Scholars Platform Scholars Platform
community college students Education Department President Donald Trump ACT Education Corp. departments higher education institutions percent

2025


Education Department mulls using AI chat bot for FAFSA help

Education Department mulls using AI chat bot for FAFSA help

The Education Department is considering terminating its contracts for thousands of call center employees hired to answer families’ questions about federal student aid, and may replace them with an artificial intelligence–powered chat bot, The New York Times reported Thursday.


Endowments grew 4% in FY2024 on investment returns, donations

Endowments grew 4% in FY2024 on investment returns, donations

Ten-year average annual returns stood at 6.8% for fiscal 2024,down slightly from last year but still robust enough to make spending with endowment money “possible and prudent,” NACUBO and Commonfund said in a press release.


DOGE temporarily blocked from accessing Education Department student aid data

DOGE temporarily blocked from accessing Education Department student aid data

The Washington Post reported on Feb. 3 that some DOGE team members had in fact gained access to “multiple sensitive internal systems,” including federal financial aid data, as part of larger plans to carry out Trump’s goal to eventually eliminate the Education Department.


Few students protest Trump’s executive orders on campus

Few students protest Trump’s executive orders on campus

As President Donald Trump churned out more than 80 executive orders over the past three weeks, sending the higher education community into a panic, some students were surprised to see a lack of campus protests—even at institutions traditionally rife with activism.


HBCUs Use Federal Funding to Connect Students and Communities

HBCUs Use Federal Funding to Connect Students and Communities

“We wanted to follow the model of the Jesup Wagon [a horse-drawn movable school designed by George Washington Carver in the 1900s] that would take university research-based information out to the communities,” says Terrence Wolfork, assistant administrator for communications, conferencing and technology at FVSU.


Education Department’s doors blocked to House Democrats

Education Department’s doors blocked to House Democrats

On Wednesday, 96 Democratic members of Congress sent a letter to Carter requesting an "urgent" meeting to discuss the Trump administration's plans for what they say is to "illegally dismantle or drastically reduce" the Education Department.


When the chair-president “marriage” goes sour (opinion)

When the chair-president “marriage” goes sour (opinion)

Given the array and complexity of presidential responsibilities, many of which require confidentiality, it’s not surprising that a campus community doesn’t know all the ins and outs of how their presidents spend their time and the issues with which they deal.


Technology Initiatives Support Student Mental Health in a Modern Higher Ed Environment

Technology Initiatives Support Student Mental Health in a Modern Higher Ed Environment

The effect can be devastating: Research from Gallup-Lumina found nearly two-thirds (64%) of currently enrolled college students who recently considered stopping their studies said emotional stress or mental health concerns were a significant reason.


‘Self-inflicted wound’: Widespread alarm as Trump administration slashes NIH funding

‘Self-inflicted wound’: Widespread alarm as Trump administration slashes NIH funding

The decision “sabotages the decades-long partnership that has ensured U.S. global leadership in life-saving medical research,” American Council on Education President Ted Mitchell said in a statement on Friday.


Seton Hall defends president on Title IX

Seton Hall defends president on Title IX

Tracey Vitchers, executive director of It’s On Us, a nonprofit dedicated to sexual assault prevention, echoed Bedera’s last point, noting that the Title IX landscape has become increasingly litigious in recent years, making colleges hesitant to share case findings.


Lawmakers weigh solutions to poor academic performances and college debt

Lawmakers weigh solutions to poor academic performances and college debt

Panel witness Johnny Taylor, Jr., president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management, said WIOA reauthorization would create a "generational opportunity" to find solutions to workforce gaps.


Trump signs executive order barring transgender students from women’s sports

Trump signs executive order barring transgender students from women’s sports

And the executive order directs private sporting bodies to convene at the White House to hear “stories of female athletes who suffer life-long injuries, who have been silenced and forced to shower with men, and whose hard work has been cast aside due to the biological advantage of males,” the fact sheet said.