The Department of Education is on the Trump chopping block. Details have not been fully released yet, but the president has signaled plans to dismantle it and move some of its key functions elsewhere. The department oversees student loans, federal funds for lower-income students, special education programs and more. Geoff Bennett discussed more with Laura Meckler of The Washington Post.
On February 10, 2025, students and activists gathered at the CUNY College Board of Trustees Public Hearing to demand divestment. Rabbi Dovid Feldman stood in solidarity with the students, supporting their call for justice and urging them not to be intimidated by false Zionist accusations. This powerful moment highlights the growing movement for divestment and the unwavering courage of those standing up for what is right. The rallying cry was clear: "Divest! We will not stop; we will not rest!"
Every day brings revelations about how corrupt the US government is. Every day the Department of Government Efficiency ( DOGE) reports on one agency or another that they have taken over and plan to eliminate or downsize. The first targets were the USAID and the US Department of Education.
But this is just the beginning.
Every day is a spectacle, with Elon Musk and a handful of young men taking temporary control over federal agencies without Congressional approval. Some call it a coup, though President Trump has granted them the power through executive privilege. Others may call it a mission from God.
There is no telling how far this DOGE takeover will continue, but as long as folks are not protesting, we can expect it to last indefinitely. President Trump has recently mentioned corruption in the Department of Defense, which would be an interesting target to investigate.
In the meantime, President Trump has relaxed enforcement of US law banning bribery of foreign officials.
You can watch the DOGE boys in action through the DOGE tracker. You can also follow crypto trading and prices, which appear to be a key part of the DOGE movement.
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Reports say that Indian Students in the US are becoming collateral damage amidst President Donald Trump's Mass Deportation Drive. The Indian students entered the US legally, on valid visas. But they say they are now being subjected to more frequent questioning from US immigration officials. They say uniformed officers have been questioning them more frequently, and demanding to see their student IDs and documents. Is Trump's deportation drive becoming an all out purge of migrants, irrespective of whether they're in the US legally or not?
How are colleges and universities responding to financial pressures?
Today, while Trump continues to flood the zone, I want to establish a sense of what the higher education baseline was before he cut loose. As the new administration goes even more energetically after academia I’d like to share some data about our sector’s standing.
Last year I tracked cuts and crises afflicting dozens of campuses. I posted roughly every months, noting program cuts, institutional mergers, and campus closures, as well as financial crises likely to cause same: March 1, March 20, March 28, April, May, June, July, September, November. Today I’ll continue that line for the reasons I’ve previously given: to document key stories in higher education; to witness human suffering; to point to possible directions for academia to take. In addition, I want to help paint a picture of the world Trump is starting to attack.
Some caveats: I’m doing this in haste, between the political chaos and a stack of professional deadlines, which means the following will be more telegraphic than usual. I may well have missed some stories, so please let me know in comments.
Closing colleges and universitiesPhiladelphia’s University of the Arts closed in 2024. Now different actors are angling for its physical remains. Temple University purchased an iconic building, Quadro Bay bought another, and while more bids appear.
MergersGannon University (Catholic, Pennsylvania) and Ursuline College (Catholic, Ohio) agreed to merge by this December. The idea is to synthesize complementary academic offers and provide institutional stability, it seems.
Seattle University (Jesuit, Washington state) and the Cornish College of the Arts (private, Washington) also agreed to merge. As with the Lake Erie schools, one motivation is to expand curricular offerings:
Emily Parkhust, Cornish’s interim president, said the deal opens new doors for the tiny school’s nearly 500 students.
“This strategic combination will allow our students opportunities that we simply weren’t able to offer and provide at a small arts college,” she said. “Such as the opportunity to take business classes, computer courses, pursue master’s degree programs, engage in college sports — and even swim in a pool.”
Financial problems also played a role: “Cornish declared it was undergoing a financial emergency in 2020, and this year, Seattle University paused hiring as it faces a $7.5 million deficit.”
The Universidad Andres Bello (Universidad Andrés Bello; private, Chile) purchased Post University (for-profit, Connecticut).
