dotEDU

American Council on Education
dotEDU

​​​​​​​​Each episode of dotEDU presents a deep dive into a major public policy issue impacting college campuses and students across the country. Hosts from ACE, joined by guest experts, lead you through thought-provoking conversations on topics such as campus free speech, diversity in admissions, college costs and affordability, and more.

  1. 3D AGO

    dotEDU Live: The Big Beautiful Bill Has Passed. What’s Next?

    https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/The One Big Beautiful Bill is now law, and colleges are facing a wave of new policies with real consequences for students and campuses. Mushtaq Gunja, Jon Fansmith, and Sarah Spreitzer break down what’s coming for student loans, Pell Grants, accountability rules, endowment taxes, and more. Plus, a quick look at what’s ahead for FY 2026 federal funding and accreditation. Here are some of the links and references from this week’s show: Reconciliation Reconciliation Bill Narrowly Passes Congress ACE | July 3, 2025 Summary: One Big Beautiful Bill Act ACE | July 10, 2025 Trump Signed the ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’ What’s Next? Inside Higher Ed | July 10, 2025 Contains a list of deadlines What the Republicans’ New Policy Bill Means for Higher Education The New York Times (sub. req.) | July 3, 2025 8 Million Federal Student Loan Borrowers Will Soon See Interest Restart The New York Times | July 9, 2025 Senate GOP Plots How to Move Trump’s $9.4B Clawbacks Request Politico | July 8, 2025 Carnegie Classifications College Scorecard Appropriations White House FY 2026 Budget Proposal Targets Education, Science, and Civil Rights Funding ACE | May 9, 2025 A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request for the Department of Education Senate Appropriations Committee | June 3, 2025 Accreditation Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education White House | April 23, 2025 Education Department Postpones NACIQI Summer Meeting Inside Higher Ed | July 8, 2025 6 States Partner to Launch New Accreditor Inside Higher Ed | June 26, 2025 U.S. Department of Education Expands Accreditation Options for Colleges and Universities Department of Education | May 1, 2025 Trump Administration Threatens Harvard’s Accreditation, Seeks Records on Foreign Students Reuters | July 9, 2025

    1h 1m
  2. JUN 27

    dotEDU Live: What the Senate Reconciliation Bill Gets (Mostly) Wrong

    Hosts Jon Fansmith, Sarah Spreitzer, and Mushtaq Gunja dig into the Senate’s reconciliation bill and what it means for colleges and students—student loan limits, endowment taxes, accountability rules, and more. They also discuss delays in student visa processing, stalled federal research funding, and a growing number of legal and policy challenges to programs serving undocumented and international students. Here are some of the links and references from this week’s show. Reconciliation Advocate for Students and Campuses in the 2025 Budget Reconciliation Bill ACE Senate 2025 Education Budget Reconciliation Bill ACE | June 12, 2025 Senate Finance Reconciliation Tax Package: Summary of Key Higher Ed Provisions ACE | June 17, 2025 A Running List of Policies Rejected From the Republican Megabill The New York Times (sub. req.) | June 26, 2025 Risk-Sharing: A ‘Well-Intentioned’ Disaster for Colleges? Higher Ed Dive | May 6, 2025 Rescission White House Eyes Rarely Used Power to Override Congress on Spending The New York Times (sub. req.) | June 17, 2025 International Students State Dept. Restarts Student Visa Interviews With Tougher Social Media Rules The Washington Post (sub. req.) | June 18, 2025 Legal Developments Judge Orders NIH to Restore Research Funds Terminated Using Political, Not Scientific Criteria WBUR | June 17, 2025 Judge Blocks the Trump Administration’s National Science Foundation Research Funding Cuts The Associated Press | June 21, 2025 US Judge Blocks Defense Department From Slashing Federal Research Funding Reuters | June 17, 2025 Federal Judge Won’t Block Trump’s Cuts to IES Inside Higher Ed | June 18, 2025 U.S. Justice Department Sues Minnesota for Offering In-State Tuition Costs to Undocumented Students The Minnesota Star Tribune (sub. req.) | June 25, 2025 Tennessee Lawsuit Puts HSIs’ Fate on the Line Inside Higher Ed | June 13, 2025

    1h 3m
  3. JUN 6

    dotEDU Live: Pause on Student Visas, Reconciliation in the Senate, and More Pressure on Harvard

