FY26 Appropriations Update: House Appropriators Propose Difficult Budget Cuts for NSF, NIST, and NASA
Dec 4, 2025 - Analysis of the Fiscal Year 2026 House Appropriations Committee’s Commerce, Justice, Science legislation.
Higher Ed Policy and Budget Announcements
The U.S. Is Funding Fewer Grants in Every Area of Science and Medicine
Dec 2, 2025 - A quiet policy change means the government is making fewer bets on long-term science.
Here’s what to know about Calvin University’s 12.5% faculty reduction, program cuts
Dec 2, 2025 - The cuts were described in a letter as honoring Calvin’s “distinctive mission” and ensuring long-term sustainability.
Texas Tech System restricts race and gender teaching
Dec 1, 2025 - Tech, now the second Texas public university system to add similar teaching restrictions, had earlier directed faculty to follow state and federal guidance recognizing only two sexes.
White House Announces Genesis Mission with the Aim to Accelerate Scientific Discovery through AI
Dec 1, 2025 - This new effort is described as a “whole-of-government approach” creating, “a national discovery platform that unites the world’s most powerful supercomputers, AI systems, and emerging quantum technologies with the nation’s most advanced scientific instruments.”
University of Lynchburg offers faculty buyouts to address finances
Dec 1, 2025 - An administrator says no programs will be cut, and there's not a target figure for how faculty accept the offer.
What’s in Northwestern University’s deal with the Trump administration?
Dec 1, 2025 - The Illinois institution agreed to pay the federal government $75 million over three years and make key policy changes to have research funding restored.
University of Chicago nearly halves its budget deficit to $160M
Dec 1, 2025 - Revenue growth outpaced cost increases as the private nonprofit aims for a balanced budget by the decade’s end.
How Trump 2.0 upended education research and statistics in one year
Dec 1, 2025 - Decades of carefully built infrastructure aimed at improving and tracking how American children learn vanished in an ideological attack
Economic Data Dashboards Flourish to Track the Trump Effect
Nov 28, 2025 - Watch groups are on the alert for anything out of the ordinary in the official US government data.
Trump’s AI ‘Genesis Mission’: what are the risks and opportunities?
Nov 26, 2025 - National laboratories have been instructed to broaden access to their data sets to accelerate research as part of the federal government’s AI platform. But who stands to benefit?
Indiana Universities must explain how new degrees promote American values
Nov 21, 2025 - The new degree proposal form issued by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education asks how programs cultivate "commitment to the core values of American society."
Florida public universities plan to cut at least 18 academic programs
Nov 24, 2025 - The eliminations are part of a regular review of degree productivity based on graduate numbers. The latest review found 214 underperforming programs.
Canada seeks star academics from abroad, but stable funding for higher education remains a concern
Nov 14, 2025 - Proponents believe a current push to recruit star researchers from abroad will mean top-tier learning for Canadian students and a boost to research innovation and excellence.
Trump administration launches plan to dismantle Education Department
Nov 18, 2025 - The department will shift responsibility for several of its core functions to other federal agencies.
How foreign student enrollment is shifting in the U.S., in 6 charts
Nov 17, 2025 - Foreign student enrollment in U.S. colleges has stalled, with a 17 percent decline in new students this fall after Trump policy changes, a key survey shows.
Grad school cuts are shrinking Ph.D. enrollment at Duke
Nov 17, 2025 - Duke University made deep cuts, while N.C. State and UNC-Chapel Hill kept growing.
Keene State to lay off staff positions, asking faculty to retire after state cuts
Nov 13, 2025 - A round of layoffs is coming down the pike at a college in Keene NH after state-level cut to the state university system left the school with a $4 million gap to close by the end of next fiscal year.
Texas A&M University professors now need approval for some race and gender topics
Nov 13, 2025 - Texas A&M University System regents on Thursday adopted a new policy requiring professors to first get approval to discuss some race and gender topics.
International students in US up 4.5% in 2024-25 — but warning signs loom
Nov 17, 2025 - U.S. colleges enrolled more foreign students than ever before in the last academic year. But newly surveyed colleges say that enrollment is now falling.
Sterling College in Vermont to close
Nov 14, 2025 - The environmental-focused institution, which has under 40 students, said that closing now was the responsible move to support their transitions.
Education Department zeroes in on 4-year colleges for expanded IPEDS collection
Nov 13, 2025 - The plan would exclude two-year colleges and open-enrollment institutions that award financial aid solely based on need.
Rider set to lay off 25% of faculty after university placed on financial probation
Nov 11, 2025 - Administrators plan to lay off 25% of its full-time faculty by Dec. 31.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln leader reduces program cuts from 6 to 4
Nov 12, 2025 - While the public institution's chancellor backed away from some cuts, he is moving forward with others that face fierce opposition.
China’s new scientist visa is a ‘serious bid’ for the world’s top talent
Nov 11, 2025 - The country is easing migration for young researchers to boost its competitiveness in artificial intelligence, robotics and new materials.
Graduate Programs Will Soon Feel the Brunt of Loan Caps as Changes to Federal Aid Advance
Nov 6, 2025 - If fewer students can afford to enroll, higher-ed advocates say, colleges may struggle to sustain many of their master’s and professional degrees.
What college leaders should know about the $100K H-1B visa fee
Nov 11, 2025 - One higher education expert suggested leaders educate local and federal lawmakers about the “adverse impact” of the new policy.
Cornell inks $60M deal with Trump administration to restore funding
Nov 7, 2025 - The agreement, which ends multiple federal investigations into the university, also requires it to report extensive undergraduate admissions data quarterly.
Trinity Christian College to close at the end of the academic year
Nov 8, 2025 - The institution considered slashing programs and finding a partner but ultimately decided there was “no sustainable path forward,” its president said.
CRA Joins Amicus Brief in Support of International Students
Nov 4, 2025 - CRA joins an amicus legal brief in support of international students impacted by the immigration actions of the Trump Administration and DHS.