Campuses cutting programs and jobsIn this series I’ve largely focused on the United States for the usual reasons: the sheer size and complexity of the sector; limited time. But in my other writing I’ve noted the epochal crisis hitting Canadian higher education, as the nation’s decision to cut international enrollment has struck institutional finances. Tony Bates offers a good backgrounder. Alex Usher’s team set up an excellent website tracking the resulting retrenchment.
British higher education is also suffering, partly for the reasons that nation’s economy is hurting: negative effects of Brexit, energy problems stemming from the Ukraine war, and political fecklessness. For one example I find the University of Hull (public research) which is combining 17 schools into 11 and ending its chemistry program, all for financial reasons. Cardiff University (Prifysgol Caerdydd; public research) cut 400 full time jobs, also for financial reasons:
Vice-Chancellor Professor Wendy Larner defended the decision to cut jobs, saying the university would have become “untenable” without drastic reforms.
The job role cuts are only a proposal, she said, but insisted the university needed to “take difficult decisions” due to the declining international student applications and increasing cost pressures.
Prof Larner said the university is not alone in its financial struggles, with most UK universities grappling with the “broken” funding system.
Back in the United States, Sonoma State University (public university, part of California State University system) announced a massive series of cuts.
“approximately 46 university faculty – both tenured and adjunct – will receive notice that their contracts will not be renewed for 2025-26. Additional lecturers will receive notice that no work will be available in fall 2025… Four management positions and 12 staff positions also will be eliminated.”
The university will shut down a group of departments: “Art History, Economics; Geology; Philosophy; Theater and Dance; and Women and Gender Studies.”
(These are the kind of cuts I’ve referred to as “queen sacrifices,” desperate moves to cut a school’s way to survival. The term comes from chess, where a player can give up their most powerful piece, the queen. In my analogy tenured faculty represent that level of relative power.)
There will be some consolidation (“The college also plans to merge the Ethnic Studies departments (American Multicultural Studies, Chicano and Latino Studies, and Native American Studies) into one department with one major”) along with ending a raft of programs:
Administrative Services Credential in ELSE; Art History BA; Art Studio BFA; Dance BA; Earth and Environmental Sciences BA; Economics BA; Education Leadership MA; English MA; French BA; Geology BS; German Minor; Global Studies BA; History MA; Interdisciplinary Studies BA; Interdisciplinary Studies MA; Philosophy BA; Physical Science BA; Physics BA; Physics BS; Public Administration MPA; Spanish MA; Theatre Arts BA; Women and Gender Studies BA.
Additionally, and unusually, SSU is also ending student athletics: “The University will be removing NCAA Division II athletics entirely, involving some 11 teams in total.”
What lies behind these cuts? My readers will not be surprised to learn that enrollment decline plays a role, but might be shocked by the decline’s size: “SSU has experienced a 38% decrease in enrollment.”
More cuts: St. Norbert College (Catholic, liberal arts, Wisconsin) is planning to cut faculty and its theology department. (I posted about an earlier round of cuts there in 2024.) Columbia College Chicago (private, arts) will terminate faculty and academic programs. Portland State University (Oregon) ended contracts for a group of non-tenure-track faculty.
The University of New Orleans (public research) will cut $2.2 million of administration and staff.
The University of Connecticut (public, land grant) is working on closing roughly two dozen academic programs. According to one account, they include:
master’s degrees in international studies, medieval studies, survey research and educational technology; graduate certificates in adult learning, literacy supports, digital media and design, dementia care, life story practice, addiction science and survey research; a sixth-year certificate in educational technology, and a doctoral degree in medieval studies.
It’s not clear if those terminations will lead to faculty and staff reductions.
Budget crises, programs cut, not laying off people yetThere are also stories of campuses facing financial pressures which haven’t resulted in cuts, mergers, or closures so far, but could lead to those. Saint Augustine’s University (historically black, South Carolina) is struggling to get approval for a campus leasing deal, while moving classes online “to take care of deferred maintenance issues.” SAU has been facing controversies and financial challenges for nearly a generation.
The president of another HBCU, Tennessee State University, stated that they would run out of money by this spring. That Higher Ed Dive article notes:
TSU’s financial troubles are steep and immediate. An FAQ page on the university’s website acknowledges that the financial condition has reached crisis levels stemming from missed enrollment targets and operating deficits. This fall, the university posted a projected deficit of $46 million by the end of the fiscal year.
