dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained

American Council on Education

​​​​​​​​Each episode of dotEDU presents a deep dive into a major public policy issue impacting college campuses and students across the country. Hosts Mushtaq Gunja, Jon Fansmith, and Sarah Spreitzer lead you through thought-provoking conversations on topics such as Department of Education policy, college costs and affordability, and more.

  1. MAY 13

    What Will It Take to Rebuild Trust in Higher Education?

    Yale University's Committee on Trust in Higher Education spent a year examining the forces behind declining public confidence in colleges and universities and came back with 20 recommendations for how institutions can respond. Julia Adams, cochair of the committee, walks us through the findings and what they might mean for campuses nationwide.  Here are links to the the report and the policy issues the hosts discuss: Report of the Yale Committee on Trust in Higher Education (PDF) https://president.yale.edu/sites/default/files/2026-04/Report-of-the-Committee-on-Trust-in-Higher-Education.pdf Reimagining and Improving Student Education-Federal Student Loan Program Final Regulations  https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/01/2026-08556/reimagining-and-improving-student-education-federal-student-loan-program-final-regulations The Rule That's Blocking the Next Generation of Health Care Workers Higher Education Today | May 12, 2026 https://www.higheredtoday.org/2026/05/11/the-rule-thats-blocking-healthcare-workers/ Education Department's Final Rule on Financial Aid Locks in Restrictive Graduate Loan Limits  https://www.acenet.edu/News-Room/Pages/ED-Final-Rule-Locks-in-Restrictive-Grad-Loan-Limits-.aspx Contact Congress: Help Students Access Professional Degree Programs https://www.votervoice.net/ACENET/Campaigns/132758/Respond Justice Denied: How Trump's Office for Civil Rights Reached a 12-Year Low in Protecting Students from Discrimination https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/04.24.26-Justice-Denied-How-Trumps-Office-for-Civil-Rights-Reached-a-12-Year-Low-in-Protecting-Students-from-Discrimination_FINAL.pdf Court blocks Education Department's data demands for over 170 more colleges Higher Ed Dive | April 27, 2026 https://www.highereddive.com/news/education-department-acts-survey-preliminary-injunction/818620/

    59 min

  2. APR 22

    Continuing the College Access Conversation

    The landscape for federal TRIO programs has shifted dramatically since we talked about it in January. The Department of Education (ED) has issued new grant proposals that would cut the number of programs by more than half and fundamentally redirect TRIO away from its mission of college access.  We welcomed back Kimberly Jones, president of the Council for Opportunity in Education, to walk us through what's at stake for these programs and the students they serve. The hosts also give the latest updates on ED's negotiated rulemaking. Links:  U.S. Department of Education Issues Proposed Rule to Hold Colleges and Universities Accountable for Low Earning Outcomes  https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-issues-proposed-rule-hold-colleges-and-universities-accountable-low-earning-outcomes ED Pushes Ahead on Accreditation Overhaul Despite Negotiator Pushback  https://www.acenet.edu/News-Room/Pages/ED-Pushes-Ahead-on-Accreditation-Overhaul.aspx Accreditation discussion draft https://www.ed.gov/media/document/2026-negotiated-rulemaking-aim-aim-draft-regulations-version-11-updated-04172026-113722.pdf Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Foreign Gifts and Contracts Disclosures  Federal Register | April 15, 2026 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/04/15/2026-07304/agency-information-collection-activities-comment-request-foreign-gifts-and-contracts-disclosures What drove Hampshire College to shutter, despite raising $55 million  The Christian Science Monitor | April 18, 2026 https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2026/0418/hampshire-college-closure-endowment Council for Opportunity in Education and TRIO Programs https://coenet.org/coe-and-trio-programs/ COE Trio Advocacy https://coenet.org/take-action-now/ The Council for Opportunity in Education Condemns Latest TRIO Grant Proposal, Calls It "Direct Assault on College Access" https://coenet.org/news-impact/press-release/the-council-for-opportunity-in-education-condemns-latest-trio-grant-proposal-calls-it-direct-assault-on-college-access/ COE Blasts Latest Federal Proposal for TRIO, Calls for Immediate Rescission https://coenet.org/news-impact/press-release/coe-blasts-latest-federal-proposal-for-trio-calls-for-immediate-rescission/ COE Rejects Proposal to Eliminate Federal TRIO Programs in FY 2027 Budget  Council for Opportunity in Education | https://coenet.org/news-impact/press-release/coe-rejects-proposal-to-eliminate-federal-trio-programs-in-fy-2027-budget/

