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Higher ed groups sue over Trump administration’s $100K H-1B visa fee

The Academic Resistance @academicresistance.bsky.social · 1d

Higher ed groups are suing President Trump over his abrupt $100K H-1B visa fee, which threatens research, international hiring, and U.S. innovation. This overreach isn’t just costly, it’s catastrophic for American higher ed and global talent. #HigherEd #H1BVisa www.highereddive.com/news/higher-...

The surprise policy rolled out last month could cause “catastrophic setbacks” to research in the U.S., the lawsuit alleges.

Higher Education Leaders Reject Trump Administration's "Compact for Academic Excellence"

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The Academic Resistance @academicresistance.bsky.social · 2d

Higher ed leaders unite to reject the Trump admin’s “Compact” calling it a direct attack on academic freedom, shared governance, and the right to teach truth. Faculty, presidents, and national orgs say: academic freedom is not a bargaining chip. www.theeduledger.com/leadership-p...

As the October 20 feedback deadline approaches, it appears increasingly unlikely that any of the nine invited institutions will sign the compact.

www.theeduledger.com

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The Academic Resistance @academicresistance.bsky.social · 4d

Universities must reject Trump’s so-called “loyalty oath” compacts. These demands threaten academic freedom, shared governance, and the independence of higher ed by coercing allegiance to a partisan agenda in exchange for funding. We must stand together! www.aaup.org/news/univers...

Universities Must Reject Trump Admin "Loyalty Oath" Compacts

The AAUP and AFT warn that the Trump administration’s offer to give preferential treatment to colleges and universities in exchange for allegiance to a partisan ideological agenda is entirely corrupt.

www.aaup.org

Scientific Publishing Industry Faces Federal Scrutiny

The Academic Resistance @academicresistance.bsky.social · 6d

The Trump admin is using real flaws in academic publishing, like fraud, paywalls, and pharma influence, as a pretext for deep NIH cuts and tighter gov control. Scientists must lead reforms, not demagogues aiming to undermine trusted research. www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

Federal officials are raising long-standing concerns with research journals and the academic incentive structures propping them up. But experts say the government alone can’t overhaul the industry.

ED Digs Its Heels in Over Student Loan Caps

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The Academic Resistance @academicresistance.bsky.social · 7d

The Department of Ed is sticking to a narrow definition of “professional programs”—excluding fields like clinical psychology—leaving many grad students facing strict loan caps. This will shrink mental health and health-care pipelines fast. www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

As it currently stands, the proposal will designate only 10 degree programs as professional and eligible for the $200,000 loan cap. Higher ed experts hope the department will reconsider.

Texas Tech orders colleges to align instruction with Trump administration’s gender views

The Academic Resistance @academicresistance.bsky.social · 8d

Texas Tech is forcing faculty to erase decades of science and censor classroom teaching—just to match Trump’s order and Texas law on “biological sex.” This is political interference, not education. Academic freedom matters now more than ever. www.highereddive.com/news/texas-t...

The directive from Chancellor Tedd Mitchell immediately drew backlash from free speech advocates, with one attorney describing it as “obvious censorship.”

Texas Tech Moves to Limit Academic Discussion to 2 Genders

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Reposted by The Academic Resistance

AAUP @aaup.org · 8d

By obsessively enforcing their ideological agenda in the classroom, Texas politicians continue to self-sabotage the future of higher education.

#DefendHigherEd #academicfreedom

@matthewboedy.bsky.social

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Reposted by The Academic Resistance

Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social · 11d

“I’m emotionally shellshocked right now,” said one professor in the Texas Tech system. “What does it say about academic freedom? It says we don’t have it.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/u...

www.nytimes.com

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The Academic Resistance @academicresistance.bsky.social · 11d

The Trump admin has gutted the NSF’s independence, cutting fellowships, slashing grants, blocking DEI & climate research, and politicizing science funding like never before. This is a full-on crisis for U.S. innovation and academic freedom. www.science.org/content/arti...

Under Trump, NSF faces worst crisis in its 75-year history

Political directives have undermined agency's independence and record of supporting the best basic research

www.science.org

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The Academic Resistance @academicresistance.bsky.social · 12d

Congress’s new law could cut grad students’ borrowing power in half unless their program gets labeled “professional.” An ED panel is now debating who gets access to more aid. Will the Trump admin side with narrow definitions and leave social sciences behind? www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

Grad v. Professional Programs a Key Issue for ED Panel

Professional programs get access to more federal dollars under a new law, raising the stakes for next week’s policy negotiation.

AAUP Report: Trump Administration 'Weaponizing' Title VI Against Higher Education

The Academic Resistance @academicresistance.bsky.social · 14d

The AAUP sounds the alarm: The Trump administration is weaponizing Title VI to suppress academic freedom & autonomy, threatening funding & forcing universities into unconstitutional settlements. Higher ed must resist political attacks & defend open inquiry. www.theeduledger.com/leadership-p...

The report condemns the administration's "weaponization" of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to target campus speech and diversity programs.

www.theeduledger.com

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The Academic Resistance @academicresistance.bsky.social · 16d

The elimination of Grad PLUS loans means fewer grad students will access affordable financing, forcing many towards high-interest private loans or out of school entirely. Higher ed will see program cuts and greater inequality unless Congress reverses course. www.highereddive.com/news/end-of-...

