Susan Greenberg

DOJ Declares Slew of DEI Practices Unlawful in Memo The nine-page memo builds on the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

In a memo that goes much further than the ED's stayed Feb.14 "Dear Colleague" letter, the DOJ has declared all "potentially unlawful proxies" for DEI "discriminatory." For colleges, that includes recruiting in certain geographic areas and permitting raced-based "study lounges."
tinyurl.com/mry97a62

Conservative Org. Requests Materials for 70 Chapel Hill Courses The Oversight Project, founded by the Heritage Foundation, is using an open records request to search for terms like “DEI” and “gender identity.” Faculty say it encroaches on academic freedom.

A conservative group has issued a public records request for the syllabi for some 70 UNC courses, demanding to search them for terms such as "DEI" and "white supremacy." Some faculty are refusing to comply. Great reporting by @ryanequinn.bsky.social:
www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...

Not that I have heard of, but that's an interesting proposition.

Colleges, Accreditors and States Embrace 3-Year Degrees Colleges from Utah to Indiana and Maine are on track to offer three-year degrees in the near future. But the hesitations that have long plagued the movement haven’t disappeared.

The 3-year bachelor's degree, a long-time goal of some higher ed advocates, is fast gaining traction. Once-hesitant accreditors are granting approval for shortened degrees at institutions from Maine to Utah. Johanna Alonso @insidehighered.com has the story:
www.insidehighered.com/news/student...

AI-Enabled Cheating Points to ‘Untenable’ Peer Review System It’s not clear how widespread the new cheating strategy is, but it’s highlighting longstanding drivers of the peer review crisis some reviewers are now trying to alleviate with AI.

The pressure on peer reviewers is so intense that it's creating a spike in AI cheating, among reviewers and researchers alike. @kathrynpalmer.bsky.social explains. greathttps://www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-innovation/artificial-intelligence/2025/07/21/ai-enabled-cheating-points-untenable-peer

Ind. Public Universities “Voluntarily” Ending 19% of Degrees Ahead of a new law setting a minimum number of graduates for academic programs, institutions have vowed to cut or merge more than 400 undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Indiana's public institutions voluntarily agreed to cut more than 400 academic programs—including in English, political science and chemistry—ahead of a new state law that sets a minimum number of graduates for each degree to be offered. @ryanequinn.bsky.social has the story: tinyurl.com/5fx6sjpn

University of Virginia President Resigns After Trump’s Demands The move is a “major blow” to the independence of American institutions, one expert said.

Yesterday the Justice Department suggested that UVA president Jim Ryan step down for failing to crack down on DEI. Today Ryan did just that, marking another win for Trump in his battle against higher ed.
@jessicablake.bsky.social and @knottkatherine.bsky.social have the story: tinyurl.com/352vwr45

Faculty Reporter - Inside Higher Ed Join the leading newsroom covering US higher education.

Inside Higher Ed is looking for a talented, hard-working reporter to join our fabulous team! DM me if you have any questions. ihe.teamtailor.com/jobs/6090901...

Florida’s GOP Presidential Hiring Spree Last week the Florida Board of Governors approved three new presidential hires with ties to Governor Ron DeSantis and the GOP, a trend that is clearly growing across the state.

The Florida Board of Governors rejected Santa Ono as UF president after intense questioning over his changing views on DEI. But last week they quickly approved three other presidential hires with strong ties to the Republican party. @byjoshmoody.bsky.social has the story: tinyurl.com/bde9uckf

Amid AI Plagiarism, More Professors Turn to Handwritten Work Five semesters after ChatGPT changed education forever, some professors are taking their classes back to the pre-internet era.

More professors are turning to in-class, hand-written assignments and assessments in an effort to break students' growing dependence on generative AI. The results are encouraging. @insidehighered.com's Johanna Alonso has the story: www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...

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

Tenn. Lawsuit Puts Hispanic-Servings’ Fate on the Line The state and the group Students for Fair Admissions sued the federal government, arguing Hispanic-serving institutions—as currently defined—are unconstitutional.

After successfully suing Harvard and UNC to end consideration of race in admissions, Students for Fair Admissions has a new target: Hispanic-serving institutions. @saraweissman.bsky.social reports on the lawsuit and its implications for the country's 600 HSIs. www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

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...

Senate HELP Committee Releases Big Beautiful Bill Senate Republicans want to eliminate so-called “inflationary loans,” stop federal aid to degrees that leave students worse off and expand the Pell Grant to workforce training programs as part of a dra...

The Senate released its response to Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" late last night. It mirrors the House's bill in many ways but puts forth a different plan for holding colleges accountable for unpaid student loans. @jessicablake.bsky.social has the story:
www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-t...

