Page 2 - Us Universities

US escalates scrutiny of Harvard with debarment move, funding in jeopardy

Harvard has 20 days to appeal the decision, but it could totally lose access to research grants, student aid and government contracts if the HHS debarment is upheld

Trump admin threatens further sanctions on Harvard in escalating fight

The Trump administration escalated its fight with Harvard University on Friday, placing the Ivy League school under extra financial oversight and threatening sanctions if it does not provide additional data on its admissions practices. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the department was placing Harvard under heightened cash monitoring, forcing the school to use its own money to pay out financial aid for students and then seek reimbursement from the government. She also threatened further enforcement action if the school does not turn over records to prove it no longer is considering race in admissions. Harvard did not respond to a request for comment. The moves are part of the administration's crackdown on Harvard as President Donald Trump seeks to eradicate what he describes as liberal bias at colleges around the country. Since taking office, Trump has used the Education Department in unprecedented ways, cutting federal research grants for schools that do not accede to his .

Trump's Ivy League deals likely to funnel cash into US trade schools

Multiple US colleges are trying to hammer out financial agreements with the White House to settle charges of political bias and regain access to vital research grants

US visa curbs bite: Universities fear 40% fall in international students

Universities brace for enrolment drops of up to 40 per cent as visa delays, travel bans and stricter scrutiny disrupt the new academic year

US colleges face funds crunch as visa challenges keep foreign students away

One international student after another told the University of Central Missouri this summer that they couldn't get a visa, and many struggled to even land an interview for one. Even though demand was just as high as ever, half as many new international graduate students showed up for fall classes compared to last year. The decline represents a hit to the bottom line for Central Missouri, a small public university that operates close to its margins with an endowment of only USD 65 million. International students typically account for nearly a quarter of its tuition revenue. We aren't able to subsidise domestic students as much when we have fewer international students who are bringing revenue to us, said Roger Best, the university's president. Signs of a decline in international students have unsettled colleges around the US. Colleges with large numbers of foreign students and small endowments have little financial cushion to protect them from steep losses in tuition ...

Spate of hoax calls about active shooters stir fear at US college campuses

A rash of hoax calls about active shooters on college campuses some featuring gunshots sounding in the background has sent waves of fear among students around the nation as the school year begins. The calls have prompted universities to issue campuswide texts to run, hide, fight. Students and teachers have rushed to find cover, often cowering in classrooms for safety. Officers have swarmed campuses seeking out the threat. Yet in every recent case, the threat didn't exist. It's looking as if this was another swatting or hoax call, University of Arkansas Police Department Assistant Chief Matt Mills said after false reports of an active shooter Monday prompted school leaders to cancel classes for the day. Number of college campuses receiving hoax alarms grows The hoax calls and false alarms have hit at least a dozen college campuses from Arkansas to Pennsylvania. On Monday alone, law enforcement responded to calls claiming there were active shooters at Arkansas, Northern Arizona ..

Harvard making changes Trump officials want, even without a deal

Harvard has sued, fighting the Trump administration's demands. But the university has also enacted a host of items on the White House wish list

SC lets Trump admin cut $783 mn of research funding in anti-DEI push

The Trump administration can slash hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of research funding in its push to cut federal diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, the Supreme Court decided Thursday. The high court majority lifted a judge's order blocking $783 million worth of cuts made by the National Institutes of Health to align with Republican President Donald Trump's priorities. The high court did keep Trump administration guidance on future funding blocked, however. The court split 5-4 on the decision. Chief Justice John Roberts was along those who would have kept the cuts blocked, along with the court's three liberals. The order marks the latest Supreme Court win for Trump and allows the administration to forge ahead with cancelling hundreds of grants while the lawsuit continues to unfold. The plaintiffs, including states and public-health advocacy groups, have argued that the cuts will inflict incalculable losses in public health and human life. The Justice Department, ...

Judge strikes down Trump-era ban on DEI programmes in schools, colleges

A federal judge on Thursday struck down two Trump administration actions aimed at eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programmes at the nation's schools and universities. In her ruling, US District Judge Stephanie Gallagher in Maryland found that the Education Department violated the law when it threatened to cut federal funding from educational institutions that continued with DEI initiatives. The guidance has been on hold since April when three federal judges blocked various portions of the Education Department's anti-DEI measures. The ruling Thursday followed a motion for summary judgment from the American Federation of Teachers and the American Sociological Association, which challenged the government's actions in a February lawsuit. The case centres on two Education Department memos ordering schools and universities to end all race-based decision-making or face penalties up to a total loss of federal funding. It's part of a campaign to end practices the Trump ...

