Liam Knox

In Trump’s War With Colleges, No School Gets to Be Switzerland The administration’s “compact” for preferential funding targets fence-sitters, putting pressure on schools that thought they could stay above the fray.

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...

Trump’s College Czar Has a ‘Secret Weapon’ to Transform Campuses Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent wants to overhaul the accreditation system that ties schools to government funds. Agencies are already falling in line.

here you go! www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Trump’s College Czar Has a ‘Secret Weapon’ to Transform Campuses Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent wants to overhaul the accreditation system that ties schools to government funds. Agencies are already falling in line.

Gift link! www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Trump’s College Czar Has a ‘Secret Weapon’ to Transform Campuses Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent wants to overhaul the accreditation system that ties schools to government funds. Agencies are already falling in line.

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's Feedback on the Compact | Office of the President

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.

Penn Rejects Trump’s Rowan-Backed University Funding Compact The University of Pennsylvania declined to join the Trump administration’s preferential federal funding compact, becoming the third of nine invited US colleges to turn it down.

Story here: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

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."

A Billionaire’s Quest to Find Credit Suisse Nazi Accounts Puts UBS in the Spotlight Ronald Lauder has led a push to reopen investigations after he helped reach a $1.25 billion settlement in the 1990s. He thinks that deal left billions on the table.

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 ⬇️

Harvard Faced Threat of Trump Team Placing Lien on Its Property 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.

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.

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

Nondegree Credentials Yield Mixed Outcomes The American Enterprise Institute and Burning Glass Institute analyzed upward of 23,000 nondegree programs to see how well they meet learners’ goals.

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 Would Extend Grants to Unaccredited Programs 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.

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

Workforce Pell Would Extend Grants to Unaccredited Programs 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.

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

Workforce Pell Would Extend Grants to Unaccredited Programs 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.

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...

Fulbright Board Resigns En Masse Over Political Interference Nearly the entire scholarship board quit Wednesday in protest of the Trump administration’s intervention in the selection process, which they say was politically motivated and illegal.

Why did the Fulbright foreign scholars' board members resign en masse? @liamknox.bsky.social has the inside story:
www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

What to Expect as the Senate Tackles Reconciliation The Senate faces a July 4 deadline to pass its own version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, leaving little time for compromise or significant changes.

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...

Can Republicans take away a college’s accreditation? But, the federal government has no say in whether an individual college is accredited, experts say. That decision is up to the accreditors.

Apropos of nothing, but here's my story from October on accreditation.

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

After Delay, Chapel Hill Board Votes to Award Tenure After faculty raised alarm over the board’s delay on the decisions, trustees finally debated and voted by email. A couple of them said they generally opposed tenure.

After Delays and Public Blowback, Chapel Hill Board Votes Outside Meeting to Award Tenure

After faculty raised alarm over the board’s delay on the decisions, trustees finally debated and voted by email. A couple of them said they generally opposed... #HigherEd #EDUSky #AcademicSky bit.ly/3FGjAPG

1A Listening to the news can feel like a journey. But 1A guides you beyond the headlines – and cuts through the noise. Let's get to the heart of the story, together – on 1A.Support NPR and get your news ...

I’ll be on @the1a.org at 10 ET tomorrow to talk all things international students — how they’re navigating the current moment and what’s changed about the Trump admins approach to revoking visas and curtailing international enrollment.

Tune in here: www.npr.org/podcasts/510...

Community Colleges Fear Proposed Changes to Pell The House’s budget would strip Pell Grants from many part-time students. That’s bad news for community colleges.

Community colleges say 400k students could lose their Pell Grant under House Republican’s proposal changes to the program. Here’s why.

www.insidehighered.com/news/institu...

The Latest on International Students in the US | The Brian Lehrer Show | WNYC Reporter Liam Knox reports on the latest on that plus the dispute between the administration and Harvard over enrolling foreign students.

ICYMI: @liamknox.bsky.social on the Trump admin & international students:

www.wnyc.org/story/the-la...

The Brian Lehrer Show | WNYC | New York Public Radio, Podcasts, Live Streaming Radio, News Brian Lehrer leads the conversation about what matters most now in local and national politics, our own communities and our lives.

I’ll be on the Brian Lehrer Show at 9 ET this morning to talk about my reporting on the Fulbright and the Trump administration’s revival of its campaign against international students.

Tune in: www.wnyc.org/shows/bl

Fulbright Applicants Rejected Over “DEI” Research Proposals The Trump administration staged an unprecedented intervention in this year’s Fulbright selection process, rejecting finalists whose research deals with race, gender or climate change.

The Trump administration has taken its fight against DEI to the Fulbright program, intervening in the selection process to disqualify applicants whose projects focus on race, gender or climate change. Great reporting by @liamknox.bsky.social.
www.insidehighered.com/news/global/...

ICE Warns International Students of More SEVIS Terminations Immigration officials sent letters to recent international graduates on short-term work visas giving them 15 days to report employment or face removal from the country.

NEW: ICE sent emails to dozens of international graduates on OPT threatening deportation unless they provide proof of employment in 15 days.

The scope of the crackdown is unclear, but one advisor told me 28 students from one college got the same letter.
www.insidehighered.com/news/global/...