Top Higher Education News for Monday
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February 17, 2025

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TOP STORIES

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An L.A. Community College Begins to Heal

Sara Custer, The Key

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At the beginning of February, the deadly Los Angeles wildfires were fully contained after burning for nearly a month. Hundreds of students and staff lost their homes, and thousands more were displaced.

 

Now that the embers have died out, the president of Glendale Community College shares what his school is doing to rebuild and restore a sense of normalcy to the lives of students and faculty members.

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At Annual Meeting, Battered Presidents Are Subdued in the Face of Trump’s Funding Blitz

David Jesse, The Chronicle of Higher Education

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The mood at last week's annual gathering of the American Council on Education seemed to mirror the Washington, D.C. weather—gloomy and subdued.

 

In hallway conversations and chats over coffee, presidents seemed weary, battered by weeks of uncertainty about what money would continue to flow into their institutions, what programs they could still run, and who could do anything to generate change in the face of the Trump administration's assault on higher education.

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AACC’s Bumphus to Retire at Year’s End

Martha Parham, Community College Daily

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After a storied career spanning more than five decades, American Association of Community Colleges President and CEO Walter G. Bumphus will retire at the end of the year.

 

Bumphus is known as a champion of community colleges, with both education leaders and policymakers praising his ability to bring people with different perspectives and talents together to advance opportunities for the millions of Americans that the institutions serve.

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The Perils of Handing Off the Education Department’s Job to Other Regulators

Wesley Whistle, New America

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Following the blueprint laid out by Project 2025, President Donald Trump has called for shuttering the U.S. Department of Education. Experts say the abolishment of the agency would be difficult, requiring changes to numerous laws.

 

Still, the elimination of the department is not impossible. Here are six proposals from Project 2025 to shut down the U.S. Department of Education—and why many experts believe students, colleges and universities, and taxpayers would suffer as a result.

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Accepted Without Applying: The Growth of Direct Admissions

Michael Horn and Jeff Selingo, Future U

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This year, thousands of students will be accepted to colleges without ever submitting a formal application. That’s because more and more schools are automatically accepting students who meet preset performance thresholds through direct admissions programs.

 

In this interview, the leader of one of the nation’s largest direct admissions platforms discusses the benefits and risks of this innovation and how it changes the dynamics between schools and students.

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Campuses Quiet as Higher Ed Navigates Trump’s Orders

Johanna Alonso, Inside Higher Ed

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As President Donald Trump continues to churn out executive orders negatively affecting the higher education community, some students are surprised to see a lack of campus protests—even at institutions traditionally rife with activism.

 

What accounts for the change in tactics? Students from across the country weigh in.

HUMAN WORK AND LEARNING

‘Golden Ticket to Job Security’: Trade Union Partnerships Hold Promise for High School Students

Sarah Carr, The Hechinger Report

This Community College Has Ivy League Professors and Is Backed by Sam Altman

Emma Whitford, Forbes

EQUITY IN EDUCATION

Key Takeaways From Three Years of the REACH Collaborative

Emily Thomas, EdNC

'We’ve Been Essentially Muzzled': Department of Education Halts Thousands of Civil Rights Investigations Under Trump

Jennifer Smith Richards and Jodi Cohen, ProPublica

Chilling Effect’ Feared as Trump Administration Attacks DEI

Taylor Jung, NJ Spotlight News

FEDERAL POLICY

DOGE Rips Through Education Department, Cutting Contracts, Staff and Grants

Laura Meckler and Hannah Natanson, The Washington Post

Federal Funding Freeze Disrupts Rural Organizations Supporting Foster Youth, Job Growth

Leah Willingham, Associated Press

Opinion: Trump Vowed to Disrupt Higher Ed. Here Are Five Bipartisan Ways to Do It.

Jane Swift, RealClearEducation

Blog: Guess What? Every American Is Impacted If the Department of Ed Closes. Yes, That Means You

Iyana Moore, The Education Trust

STATE POLICY

Governor Sanders Launches ACCESS Plan to Overhaul Higher Education in Arkansas

Daniela Dehaghan, KATV

Analysis: Lawmakers Escalate a High-Stakes War on a Medical School Partnership

Kevin Richert, Idaho Education News

Oregon Spent Millions to Grow Manufacturing, Tech Workforces. Educators Say It’s Their Turn

Alex Baumhardt, Oregon Capital Chronicle

Alabama House Committee Approves Bill Protecting Access to Dual Enrollment Programs

Anna Barrett, Alabama Reflector

NEW PODCASTS

From Protest to President

In the Margins

Former Foster Youth Often Struggle to Get Through College. Here's How Some Programs Help

Education Beat

AI Skills Are a ‘Must-Have,’ But Employers Want More

Work in Progress

Will Technical Colleges Lead the Future of Higher Education?

The EdUP Experience

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Daily Lumina News is edited by Patricia Brennan.

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