Trump admin ordered to restore some withheld grant funding to UCLA

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore millions of dollars in National Science Foundation grants it has withheld from the University of California, Los Angeles, saying they were made in violation of her earlier court ruling. US District Judge Rita F. Lin ruled late Tuesday that the NSF must reinstate the research grants that were suspended for reasons she had already ruled arbitrary and capricious, and gave the administration until Aug. 19 to show compliance or explain why it hasn't restored the money. It was not immediately clear how much funding could be returned to UCLA. The school's chancellor said last week that the Trump administration has pulled USD584 million in federal grants from various federal agencies. The judge's ruling applies specifically to NSF grants. UCLA's money as been frozen as part of a wider pressure campaign targeting universities that Trump says are out of step with his political agenda. University of California researchers challen

Trump admin threatens to seize millions in valuable Harvard patents

Harvard has until Sept. 5 to prove it's complying with the requirements, including whether it showed a preference for US manufacturing, or risk forfeiting its patents

Trump may order colleges to prove they don't consider race in admissions

President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order requiring colleges to submit data to prove they do not consider race in admissions, according to a fact sheet shared by the White House ahead of the Thursday signing. In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled against the use of affirmative action in admissions but said colleges may still consider how race has shaped students' lives if applicants share that information in their admissions essays. Trump's Republican administration is accusing colleges of using personal statements and other proxies to consider race. The executive order is similar to parts of recent settlement agreements the administration negotiated with Brown University and Columbia University, restoring their federal research funding. The universities agreed to give the government data on the race, grade point average and standardised test scores of applicants, admitted students and enrolled students. The schools also agreed to an audit by the government and to release .

UCLA in talks with Trump admin to reinstate $584 million in grants

The move came after the US Justice Department had given the school a Tuesday deadline to enter into a resolution agreement

Hacked Columbia University student, alumni data includes bank numbers, GPAs

The university said that an unauthorised party accessed data on students, applicants, and some staff, including admissions, financial aid, and certain personal information

Cornell nears $100 mn White House deal to restore frozen research funds

One of the issues still under discussion is whether the pact would call for a resolution monitor to supervise how Cornell is carrying out changes required by the US

Columbia Sportswear sues Columbia Univ over confusingly similar merchandise

For decades, T-shirts, sweatshirts and other clothing under the Columbia Sportswear brand and clothing emblazoned with the Columbia University name coexisted more or less peacefully without confusion. But now, the Portland-based outdoor retailer has sued the New York-based university over alleged trademark infringement and a breach of contract, among other charges. It claims that the university's merchandise looks too similar to what's being sold at more than 800 retail locations, including more than 150 of its branded stores, as well as its website and third-party marketplaces. In a lawsuit filed July 23 in the US District Court for the District of Oregon, Columbia Sportswear, whose roots date back to 1938, alleges that the university intentionally violated an agreement the parties signed on June 13, 2023. That agreement dictated how the university could use the word Columbia on its own apparel. As part of the pact, the university could feature Columbia on its merchandise provided

UCLA to pay more than $6 million to settle lawsuit on antisemitism

UCLA became a flashpoint in spring 2024 as campus protests escalated nationwide over Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza

Foreign degree loses sheen as students question return on investment

The sharpest declines were for Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, with student numbers falling by 41 per cent, 27 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively

Republicans urge universities to cut ties with Chinese scholarship scheme

House Republicans are urging seven US universities to cut ties with a Chinese scholarship program that lawmakers call a nefarious mechanism to steal technology for the Chinese government. In letters to Dartmouth College, the University of Notre Dame and five other universities, leaders of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party raise concerns about the schools' partnerships with the China Scholarship Council, a study abroad program funded by China. The program sponsors hundreds of Chinese graduate students every year at US universities. After graduating, they're required to return to China for two years. In the letters sent Tuesday, Republicans described it as a threat to national security. CSC purports to be a joint scholarship program between US and Chinese institutions; however, in reality it is a CCP-managed technology transfer effort that exploits US institutions and directly supports China's military and scientific growth, wrote Republican Representative John

UPenn to ban transgender athletes from women's sports after govt settlement

The University of Pennsylvania reverses stance on transgender athlete participation in sports following Donald Trump's executive order, and subsequent federal investigation