The Markup—Oct. 9, 2026

Hello! I’m your host, Jessica Blake, Inside Higher Ed’s federal policy reporter, and this is The Markup, IHE’s weekly roundup of all things higher ed policy.

This week, the Trump administration continued to see pushback in court and on the Hill. A federal court in Virginia ruled against the Justice Department’s attempt to end the state’s law that allows undocumented residents to pay in-state tuition. Meanwhile,the Government Accountability Office declared the Health and Human Services Department violated the law when it impounded $78 million that Congress appropriated for improving the country’s health-care system.

And on Thursday, the administration said nine universities are under investigation for alleged J-1 visa fraud, and the official leading the inquiry pledged to “follow the money and uncover the schemes.”

But as usual, we saw plenty of other action involving the White House this week. So here are IHE’s three key takeaways:

1. Federal Data on Campus Sexual Assault Is Still Missing. As the gang-rape allegation at Cornell University continues to attract national attention, sexual assault–prevention groups are calling out the federal government’s failure to conduct a national campus climate survey on sexual violence.

Advocates argue conducting such a comprehensive study—as mandated in a 2022 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act—could help colleges be more strategic in their sexual assault–mitigation efforts.

But others note that the survey would be one of the largest in the country, second only to the decennial Census. So without more funding and staffing, conducting such a study would be nearly impossible.

2. Student Loan Defaults Continue to Climb, and Colleges Should Worry. For the first time in four years, the cohort default rate, or the percentage of student borrowers who default in the first three years after leaving college, ticked up slightly from 0 percent to 0.4 percent. 

That increase might not shock you, but experts warn it’s only the start. 

The CDR is expected to jump significantly in the coming years as the nation moves away from the three-year payment pause brought on by the pandemic. It’s hard to know exactly how much the rate will rise, but experts are looking to other data on nonrepayment as an indicator. Right now, at nearly 2,100 institutions, more than 25 percent of borrowers aren’t repaying their loans.

One source said the nonrepayment rate is a “canary in the coal mine of what could be to come.”

3. Trump Continues Crackdown on International Students. In the last week, we watched as the Trump administration proposed a new $70K fee for a foreign student work program, appealed a court order blocking new visa limits for international students and told a federal district judge that the idea to ban Harvard University from enrolling foreign students was still in play. Reporters Johanna Alonso and Josh Moody covered it all.

Under the proposed fee, any F-1 student looking to start optional practical training, the program that allows international graduates to work in the U.S. for a year, would be subject to a $70,000 fee, while STEM OPT extensions (for two additional years) would cost $30,000. But international education advocates argue that the added cost will only further drive international students away from American universities and from jobs in high-demand fields. Comments on the new rule close Nov. 9. 

And the Trump administration is trying to restrict a different program focused on internships for international students—curricular practical training, but four higher education associations went to court this week to challenge that effort in court. 

Historically, foreign learners could complete any for-credit internship as long as it was “directly related” to their major and “an integral part of an established curriculum.” They could also complete noncredit internships if they were mandatory for degree completion. 

But in August, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program told colleges that for-credit internships had to be required for graduation. If that rule was broken, SEVP added, institutions could lose their ability to enroll international students, and the staff members who authorize CPT could be held criminally liable.

Read more on the lawsuit from Johanna here.

Up Ahead

• We are 25 days out from the midterm election, folks! As Democrats look to take back control in the House and the Senate, Inside Higher Ed is watching to see who will lead the education committees and what they plan to focus on during the next Congress.

• We are also keeping an eye out for the finished accreditation rule, which could drop any day. The Education Department must finalize the package before Nov. 1 if it wants the regulations to take effect in 2027.   

That’s it for Week 90 of the second Trump administration. As always, if you have any questions or comments, send them along to me at jessica.blake@insidehighered.com. And if any news breaks today or over the weekend, you can find the latest at InsideHigherEd.com. In the meantime, I’ll be logging off for a few days and enjoying some time down on the sunny shores of Puerto Rico.

Just the Headlines

• Why Federal Data on Campus Sexual Assault Is Still Missing
• Trump Proposes $70K Fee for Foreign Student Work Program
• Fighting Back on Restrictions to Internships for International Students
• 3 Takeaways From the Harvard v. Trump Appeal Hearings
• GAO: HHS Illegally Withheld $78M in Health-Care Improvement Agency Funds
• Judge Backs Virginia in Tuition Equity Case
• 9 Universities Accused of J-1 Visa Fraud
• As National Default Rate Stays Low, Other Data Offers Warning
• DHS Appeals Block on International Student Time Limits

Did someone forward you this email and you want to receive it in your inbox? Sign up to be an Insider now and you’ll get The Markup every Friday as well as access to all our subscriber-only news. Find out more here.