S&P: Despite enrollment gains, margins have worsened at colleges July 16, 2026 The credit ratings agency found increases in median headcounts across colleges it rates, but also weakening operating margins in fiscal 2025. Read more
Penn State, Temple and Pitt get boost from new performance-based funding July 16, 2026 A new $10 million pool of performance-based funds adds money to long-stagnant appropriations but falls short of higher education leaders’ hopes. Read more
The economy is shutting young adults out of career-entry jobs, analysis finds July 15, 2026 Artificial intelligence matters, but in a “narrow, early and age-specific way,” researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis said. Read more
Faith in higher ed slips: 38% of adults report high confidence July 15, 2026 Democrats drove a modest decline from last year, according to the latest poll from Lumina Foundation and Gallup. Read more
Transferring may not pay off for some students, study suggests July 15, 2026 Students just above admissions cutoffs could see lower earnings after moving colleges than those who were rejected, a working paper found. Read more
University of Nebraska System braces for unexpected $36M state funding cut July 14, 2026 “There are limits to what can be achieved through continued reductions,” the system’s president said as ever-deepening austerity measures loom. Read more
10 bills introduced to codify outsourcing of federal education programs July 14, 2026 Supporters say the Republican-led proposals would help “right-size” the U.S. Department of Education, while opponents predict inefficiencies. Read more
What does the Supreme Court’s transgender athlete ruling mean for higher ed? July 14, 2026 The landmark decision has big implications for transgender students — and the Title IX and litigation landscape for colleges. Read more
Temple University lays off 40 employees as it tackles deficit July 11, 2026 The public Philadelphia institution is reducing its workforce for the second year in a row but has seen promising enrollment gains of late. Read more
California community college settles with professor who sued over DEI policy July 10, 2026 Bakersfield College agreed to not require Daymon Johnson to use diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility principles in his teaching or scholarship. Read more