    1 hr

  3. APR 8

    Student Voting Is Getting Harder. Now What?

    Colleges have spent years building systems to help students vote. Now a mix of federal guidance, investigations, and state-level changes is putting new pressure on that work. ACE General Counsel Peter McDonough joins us to explain where the legal lines are and where uncertainty is creating risk. But first, the hosts discuss the recent higher education policy developments from the past few weeks, from the Trump administration's FY 2027 budget proposal to the Education Department's draft rule on accreditation.

    1h 2m

  4. MAR 20

    Workforce Pell, Professional Degrees, and a Complicated Spring in Washington

    The hosts are joined by ACE's Emmanual Guillory to break down key federal rulemaking shaping student aid. The conversation focuses on the latest developments in graduate loan limits, new rules for Workforce Pell and what it will take for institutions to participate, and the Department of Education's expanded IPEDS data collection.

    57 min

  5. MAR 9

    dotEDU Live at ACEx2026

    At ACEx2026 in Washington, DC, the dotEDU team recorded a special live episode during a session at the ACE Annual Meeting. Instead of the usual format, hosts Mushtaq Gunja, Sarah Spreitzer, and Jon Fansmith took turns posing questions to each other about the direction of federal higher education policy in 2026: how it may differ from the first year of President Trump's second term, what the year's major policy stories could be, where their lobbying efforts have and have not gained traction, and how to advocate effectively for colleges and universities in a contentious environment. The episode concludes with questions from the audience.

    1h 1m

  6. FEB 19

    A Funding Deal, the Pell Shortfall, and New Federal Pressure on Campuses

    The hosts run a rapid-fire policy lightning round on the biggest higher ed issues right now, from federal funding and a looming Pell shortfall to new graduate loan limits. They also dig into two fast-moving flashpoints: the Education Department's scrutiny of a long-running student voting study and the administration's escalating actions aimed at Harvard, including potential impacts on service members' education benefits. Plus, an update on Sarah's favorite topic, Section 117 foreign gift reporting. Here are some of the links and references from this week's show: Appropriations How Congress's Budget Could Hamper Trump ED Agenda Inside Higher Ed | Feb. 12, 2026 Tufts/NSLVE   National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement U.S. Department of Education Takes Actions to Protect Integrity of U.S. Elections Department of Education | Feb. 5. 2026 Education Dept. Tells Universities Not to Use Student Voting Data Inside Higher Ed | Feb. 5, 2026 dotEDU: Debates, Flies, and Political Engagement at the University of Utah  New SAVE Act Bills Would Still Block Millions of Americans From Voting Brennan Center for Justice | Feb. 9, 2026 Harvard v. Trump  dotEDU: What the Headlines Miss About Higher Ed: A Conversation with Kirk Carapezza  Justice Department Sues Harvard for Admissions Records The New York Times | Feb. 13, 2026 Department of Defense Severs Academic Ties With Harvard Inside Higher Ed | Feb. 10, 2026 Grad Loan Limits Reimagining and Improving Student Education  Federal Register | Jan. 30, 2026 Summary: ​The U.S. Department of Education's Proposal on OBBB RISE Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ACE **Contact Congress to Urge a Broader Professional Degree Definition** Accreditation  U.S. Department of Education Announces Negotiated Rulemaking to Reform and Strengthen America's Higher Education Accreditation System Department of Education | Jan. 26, 2026 U.S. Department of Education Issues Proposed Interpretive Rule to Eliminate the Use of "Regional" by Accrediting Agencies Department of Education | Feb. 13, 2026 Section 117 Section 117 Foreign Gift and Contract Public Transparency Dashboard Department of Education U.S. Department of Education Releases Latest Foreign Funding Disclosures from Federally-Funded American Universities Department of Education | Feb. 11, 2026