    In this episode of dotEDU Live, hosts Jon Fansmith, Sarah Spreitzer, and Mushtaq Gunja offer expert analysis on the implications of the student visa freeze, mounting political pressure on Harvard from the Trump administration, and the House reconciliation bill, which proposes major cuts to higher education funding and threatens financial aid and access for low-income students. Here are some of the links and references from this week’s episode: Reconciliation Bill H.R.1 - One Big Beautiful Bill Act Congress.gov House Passes Reconciliation Bill with Far-Reaching Negative Implications for Higher Education ACE | May 23, 2025 Advocate for Students and Campuses in the 2025 Budget Reconciliation Bill International Student Developments Higher Ed Community Letter to Secretary Of State Marco Rubio May 30, 2025 As Trump Administration Escalates Visa Crackdowns, Higher Ed Community Pushes Back ACE | June 2, 2025 Trump Administration Strips Harvard’s SEVP Certification Inside Higher Ed | May 22, 2025 Trump Team Pauses New Student Visa Interviews as It Weighs Expanding Social Media Vetting Politico | May 27, 2025 State Begins Rolling Out Expanded Student Visa Vetting — Starting With Harvard Politico | May 30, 2025 Budget and Appropriations ED’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Budget Request Department of Education More Than 10,000 TRIO Alumni Urge Congress to Protect the Program (PDF) A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request for the Department of Education Senate Appropriations Committee | June 3, 2025 McMahon Gets Bipartisan Grilling in the Senate Inside Higher Ed | June 4, 2025 Budget Hearing - U.S. Department of Education House Appropriations Committee | May 21, 2025 McMahon Plays Defense on the Hill Inside Higher Ed | May 22, 2025

    59 min
  4. MAY 16

    dotEDU Live: Associations Speak Out as Reconciliation Targets Higher Ed

    Jon Fansmith, Mushtaq Gunja, and Sarah Spreitzer are joined by Steven Bloom, ACE assistant vice president for government relations, about the Trump administration’s escalating actions against higher education. Topics include a joint statement from more than 50 associations condemning political attacks on colleges and universities, deep funding and tax cuts proposed in the House reconciliation bill, legal efforts to block new restrictions on research funding, and recent developments on DEI, international students, and campus antisemitism. Here are some of the links and references from this week’s show. You can contact Congress about the House reconciliation bill using this tool. Restoring the Compact with Higher Ed Community Joint Statement Calling on Trump Administration to Reforge Compact with Higher Education ACE | May 14, 2025 ACE, Others Call on Trump Administration to Reforge Compact with Higher Education ACE | May 14, 2025 Harvard Response to Education Secretary Linda McMahon McMahon letter Harvard’s response Harvard Argues It Has ‘Common Ground’ With Trump Administration The New York Times (sub. req.) | May 12, 2025 AJC, ACE Antisemitism Statement AJC, ACE, AAU, Others Unite Against Antisemitism, Caution on Federal Overreach Funding & Budget Landscape Tax Reform and Higher Education in 2025  Summary: Higher Ed Provisions in the Ways and Means Tax Reconciliation Tax Package Letter to the House on Proposed Medicaid Cuts Skinny Budget & Appropriations White House Office of Management and Budget Releases the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 Skinny Budget White House FY 2026 Budget Proposal Targets Education, Science, and Civil Rights Funding ACE | May 9, 2025 What Trump’s Proposed Budget Cuts Mean for Education, Research Inside Higher Ed | May 2, 2025 National Science Foundation Lawsuit  Higher Education Groups File Lawsuit Against NSF Cap on Research Reimbursements ACE | May 5, 2025 Statement of AAU, ACE, and APLU Regarding their Legal Challenge to the National Science Foundation’s Cut to Critical Research That Strengthens America

