National News
Google is gifting a year of Gemini Advanced to every college student in the U.S.
To grow its user base and compete with OpenAI, Google is offering a free year of Gemini Advanced to U.S. college students. The deal includes premium AI tools and is open to anyone with a .edu email.
Big Ten Michigan schools make moves to create a ‘Mutual Defense Compact’ against Trump policies
The hope is that creating an alliance between the 18 universities in the Big Ten Conference to defend “academic freedom, institutional integrity, and the research enterprise,” as the resolution reads, will make schools stronger together.
Tuition for Minnesota State colleges, universities could spike 18% in next 2 years
KSTP -
The price hikes would affect the Minnesota State system, which includes more than 30 colleges and universities. System leaders say a lack of state support is a key factor in the expected increase.
University of Arizona to merge four colleges into two
Starting July 1, the College of Health Sciences will be integrated into the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health to create the new School of Health Professions and Global Medicine, and the College of Applied Science and Technology will be integrated with the College of Information Science.
Utah State University merges 5 colleges into 2 as state mandates multimillion-dollar budget cuts
Utah State University will restructure its academic programs—including several large-scale mergers and a still unknown number of employee layoffs—in order to make up lost funds from the state’s budgets cuts for higher education.
This Oregon college won’t charge a penny in tuition to students from families making $100K or less
Reed College is offering free tuition to students nationwide whose families earn under $100,000. About 8% qualify this year, with that number expected to grow to 25% as the program expands.
Advocating for their peers: student-driven efforts to end campus food insecurity
Fifty-one percent of UC San Diego undergrads face food insecurity, but student-led outreach efforts are helping address the issue and making a real impact.
OpenAI offers free ChatGPT “Plus” during finals season while students raise concerns about its place in education
OpenAI is offering college students free access to ChatGPT Plus during finals season, but some students and faculty remain concerned about AI’s impact on education and academic integrity.
How bad is California’s housing crisis? A first-in-the-nation bill would let students live in cars
A progressive Democratic lawmaker is seeking a simple but jarring remedy of last resort for California’s college students navigating the state’s housing crisis: Let them sleep in their cars.
As ‘Bot’ students continue to flood In, community colleges struggle to respond
Community colleges have been dealing with an unprecedented phenomenon: fake students bent on stealing financial aid funds. While it has caused chaos at many colleges, some Southwestern faculty feel their leaders haven’t done enough to curb the crisis.
Student visa terminations have quickly hit over half of all states. What’s behind it.
NBC News -
As schools like Harvard, Stanford, Columbia and more say their international students’ visas are being revoked, lawyers say it’s all part of the larger plan to reduce immigration.
The controversial and obscure law being used against immigrant student protestors
NPR -
Since last year, some pro-Palestinian protestors have been accused of antisemitism and of supporting terrorist organizations. Protestors deny this, arguing that criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza and U.S. support should not be equated with antisemitism.
Struggling Alabama college makes announcement about its future
Talladega College, one of the oldest historically Black colleges in Alabama, recently got a loan from Hope Federal Credit Union, based in Mississippi. The college has had financial difficulties for at least a year, but leaders say there’s a bright path forward.
House bill seeks to prevent college athletes from being employees of schools, conference or NCAA
U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) introduced a bill Tuesday to bar college athletes from being classified as employees. The move comes amid ongoing debates in Congress over athlete compensation and employment rights.
DEI, encampment bans: How Arizona lawmakers are supporting Trump’s higher education agenda
One bill looking to pull state funding from colleges that teach about diversity, equity and inclusion, and another that would reinforce bans on encampments on university grounds are coming up for final votes in the Legislature.
Trump administration freezes $1 billion in funding for Cornell University, $790 million for Northwestern University
”The money was frozen in connection with several ongoing, credible and concerning Title VI investigations,” a Trump administration official said, referring to a federal statute that prohibits discrimination in programs and activities that receive federal funding.
Course sharing boosts retention and revenue for colleges, says new report
As colleges and universities grapple with declining enrollment and increasing financial pressure, a new report points to a collaborative solution: course sharing.