What does the end of Grad PLUS loans mean for higher ed?

The end of the 20-year program could push more students to the private loan market and force colleges to end some of their graduate offerings.

The Ed Department Hasn’t Even Begun to Fight (opinion)

The Academic Resistance @academicresistance.bsky.social · 16d

The Trump admin now wields expanded Ed Dept powers originally aimed at for-profits to cut federal loans for all colleges. As Harvard faces scrutiny, every campus should be on alert: the threat to student aid is bigger than ever and could devastate higher ed. www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

Thanks in part to Biden-era regulatory changes, the Trump administration has a powerful set of tools it could use to threaten institutional eligibility for federal student loans, Jonathan Helwink writ...

Right-Wing Doxing Campaign Endangers Faculty and Free Speech

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Reposted by The Academic Resistance

AAUP @aaup.org · 19d

“We will not allow authoritarians to dismantle higher education. We will not allow billionaires to profit while communities suffer. And we will not allow fear to silence students and workers who speak out.”

— Todd Wolfson, AAUP President

#DefendHigherEd
#HigherEdBenefitsEveryone
@aft.org

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The Academic Resistance @academicresistance.bsky.social · 16d

Faculty are being doxed, harassed and fired at record speed for even mild or critical social media posts about Charlie Kirk’s death. These are attacks on academic freedom. Universities must defend speech, not surrender to political pressure and right-wing mobs. www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...

Dozens of faculty and staff have faced online harassment and threats for their comments on Charlie Kirk’s death. Some universities have disciplined employees in response to political pressure.

The "Secret Weapon" in Right-Wing Attacks on Higher Education

The Academic Resistance @academicresistance.bsky.social · 20d

The right wing’s latest “secret weapon” to undermine higher ed isn’t a slogan, it’s a systematic attack on accreditation, aimed at gutting campus independence and academic freedom. The stakes are real: our democracy, our jobs, our ability to teach truth. www.aaup.org/secret-weapo...

The Trump administration is leveraging the accreditation system to force its political agenda onto colleges and universities.

www.aaup.org

The Academic Resistance @academicresistance.bsky.social · 23d

The Trump administration is freezing $660 million in TRIO grants, blocking crucial support for 650,000 low-income & first-gen students in college and high school. This move shatters access, shuts down vital campus programs, and puts futures in jeopardy. www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

Trump Administration Withholds Millions for TRIO Programs

Nonprofits that advocate for first-gen students say that without the federally funded programs, college could become unattainable for hundreds of thousands of students.

Week in review: Professors fired over videos and comments on social media

The Academic Resistance @academicresistance.bsky.social · 23d

Faculty are being fired over social media posts about DEI, organizing, and opinions, which is an alarming threat to academic freedom. Higher ed must defend speech rights, not surrender to political pressure. www.highereddive.com/news/profess...

We’re rounding up last week’s stories, from posts on X leading to instructor terminations to looming regulations from the U.S. Department of Education.

Federal judge declines to restore $1B in grants cut by NSF

The Academic Resistance @academicresistance.bsky.social · 25d

A federal judge refused to restore $1B in NSF grants for DEI-related research, leaving 1,600 canceled projects in limbo. Anti-DEI policies are undermining innovation and shutting out underrepresented voices in STEM. This fight is far from over. www.highereddive.com/news/federal...

The lawsuit over the agency’s mass grant terminations will proceed, but plaintiffs will have to seek monetary relief in another court.

Education Department cancels $350M in grants for minority-serving institutions

The Academic Resistance @academicresistance.bsky.social · 25d

The DoE just canceled $350M in grants for Minority-Serving Institutions, slashing vital support for students of color & first-gen scholars. These funds help students thrive, especially in under-resourced communities. Policy should fight inequity, not worsen it. www.highereddive.com/news/educati...

U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Wednesday decried the funding as promoting "government-mandated racial quotas."

A Perfect Storm: Higher Education Faces New Headwinds as Academic Year Begins

The Academic Resistance @academicresistance.bsky.social · 25d

Universities face a “perfect storm” of new federal loan caps, research funding cuts, and anti-DEI policies. These changes threaten access, scientific innovation, and support for marginalized communities—higher ed leaders must fight back to protect our future. www.diverseeducation.com/leadership-p...

Federal loan caps and research funding uncertainty have created unprecedented challenges for graduate programs.

www.diverseeducation.com

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The Academic Resistance @academicresistance.bsky.social · 26d

Linda McMahon just killed $350M in grants for minority-serving colleges, endangering student opportunity for the sake of politics. We must demand that Congress protect equity in higher ed! www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/u...

Education Department Ends Grant Funding Worth $350 Million for Minority-Serving Colleges

www.nytimes.com

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The Academic Resistance @academicresistance.bsky.social · 27d

The Ed Dept just stunned advocates by abruptly ending discretionary grants for MSIs, ignoring Congress’s funding and calling racial enrollment thresholds discrimination. This is an attack on equity that will devastate under-resourced campuses. www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

Education Department Moves to End MSI Programs

Trump administration officials call the programs unconstitutional. But advocates argue they improve the quality of education for all students who enroll.