    57 min

  7. FEB 13

    What the Headlines Miss About Higher Ed: A Conversation with Kirk Carapezza

    The national conversation about higher education shifted dramatically in 2025. In this episode recorded in Boston in December, Jon Fansmith and Mushtaq Gunja talk with GBH News correspondent Kirk Carapezza about the reporting landscape and the pressures facing colleges beyond the headlines.  Here are some of the links and references from this week's show:  Brandeis bets big on rebuilding the liberal arts around real-world skills  GBH | Dec. 2, 2025  Colleges hope to 'AI-proof' their offerings as new tech changes job expectations  GBH | Oct. 29, 2025  Local colleges targeted amid growing campus culture wars   GBH | Sept. 24, 2025  College Uncovered Season 4: The Demographic Cliff   College Uncovered Season 4 Bonus: The New College Compact  College Uncovered Season 2, Episode 4: Closing Time  Amherst College: 1,900 Students, 850 Courses. What's Not To Like?  On Campus | Aug. 3, 2016

    31 min

  8. JAN 29

    What the Future Holds for Federal TRIO Programs

    Questions about the future of federal TRIO programs—academic and support services for low-income, first-generation, and disabled students—come up more than almost any other topic on the podcast. We're joined this week by Kimberly Jones, president of the Council for Opportunity in Education, for a conversation about where TRIO stands and what may be ahead. We begin with some speculation on whether or not we're heading toward a partial government shutdown, and the latest on the Department of Education's moves on accreditation. Here are some of the links and references from this week's show: Contact Congress to Urge a Broader Professional Degree Definition 2026 Winter Term Pulse Point Survey (PDF) Appropriations House Passes FY 2026 Spending Package Preserving Education and Research Funding as Senate Showdown Looms  ACE | Jan. 26, 2026 ACE, Higher Ed Groups Urge Congress to Safeguard FY 2026 Education Funding  ACE | Oct. 1, 2025 Letter to Congress on MSI Funding  ACE | Oct. 3, 2025 Legal Updates Education Dept. Drops Appeal of Court Order Blocking Anti-DEI Guidance  Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 22, 2026 Higher Ed Groups Back Harvard in Appeal Challenging Trump Proclamation on International Students  ACE | Jan. 21, 2026 Accreditation U.S. Department of Education Announces Negotiated Rulemaking to Reform and Strengthen America's Higher Education Accreditation System  Department of Education | Jan. 26, 2026 ED Eyes Rewrite of Accreditation Rules  Inside Higher Ed | Jan. 27, 2026 Comments on the Education Department's Proposed Revisions to the Accreditation Handbook ACE | Jan. 26, 2026 NACIQI Members Stalemate on Picking New Chair Republic Report (December 2025) TRIO Council for Opportunity in Education and TRIO Programs COE Trio Advocacy Congressional Outreach Packet Federal Court Orders Reconsideration of Canceled TRIO Grants Inside Higher Ed | Jan . 20, 2026 Trump's DEI Crackdown Closes 120 TRIO Programs Inside Higher Ed | Oct. 27, 2025 Trump Administration Delays $660M for College Access Programs  Inside Higher Ed | Sept. 12 2025

    1h 1m
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​​​​​​​​Each episode of dotEDU presents a deep dive into a major public policy issue impacting college campuses and students across the country. Hosts Mushtaq Gunja, Jon Fansmith, and Sarah Spreitzer lead you through thought-provoking conversations on topics such as Department of Education policy, college costs and affordability, and more.

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