An article from Week in review: Major federal policy changes loom over colleges

We’re rounding up recent stories, from a Senate panel’s plan to overhaul higher education to well-known universities facing large budget cuts.

Published June 16, 2025 Natalie Schwartz Senior Editor

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The dome of the U.S. Capitol is seen on Dec. 20, 2024, in Washington, D.C. The Senate's education committee released proposals to overhaul higher education as part of the larger reconciliation package. Kent Nishimura via Getty Images Listen to the article 3 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Most clicked-on story of the week:

18 research universities asked a federal judge for permission to file an amicus brief supporting Harvard University’s lawsuit against the Trump administration over its move to cut some $2.8 billion of the Ivy League institution’s funding. They seek to bolster Harvard’s arguments that the cuts threaten the federal government’s longstanding research partnership with the higher education sector. 

Number of the week:   5 The number of university civic centers established through a 2023 Ohio law in a bid to increase “intellectual diversity” at the state’s public colleges. Now, Republican lawmakers have released a budget proposal that would give the centers more influence by having their directors advise policymakers on “curriculum development and standards” at Ohio public colleges.  Federal policy changes loom:

• The Senate’s education committee released its own higher education proposals Tuesday for the mammoth legislative package that Republicans have dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” The committee’s draft proposals differ from the House-passed bill in several key ways, including by forgoing a risk-sharing proposal that would put colleges on the hook for unpaid student loans. 
• The U.S. Department of Treasury is considering new regulatory guidance that would strip tax-exempt status from private nonprofit colleges that consider race in their policies, including student aid, Bloomberg reported. The agency's proposals haven’t been finalized and could be changed or revoked, according to the publication. 
• The U.S. Department of Education is ramping up screening of first-time financial aid applicants by requiring colleges to verify the identities of some 125,000 students enrolled over the summer term. However, the move has prompted concerns about raising barriers to college, Inside Higher Ed reported. 

More colleges make cuts amid uncertainty: 

• The University of Minnesota is planning sharp increases to tuition and academic funding cuts to have a balanced budget, it recently announced. That includes a 6.5% tuition hike for both undergraduates and graduates at the flagship Twin Cities campus. 
• Northwestern University plans to pause employee raises, freeze hiring and reduce capital spending as part of a broader plan to address “increasing strain” on its budget, the institution’s top leaders said this week. The move comes amid reports that the Trump administration froze some $790 million of the Illinois institution’s research funding. 
• The University of Nebraska System’s leaders want to hike tuition rates by an average of 5% and cut $20 million in spending amid federal and state funding woes. State lawmakers only gave the system a 0.6% increase — despite the system’s request for a 3.5% bump based on inflation. 

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