ACE's dotEDU Podcast Join our hosts Jon Fansmith, Mushtaq Gunja, and Sarah Spreitzer as they delve into the policy aspects of issues that impact campuses, students, and higher education leaders.

You can get Hot Takes on higher ed anywhere. But for What is Actually Happening in the policy chaos of Washington, you need Fansmith, Spreitzer and Gunja. Today 2 pm: season premiere of dotEDU! P.S.: #HigherEdBuildsAmerica www.acenet.edu/Pages/dotedu...

Targeting of Tufts Student for Deportation Stuns Friends and Teachers The Trump administration said she “engaged in activities in support of Hamas.” Her friends and lawyers say all she did was co-author an essay critical of the war in Gaza.

Important story on the detained Tufts graduate student, via Anemona Hartocollis of the NYT www.nytimes.com/2025/03/29/u...

Max Frankel, Pulitzer winner who led the New York Times, dies at 94 He helped shepherd the Pentagon Papers into print, was decorated for his coverage of Nixon’s trip to China and broadened news coverage as executive editor.

A great American.

www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2...

The Cost of the Government’s Attack on Columbia American universities have given the country prosperity and security. The Trump administration’s attack on academic freedom endangers all of that.

Powerful stuff from Princeton’s president on the Columbia situation.
Chris Eisgruber, in The Atlantic, writes that attacks on Columbia pose “the greatest threat to American universities since the Red Scare of the 1950s. Every American should be concerned.”
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

At a moment of profound chaos, turmoil, and fear, ACE is standing up for higher education. We always have. We urge all friends of higher ed to join us. The moment is now.

Grateful to @hechingerreport.org for publishing our view.
#HigherEdBuildsAmerica

OPINION: Here’s why we cannot permit America’s partnership with higher education to weaken or dissolve - The Hechinger Report Abrupt cuts in federal funding for life saving medical research. Confusing and misleading new guidance about campus diversity programs. Cancellation, without due process, of hundreds of millions of do...

"Colleges and universities have long worked with the government in countless ways to strengthen our economy, democracy, health and security. We cannot abandon that partnership. We must fortify it." --Ted Mitchell, president of @aceducation.bsky.social
hechingerreport.org/opinion-here...

Today I ran 13.1 in the nation’s capital for higher education. For the faculty. For the staff. Above all, for the students. If you are a friend of higher ed, now is the time to stand up. Join us. Fight for it. We at @aceducation.bsky.social are with you! #HigherEdBuildsAmerica

If you believe, like me, that kids not born on third base deserve a chance to go to bat and play ball in the great game of life…If you believe in the value of federal programs to support disadvantaged students…If you believe in genuine efforts to improve schools…now is the time to stand up.

More from Mitchell: “This move … causes nothing but chaos and confusion.”

Statement by ACE President Ted Mitchell Opposing the Trump Administration’s Cancellation of Grants and Contracts to Columbia University We stand against antisemitism. Period. But the Trump administration’s decision last week to arbitrarily cancel some $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University is not the right...

"We stand against antisemitism. Period. But the Trump administration’s decision last week to arbitrarily cancel some $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University is not the right way to fight hatred." -- Ted Mitchell, president of ACE
www.acenet.edu/News-Room/Pa...

To Chron: “They don’t have a ruling from a judge. They don’t have a finding by an administrative agency.They haven’t tried to reach a resolution.They simply started cherry-picking money that’s going to Columbia and saying,‘We’re not going to pay that.'That’s not how we do this in the United States.”

“The fact that the administration is choosing to simply ignore not just precedent, not just norms, but the actual law covering this should be concerning to a lot of people, not just people at Columbia.”

To IHE: “You don’t get to punish people just because you don’t like what they’re doing,” said Jon Fansmith, senior vice president of government relations at the American Council on Education.

Trump admin cancels $400M in grants at Columbia U Higher ed and free speech advocates are deeply alarmed by the decision to cancel $400 million in contracts and grants at the university, saying it is yet another example of executive overreach.

Due process: It matters. It is indispensable.

My colleague Jon Fansmith at @aceducation.bsky.social has a few observations about that sudden $400m cut the government imposed on Columbia U.

www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

And www.chronicle.com/article/trum...

Right! Super cool. Again, I hadn't known.