Bienvenidos! Some colleges are targeting a long-neglected group: Hispanic students
NPR -
Universities and colleges have historically not done well at enrolling Hispanic students, who lag behind their white peers in college attendance. Now their own success may largely depend on it.
Harvard, UCLA, Stanford among schools across U.S. reporting student visa revocations
ABC News -
The student visas of five individuals currently attending or recently graduated from Harvard University have been revoked, according to Harvard. Since the beginning of Trump's second term, the State Department has revoked over 300 student visas nationwide.
New program will make college classes accessible for students with an intellectual disability
Lake Superior College will be the first higher education institution in Minnesota to provide expanded college offerings for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities thanks to a new state grant.
Newsom lays out plan for CA career education
The plan lays out the state’s approach to job training and education programs, but critics have said the proposals are unclear. At the same time, some for-profit career colleges and trade schools face issues with licensing or other violations.
Black colleges ponder their future as Trump makes cuts to education dollars
The nation’s historically Black colleges and universities are wondering how to survive as the Trump administration downsizes the scope and purpose of the U.S. Department of Education—while cutting away at federal funding for higher education.
OpenAI, anthropic target college students with latest education AI announcements
CNBC -
Anthropic debuted Claude for Education, a specialized version of its popular chatbot designed for college students, while OpenAI announced that it would make ChatGPT Plus free for U.S. and Canadian college students through May.
Who loses when Trump cuts funding to universities?
NPR -
Some educators say the administration's moves to cut funding at colleges and universities amounts to a war on higher education. But the loss of those funds will be felt far beyond the college campuses.
U.Va. researcher: Most schools are unable to fully support students returning to class after mental health ER visit
More and more students are going to hospital emergency departments for mental health related visits, but schools don’t have evidence-based practices to support them when they return to class, according to a University of Virginia researcher.
Report shows impact of anti-DEI law on Texas’ LGBTQ+ college students
The study found that 52% of students surveyed considered leaving their school after the law took effect, and 78% considered leaving Texas entirely. Of the 21 staff and faculty members surveyed, about one-quarter said they have considered leaving Texas.
You can’t survive on ramen and Natural Light: Lawmakers confront college food insecurity
More than one in five graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Minnesota said they worried about having enough food until they had money to buy more, the university’s 2024 College Student Health Survey found.
Some foreign college students are being targeted for deportation. What rights do they have?
ABC News -
While the number of impacted students appears to be small—about 300 students targeted last week—the actions have sparked fear and questions about the rights these students have, especially free speech.
Trump officials bar undocumented Oregon students from college completion programs
Colleges and universities in Oregon and California can no longer allow students without permanent legal status access to some federally funded programs meant to help disadvantaged students earn degrees, according to a recent decision from the U.S. Department of Education.
No need to apply: Cal State is automatically admitting high school students with good grades
Now in the program’s first year, Cal State joins other public universities across the country in a growing national movement to automatically admit eligible students. Last fall, more than 17,400 high school seniors got the good news of their acceptance.
Ohio Gov. DeWine signs higher ed bill regulating classroom discussion and banning diversity efforts
S.B. 1 will set rules around topics involving “controversial beliefs” such as climate policies, electoral politics, foreign policy, diversity and inclusion programs, immigration policy, as well as marriage or abortion. The bill would only affect Ohio’s public universities.
Trump team considering blocking ‘pro-Hamas’ colleges from having any foreign students: report
The endeavor is yet another attempt by the White House to take aggressive action on immigration and campus antisemitism, in what some view as an effort that suppresses free speech in colleges.
Virginia establishes food pantry program for public colleges
Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Monday signed a bill approving Virginia lawmakers’ plan to create the Hunger-Free Campus Food Pantry Grant Program, which will provide free food to college students.
Department of Education prepares to reopen income-driven repayment plans
The Education Department plans to reopen applications for income-driven student loan repayment programs as soon as Wednesday, allowing borrowers to once again cap monthly payments based on their income.
Utah college courses will focus on Western civilization and ‘rise of Christianity’ after Gov. Cox signs controversial bill
Utah State University will start a pilot program to overhaul general education curriculum with the new focus. That’s expected to be expanded to schools statewide by 2029.
