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We’re rounding up last week’s stories, from Coursera announcing plans to acquire Udemy to more cuts at two Catholic colleges.
Published Dec. 22, 2025
Most clicked story of the week
Beginning Jan. 1, individuals from 39 countries will face a partial or full travel ban to the U.S., following a proclamation from President Donald Trump. The expansion more than doubles the number of countries with restrictions and includes Nigeria, one of the U.S.’s top 10 sources for international students.
Number of the week: $2.5B
The anticipated value of Coursera following the ed tech company’s planned acquisition of Udemy. Both MOOC providers cited demand for their artificial intelligence offerings as a motivating factor behind their merger.
Cuts at religious colleges:
- DePaul University, in Chicago, laid off 114 staff members as it seeks to shrink its fiscal 2026 budget gap of $12.6 million. Earlier this year, the Catholic nonprofit froze hiring, forewent merit pay increases for faculty and staff, lowered executive pay and reduced retirement contributions for senior administrators.
- Christian Brothers University, in Tennessee, intends to eliminate 16 full-time faculty positions at the end of the spring semester. The long-struggling Catholic nonprofit notched a win earlier this month, when its accreditor removed it from probation after two years.
Pushback on conservative policies:
- Attorneys general from 20 states are suing the Trump administration over its efforts to levy a $100,000 fee on new applications for H-1B visas. The lawsuit, the third of its kind, argued that the cost on skilled worker visas violates the Administrative Procedure Act because it didn’t go through a notice-and-comment period and because the fee itself is “arbitrary and capricious.”
- A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers is urging the U.S. Department of Education to classify advanced nursing degrees as “professional” under a proposed framework for student loan lending caps. The designation would double the borrowing cap for graduate students in nursing programs to $200,000, and without it, the current “health care shortage, especially in primary care,” would worsen, they argued.
- Faculty and students at Alabama public colleges are continuing to fight the legality of a state law that prohibits public educational institutions from sponsoring diversity, equity and inclusion programs or having DEI offices. The group appealed an August decision that kept the law in place, arguing the federal judge had misconstrued the First Amendment and overlooked important facts.
Quote of the Week
It is our responsibility to teach students to use [artificial intelligence] ethically and effectively, and we have to do that with a lot of strategic intentionality.
Shonda Gibson
Chief transformation officer at the Texas A&M University System
Texas A&M recently partnered with Google to offer its students free access to and training on the tech company’s suite of AI tools. Gibson told Higher Ed Dive that the partnership will prepare graduates to enter a workforce increasingly shaped by AI.