Learn something every day. UVM is widely known to refer to University of Vermont. But do you know what the initials stand for?
Until just now, I didn't know.
I also didn't know it was founded in the 18th century (1791)

We also need expansive thinking about credit for prior learning. And competency-based education. And flexible modes of teaching, from in person, to online, to hybrid. Flexible course schedules. These opportunity-focused policies start with maximizing the power and reach of FAFSA.

Some Schools Rethink “College For All” The idea that every student should aim for a four-year college motivated a bipartisan movement for decades. Now even enthusiastic promoters of the idea are reconsidering it.

My view: Let's have college **opportunity** for all, at all points in life, from teenage years onward. That means all high school students filling out a FAFSA, so they know what financial aid is available. That means efficient transfer-credit policies. And more.

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/u...

Federal Judge Extends Block on N.I.H. Cuts to Research Funding The order is a temporary reprieve for hospitals and universities who have argued that the changes sought by the National Institutes of Health would devastate their budgets.

Welcome news today from federal court in Boston: a nationwide preliminary injunction protecting biomedical research funding for colleges and universities across America. ACE (@aceducation.bsky.social) joined AAU and APLU as plaintiffs in one of the cases.
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/05/u...

University research is the "invisible hand" in advancing innovation YouTube video by Dr. Michael M. Crow

What goes into that snazzy smartphone?
"There's not one aspect of this iPhone 16 which has not been deeply empowered and enabled by, at one point or another, some academic research activity."
Watch Michael Crow of ASU make a vital point. #HigherEdBuildsAmerica
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqfk...

Congress Moves to Slash Higher Ed Funding in Budget Showdown Congress is advancing a budget bill that could impose deep cuts to programs that support students and colleges—while also introducing tax changes that could make it harder for students to afford colle...

If #HigherEdBuildsAmerica -- and yes, it does! -- then what in the world does this bill do? ... Asking for a few million friends. www.acenet.edu/News-Room/Pa...

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: dotEDU Live: More Policy Shifts, More Uncertainty for Colleges. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. Join dotEDU Live hosts Jon Fansmith, Sarah Spreitzer, and Mushtaq Gunja as they break down the latest policy shifts from Washington, DC, their impact on campuses, and what to watch for next. This week...

Fansmith, Spreitzer, and Gunja—None better at explaining what’s happening in Washington. And there’s so much to sift through! Join the American Council on Education on Tuesday for a live q-and-a on dotEDU zoom.us/webinar/regi...

On Saturday mornings lately, feels like there’s always more to discover about what happened on Friday

Tense times, no doubt, for higher education. But pride, not fear, is what animates colleges and universities. Chaos will not prevail. Check out your nearest campus. You’ll see. #HigherEdBuildsAmerica

How much money do D.C.-area colleges generate? $15B, report says. With some nearly 300,000 students in the greater Washington area, local universities employ about 100,000 people, according to a new report.

$15 billion a year...Higher education builds the Washington region, and #HigherEdBuildsAmerica. Via Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff of the Washpost. www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...

ACE and UCLA Ed&IS Release HERI Report Highlighting Key Trends Among First-Year College Students ​ACE, in collaboration with the HERI at UCLA, released a report that highlights the growing diversity of first-year college students and explores the experiences, backgrounds, and other key features o...

ACE, in collaboration with HERI at @uclaseis.bsky.social, released a report that highlights the growing diversity of first-year college students and explores the experiences, backgrounds, and other key features of the entering class of 2024. @cresstucla.bsky.social

www.acenet.edu/News-Room/Pa...

Opinion | Trump’s Ban on The A.P. Echoes Orwell’s ‘1984’ As a former White House reporter, I’m familiar with the conventional disputes between journalists and the president. This isn’t one of those.

I worked with Jim Gerstenzang. He is a pro’s pro. Read this. Nobody knows this issue better than Jim.

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/22/o...

Federally run tribal colleges reel from staff cuts Native American education advocacy groups are calling on the Trump administration to spare Haskell Indian Nations University and Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute from employee cuts, after the...

Distressing

As a reminder, we at ACE have joined forces with AAU and APLU in a suit to prevent abrupt cuts to biomedical research.

Judge Extends Block on N.I.H. Medical Research Cuts A federal judge in Massachusetts indicated she would move quickly to consider a more lasting injunction after hearing a laundry list of potential adverse effects of the Trump administration move to cu...

Absolutely crucial breaking news, victory for preserving research. #HigherEdBuildsAmerica

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/u...