Historic House v. NCAA settlement gets final approval, allowing schools to pay college athletes Universities can begin directly sharing revenue with college athletes starting July 1.

The House vs. NCAA ruling is in: colleges can now pay student athletes directly.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/636...

Emails Shed Light on UNC’s Plans to Create a New Accreditor University of North Carolina system officials say it’s past time for a new accreditor, arguing the current setup fails to focus on students, emails obtained by Inside Higher Ed show.

The Trump administration has vowed to overhaul college accreditation to make it easier for new accreditors to set up shop. According to emails obtained by @byjoshmoody.bsky.social, UNC is well on its way to launching one—possibly in collaboration with Florida. www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

Texas Ends In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students Hours after the Trump administration filed a lawsuit against the state Wednesday arguing the policy was unlawful, a district judge agreed to reverse it.

Within hours of being sued by the Trump administration for allowing undocumented students to pay in-state tuition, Texas reversed course, making a college education unaffordable for thousands of students who grew up there. @saraweissman.bsky.social reports: 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 months of inexplicable delay, the UNC Chapel Hill board of trustees finally voted—by email—on tenure for 33 faculty members. What took so long? @ryanequinn.bsky.social got a hold of the emails that reveal the board's tortured deliberations. www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...

"In the past, Ono had condemned systemic racism & argued for the necessity of DEI [...] Ono emphasized his ideological evolution, which ultimately failed to convince the board"

Board said hm you're *new to hatin niggas and we're lookin for someone *true to hatin niggas. good luck on the job market!

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.

The Trump administration's proposed FY 25-26 budget includes changes to Pell eligibility that could seriously hurt part-time students, and the community colleges that largely serve them. @saraweissman.bsky.social has the story:
www.insidehighered.com/news/institu...

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/...

Musical Theater Professor Says There Are Too Many B.F.A.s In the U.S., more than 150 musical theater bachelor’s programs graduate at least 1,500 students each year into a famously unstable industry. Some argue: Enough is enough.

Are there too many musical theater bachelor's programs for the limited number of available jobs? Some professors say yes. suhttps://www.insidehighered.com/news/students/academics/2025/05/27/musical-theater-professor-says-there-are-too-many-bfas

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.

International students on short-term work visas face new threats of deportation from ICE. @liamknox.bsky.social has the scoop: www.insidehighered.com/news/global/...

Florida A&M Hires DeSantis Ally as President The HBCU in Tallahassee hired a president who has never worked in higher ed but has ties to Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. Her critics have dubbed her “MAGA Marva.”

Florida A&M just hired a new president who has virtually no higher ed experience, but—like so many other college presidents in the state—ties to the governor, Ron DeSantis. In fact, critics call her "MAGA Marva." @byjoshmoody.bsky.social got the story: www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

Amid DEI Cancellations, Students Hold Affinity Graduations Colleges have scrapped affinity graduation celebrations as Trump targets DEI and state bans take effect, but new traditions may be starting.

Given the current anti-DEI climate, universities in many red states have canceled affinity graduation celebrations for underrepresented groups on campus. But students are carrying on the tradition themselves, as Johanna Alonso reports:
www.insidehighered.com/news/student...

Colleges Spend Heavily on Lobbying Amid conflict with the Trump administration, many institutions have increased federal lobbying efforts, in some cases doubling or tripling what they spent in the first quarter of 2024.

Colleges may be reluctant to push back publicly on the Trump administration, but they are quietly spending a boatload on lobbying efforts in Washington. @byjoshmoody.bsky.social examined the data to find out just how much: www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

Conservatives Clash Over Ono Hire at UF Santa Ono appears poised to jump from the University of Michigan to the top job at the University of Florida. But some powerful conservative figures have concerns over DEI.

Santa Ono is leaving the University of Michigan to lead the University of Florida—a move some conservatives oppose, despite his anti-DEI stance at UMich. @byjoshmoody.bsky.social explores the fight over Ono's appointment:
www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

Why I Chose University of Florida, by Santa Ono (opinion) Santa J. Ono explains why he’s pursuing the University of Florida presidency.

EXCLUSIVE: Santa Ono explains in @insidehighered.com why he's leaving University of Michigan for University of Florida:
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

Cal Poly, DePaul and Haverford Head to Capitol Hill Three institutions will face a Republican-led committee that alleges they allowed antisemitism to go unchecked on campus. Prior hearings have been damaging for colleges.

Another campus antisemitism hearing currently under way on Capitol Hill, with the presidents of Cal Poly, DePaul and Haverford testifying. Why those 3, which typically fly under the radar and seem to have little in common? @byjoshmoody.bsky.social explains:
www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...