Welcome back to After the First 100 Days, Inside Higher Ed’s weekly roundup of news from the Hill to the Oval Office. I’m your host, Katherine Knott, IHE’s news editor, who is so ready for fall.
It’s Day 263 of the second Trump administration, and Day 10 of the government shutdown. This week, we got new numbers that signal a steep drop in international students, learned more about the Education Department’s first round of rule making and saw new lawsuits challenging the administration.
But let’s talk more about the proposed compact that the president wants colleges to sign, which we touched on in last week’s edition. It’s clear that higher ed leaders and observers see this as a pivotal moment that could significantly shape how the administration works with colleges and universities. At stake, some experts argue, are billions in funding and institutional autonomy. Any “self-respecting” institution should forcefully reject it, a Views piece argued this week.
The administration says that colleges that sign could receive an edge in grant reviews. But the document itself makes no mention of that promise and instead appears to threaten the funding of institutions that don’t sign. When we tried to clarify that point, a White House spokeswoman told us that “the administration does not plan to limit federal funding to schools that sign the compact.”
The nine colleges asked to review the document have until Oct. 20 to weigh in, according to a document we obtained. So far, MIT is the only one to publicly reject the compact, but it’s unclear how the other institutions intend to respond. We have more here on why higher ed leaders are so alarmed by this proposed compact.
In Other News: The Supreme Court’s 2025–26 term kicked off this week, and experts say this session could hold significant implications for higher ed and could deal a blow to transgender students. On the docket are two cases regarding bans on transgender athletes’ participation in teams that match their gender identity. The justices could take up other cases related to Harvard University, free speech rights of noncitizens and grant funding. For cases not yet on the schedule, experts will be watching the court’s emergency docket closely, as that’s where justices can rule quickly.
So far, we’ve only seen a few higher ed–related lawsuits reach the high court, but more are expected to as litigation continues.
On Deck for Next Week:
- Once again, the main question is when and whether the government will reopen. The longer the shutdown persists, the more disruptive it will be for students, families and institutions.
That’s it for Week 38. If you want more from me on the news and to hear my Taylor Swift thoughts, listen to this week’s episode of our podcast The Key. What else do you want to know about? I’m at katherine.knott@insidehighered.com.
As always, if news breaks this afternoon or over the weekend, you can find the latest at InsideHigherEd.com. In the meantime, I’ll be trying to crochet a mini pumpkin and perfecting my chocolate chip cookies.
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