    59 min
  5. MAY 2

    dotEDU Live: The Trump Administration’s Pressure Campaign Continues

    In this episode of dotEDU Live, Jon Fansmith, Sarah Spreitzer, and Mushtaq Gunja dive into recent executive orders on accreditation, foreign influence, and more. Also, they discuss key takeaways from the House reconciliation bill, new risks for federal student aid, and proposed changes to immigration policy affecting international students.   Send suggestions, links, and questions to @ACEducation on X or Bluesky or email podcast@acenet.edu. Here are some of the links and references from this week’s episode:  From ACE Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education Letter Opposing the House Budget Reconciliation Bill (the Student Success and Taxpayer Savings Plan) ACE | April 29, 2025 Summary of the Student Success and Taxpayer Savings Plan ACE | April 30, 2025 College Cost Reduction Act: By the Numbers News Articles Trump Administration Reverses Abrupt Terminations of Foreign Students’ US Visa Registrations Politico | April 25, 2025 Anti-DEI Guidance Letter Put On Hold, for Now Inside Higher Ed | April 24, 2025 Judge Frees Columbia Student Activist Whom Trump Administration Wants to Deport Politico | April 30, 2025 Trump Executive Orders Higher Education & The Trump Administration ACE Summary Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education (April 23, 2025) Transparency Regarding Foreign Influence at American Universities (April 23, 2025) White House Initiative to Promote Excellence and Innovation at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (April 23, 2025) Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy (April 23, 2025) Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future (April 23, 2025) Protecting American Communities From Criminal Aliens (April 28, 2025)

    59 min
  6. APR 16

    dotEDU Live: Harvard Pushes Back, Visa Chaos, and the Fight for Research Funding

    In this episode of dotEDU Live, the hosts unpack the Trump administration’s sweeping demands to Harvard—including oversight of teaching, governance, and student speech—and the university’s refusal to comply, a defining moment in higher education’s response to growing federal pressure. They also examine the surge in international student visa revocations and the escalating legal fight over federal research funding cuts at the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Energy. ACE President Ted Mitchell and Steven Bloom from ACE’s Government Relations team join the conversation to explore what it all means for campuses—and how they can respond. Send suggestions, links, and questions to @ACEducation on X or Bluesky or email podcast@acenet.edu. Here are some of the links and references from this week’s episode:  Here are some of the links and references from this week’s show: The Promise of American Higher Education Harvard University President’s Office Trump’s Demands of Harvard Escalate His War on Higher Ed Inside Higher Ed | April 16, 2025 AJC Statement on University Funding Cuts American Jewish Committee College Financial Aid Hit with Glitches, Delays Due to Federal Staffing Cuts The Washington Post | April 14, 2025 ACE, Higher Ed Associations Demand Answers as Student Visa Revocations Spread Nationwide American Council on Education | April 7, 2025 ACE Page on NIH and DOE Lawsuits American Council on Education Tax Reform and Higher Education in 2025 American Council on Education NAFSA International Student Economic Value Tool

    50 min
  7. MAR 20

    dotEDU Live: What the Education Department Layoffs Mean for Colleges and Universities

    The latest episode of dotEDU Live unpacks the sweeping layoffs at the Department of Education and their implications for colleges and universities. Hosts Jon Fansmith, Sarah Spreitzer, and Mushtaq Gunja are joined by ACE President Ted Mitchell to break down the budget battle in Congress, the department’s restructuring, and the ripple effects on financial aid, student services, and institutional oversight.  The discussion also covers the Trump administration’s ongoing investigations into higher education institutions, including Title VI enforcement actions and DEI-related scrutiny, as well as the shifting landscape for federal grant funding.   Send suggestions, links, and questions to @ACEducation on X or Bluesky or email podcast@acenet.edu. Here are some of the links and references from this week’s show: Education Department Cuts Half Its Staff as Trump Vows to Wind the Agency Down The Associated Press | March 11, 2025 Statement by ACE President Ted Mitchell on Significant Layoffs at the Department of Education ACE | March 11, 2025  U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Sends Letters to 60 Universities Under Investigation for Antisemitic Discrimination and Harassment Department of Education | March 10, 2025  Statement by ACE President Ted Mitchell Opposing the Trump Administration’s Cancellation of Grants and Contracts to Columbia University ACE | March 10, 2025  Restoring Public Service Loan Forgiveness White House | March 7, 2025  Office for Civil Rights Initiates Title VI Investigations into Institutions of Higher Education Department of Education | March 14, 2025  OPINION: Here’s Why We Cannot Permit America’s Partnership with Higher Education to Weaken or Dissolve By ACE President Ted Mitchell The Hechinger Report | March 18, 2025 Trump Demands Major Changes in Columbia Discipline and Admissions Rules The New York Times (sub. req.) | March 13, 2025  Susan Collins Announces Reinstatement of University of Maine System’s Paused USDA Funding Maine Public | March 12, 2025

    1h 1m

Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
23 Ratings

About

​​​​​​​​Each episode of dotEDU presents a deep dive into a major public policy issue impacting college campuses and students across the country. Hosts from ACE, joined by guest experts, lead you through thought-provoking conversations on topics such as campus free speech, diversity in admissions, college costs and affordability, and more.

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