech Leaders Pursue Consolidation and Savings Educause’s latest top 10 survey shows economic and political uncertainty are putting pressure on colleges to streamline their tech environments while keeping up with AI’s evolution.

The buzzword at Educause this year was "consolidation". Colleges are "shopping their closets" one ed tech leader told me in an effort to find efficiencies and cost savings in their digital ecosystems. Here's my full report www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-in...

An email from New College officials indicating interest in the compact.

Inbox: New College of Florida wants to be the first to sign on to the Trump administration's proposed Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.

And if you're wondering what *exactly* those individual responses say– and don't say– @byjoshmoody.bsky.social spoke to some rhetoric and communication experts to read between the lines www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

How Universities Are Responding to Trump’s Compact The document would require signatories to make sweeping changes to policies and practices. A number of institutions have already said no, and more responses are expected.

We're keeping track of how universities have the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education (will we ever call it Kay-He??) So far 10 colleges have rejected it and two said they'll "provide feedback". www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

UVA essentially agreed to follow this DOJ memo www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

Student Success Reporter - Inside Higher Ed Student Success Reporter Hybrid - In our Washington D.C. office SALARY: Up to $60,000 DOE Inside Higher Ed, the leading source for news, commentary and analysis about higher education, see...

We're hiring! Come work with me @insidehighered.com
ihe.teamtailor.com/jobs/6648965...

Trump Gutted IES. Skepticism of Its Renewal Abounds. The Education Department recently requested ideas on how to “modernize” the data collection and education research funding agency, and it sought to hire for a few positions.

Amber Northern, the special adviser tasked with reforming IES, will giver her report in Dec. But with the government shutdown and staff cuts can she deliver? @ryanequinn.bsky.social looks into the confusion surrounding the future of federal education data www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

Arizona Rejects Compact, Others Leave Options Open Monday’s deadline to provide feedback on the Trump administration’s proposed deal passed with no signatories and silence from some university leaders invited to join.

Today is the deadline for the nine original invitees to provide feedback on the White House’s compact. So far none have accepted it wholesale- Vanderbilt said it would provide feedback. Silence from UT Austin. @byjoshmoody.bsky.social reports www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

The University of Arizona has given a non-answer on joining the Compact of Academic Excellence in Higher Education (as did Washington University in St. Louis) earlier today. UA President Suresh Garimella wrote that he welcomes "the opportunity to engage" in a letter to Linda McMahon.

5 Things to Know About Trump’s Higher Ed Compact Nine universities were asked to give “limited, targeted feedback” on the proposal by today. So far, six have rejected the deal.

Today’s the feedback deadline for the compact, and I broke down what we know about the document so far here from why the White House is taking this approach to what could happen to those who reject it.

www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

UVA, Dartmouth Reject Trump Compact The University of Virginia is the first public, and Southern, institution to publicly turn down the administration's “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.”

In the past 24 hours, two more colleges have rejceted the compact. That leaves Arizona, UT Austin & Vanderbilt of the original 9 who haven’t responded. Monday is the deadline. @ryanequinn.bsky.social reports www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...

White House to Meet with Universities Regarding Compact The scheduled meeting follows increasingly forceful pushback to the wide-ranging proposal.

BREAKING: The White House has confirmed it's called the 5 institutions who haven't signed its compact to a meeting this afternoon. Insiders tell us it's "an effort to regain momentum by threatening institutions to sign" @knottkatherine.bsky.social has the scoop www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

Trump Fires More Education Dept. Employees The Trump administration threatened to lay off federal workers because of the government shutdown. Thousands reportedly got pink slips Friday.

As far as we know, 500 employees at ED were fired today. A senior department leader told @jessicablake.bsky.social that the directive came from Ross Vought's OMB and took the department by surprise.
www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

MIT Rejects Proposed Federal Compact MIT is the first institution to reject a proposal by the Trump administration that would trade preferential treatment on federal funding in exchange for far-reaching changes.

MIT rejects federal compact:

www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

Saudi Arabia OKs Campus for U of New Haven The institution says it started educating Saudi royal family members in the ’90s and later developed curricula for a Saudi “security college,” despite criticism. Now it could be the first university a...

Saudi Arabia Approves Branch Campus for Longtime Partner U of New Haven
www.insidehighered.com/news/global/...

What to Know About the Government Shutdown and Higher Ed Colleges and universities likely won’t face immediate issues, but research may be disrupted as grants pause.

If the shutdown is short it will cause little disruption to higher ed. The risk increases the longer it draws out. Here's what to watch for as the showdown in Congress continues. From @knottkatherine.bsky.social www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...