Inside Higher Ed

ICYMI | The Trump administration is pausing $175 million in federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania, apparently because the college allowed a transgender woman to compete in women’s sports three years ago. The funding pause, announced Wednesday via a #WhiteHouse social media post, is not related to any investigation. Instead, the United States Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) stopped the $175 million as part of an “immediate proactive action to review discretionary funding streams,” a senior White House official said in a statement. The legality of the move isn’t clear, and officials didn’t specify what the paused funding was intended to be used for. Read the full story ?? https://bit.ly/4iDGg0W

ICYMI | Moody's Ratings on Tuesday downgraded its outlook for the higher education sector from stable to negative due to recent and potential federal policy changes. The revised outlook comes as the Trump administration has gutted the U.S. Department of Education via mass layoffs and sought to aggressively overhaul higher education with a flurry of executive orders that have destabilized certain funding streams. Read the full story ?? https://bit.ly/4kK3Law

ICYMI | Here are a few headlines from this week: ?? International Enrollment’s Precarious Moment ??? Resignations, Disagreements With Dean Roil Chapel Hill Civics School ?? ‘We’re Going to Shut It Down’ Read more in this week's update ?? https://bit.ly/4iNzplz

ICYMI | The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights launched investigations into 51 colleges on Friday, accusing them of violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and flouting guidance put forth in the department’s Dear Colleague letter last month, which warned colleges that all race-conscious programs and policies would be considered unlawful. “The Department is working to reorient civil rights enforcement to ensure all students are protected from illegal discrimination,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon wrote in a statement. “Today’s announcement expands our efforts to ensure universities are not discriminating against their students based on race and race stereotypes.” Read the full story ?? https://bit.ly/3E0xBXx

ICYMI | The Trump administration is following through on its threat to crack down on colleges’ race-based programs, beginning with a small postgraduate recruitment partnership. Read the full story ?? https://bit.ly/42fOfMb

ICYMI | International students across the country are on edge after a week of arrests, deportations and escalating threats from the Trump administration. So far the administration’s sights have been set primarily on Columbia University in New York. On March 8, immigration officials arrested recent graduate Mahmoud Khalil, intending to strip him of his green card and deport him for his role in pro-Palestinian campus protests last year. Over the next week, U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents raided students’ dorm rooms, arresting one international student and prompting another to flee to Canada. Read the full story ?? https://bit.ly/4iwE8bP

ICYMI | Here are a few headlines from this week: ?? Colleges Flag Words Like ‘Women’ to Comply With DEI Bans ?? ‘Palpable Fear’ Hangs Over International Students ?? The Fallacy of ‘Treating All Students the Same’ Read more in this week's update ?? https://bit.ly/4iNzplz

USDA Cancels Hundreds of Journal Subscriptions https://bit.ly/4iwRrsz

Northwestern Journalism Professor Says Pro-Palestinian Activism Cost Him Tenure https://bit.ly/4hxBfWO

University of California System Freezes Hiring, Bans Diversity Statement Mandates https://bit.ly/427JJyj