APLU In The News

A recent change to a House bill that funds the Education Department could allow master’s- and doctoral-level nursing programs access to higher levels of federal student borrowing.

The Trump administration finalized regulations Thursday that will put in place new loan limits for postbaccalaureate degree programs, which could potentially limit college access for hundreds of thousands of students and weaken pipelines for several high-demand health-care professions, Inside Higher Ed reports. Press

“The Trump administration’s decision to fire the entire board that oversees the National Science Foundation is another blow to American science that threatens the country’s global leadership, multiple higher ed and research advocacy groups warned, as did ousted board members,” Inside Higher Ed reports.

“Higher education experts and college access advocates are urging Congress to set aside nearly $40 billion in funding for the Pell Grant program this upcoming fiscal year, as the Congressional Budget Office projects the need-based scholarship will face a historic multibillion-dollar shortfall,” Inside Higher Ed reports.

The halfway point of the federal fiscal year looms at month’s end, yet the National Institutes of Health has only obligated around 15 percent of the estimated $38 billion it has to distribute in grants and contracts to universities and other research institutions, Inside Higher Ed reports.

The first year of the second Trump administration inspired a bonanza of federal lobbying across sectors. Higher education was no exception. Parts of the sector — including major research universities and some of the wealthiest liberal-arts colleges — increased their spending on outside lobbying firms by millions of dollars, in aggregate, between 2024 and 2025.…

Hundreds of lawmakers have joined dozens of university leaders and academic trade associations in urging the Department of Education to amend its new regulations on federal student loans, arguing the current rule will deter students from pursuing high-demand degree programs and thus exacerbate dire health-care workforce shortages, Inside Higher Ed reports.

The Trump administration is at the center of many of the higher education world’s biggest lawsuits this year. There’s a simple reason for that: The administration’s actions and policies, if fully realized, would have a massive impact on the sector, Higher Ed Dive reports.