The Middle States Commission on Higher Education agreed to hear an accreditation appeal from Keystone College (private, Pennsylvania), while that campus struggles:
From the top of Keystone’s web page right now.
The board of William Jewell University (private liberal arts, Missouri) declared financial exigency. This gives them emergency powers to act. As the official statement put it, the move “enables reallocation of resources, restructuring of academic programs and scholarships and significant reductions in force.”
Brown University (private research university, Rhode Island) is grappling with a $46 million deficit “that would grow to more than $90 million,” according to provost Francis J. Doyle III and Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Sarah Latham. No cuts are in the offing, although restraining growth is the order of the day. In addition, there’s a plan to increase one sort of program for revenue:
the university will work to “continue to grow master’s [program] revenue, ultimately doubling the number of residential master’s students and increasing online learners to 2,000 in five years.”
KQED reports that other California State University campuses are facing financial stresses, notably Cal State East Bay and San Francisco State University. The entire CSU system and the University of California system each face massive cuts from the state’s governor.
ReflectionsNearly all of this is occurring before the second Trump administration began its work. Clearly parts of the American post-secondary ecosystem are suffering financially and in terms of enrollment.
It’s important to bear in mind that each school’s trajectory is distinct from the others in key ways. Each has its history, its conditions, its competing strategies, resources, micropolitics, and so on. Each one deserves more exploration than I have time for in this post.
At the same time I think we can make the case that broader national trends are also at work. Operating costs rise for a clutch of reasons (consumer inflation, American health care’s shambles, deferred maintenance being a popular practice, some high compensation practices, etc) and push hard on some budgets. Enrollment continues to be a challenge (I will return to this topic in a future post). The Trump administration does not seem likely to ameliorate those concerns.
Note, too, that many of the institutions I’ve touched on here are not first tier campuses. The existence of some may be news to some readers. As a result, they tend not to get much media attention nor to attract resources. It is important, though, to point them out if we want to think beyond academia’s deep hierarchical structures.
Last note: this post has focused on statistics and bureaucracy, but these are all stories about real human beings. The lives of students, faculty, staff and those in surrounding communities are all impacted. Don’t lose sight of that fact or of these people.
(Seattle University photo by Michael & Sherry Martin; thanks to Karen B on Bluesky, Karen Bellnier otherwise, Mo Pelzel, Peter Shea, and Siva Vaidhyanathan for links; thanks to IHE for doing a solid job of covering these stories)
[Editor's note: This story first appeared at BryanAlexander.org on February 10, 2025]
Walden University President Michael Betz has sold $380,000 worth of Adtalem shares. Walden is one of America's largest robocolleges, proving online education to tens of thousands of folks in psychology, social work, nursing, education, business, and criminal justice each year.
Adtalem, formerly known as DeVry Education, is Walden's parent company. Adtalem also owns the Chamberlain College of Nursing and medical schools in the Carribean. Walden and Adtalem have been profitable despite mediocre results for worker/consumers, a disproportionate number are women and people of color.
The Higher Education Inquirer continues to document the DOGE takeover of the US Department of Education.
While some Democratic officials in Congress have protested this action by DOGE, there has been little resistance otherwise.
DOGE consists of Elon Musk and several young men who have been tasked to reduce the federal budget by at least $1 Trillion. The US Senate has oversight of the Department of Education through the HELP (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) Committee, but Republicans, who are led by President Trump, control the Senate, and appear to be supporting these aggressive measures.
While Mr. Musk has claimed that the Department of Education no longer exists, its website is still operating.
DOGE also promotes the buying and selling of cryptocurrency.
The Higher Education Inquirer (HEI) champions the rights of academic workers and critically examines the changing landscape of work in higher education, connecting it to broader economic trends
Focus on Adjunct Faculty and Labor Conditions:
HEI frequently highlights the precarious working conditions of adjunct faculty (grad assistants, contingent instructors, and researchers) who make up a significant portion of the teaching workforce in higher education, especially in online programs. It draws attention to issues such as low pay, lack of job security, limited benefits, and the increasing reliance on contingent labor in academia. This coverage exposes the exploitation of academic workers and its impact on educational quality.
Connection Between Education and Employment:
The Higher Education Inquirer explores the link between higher education and the job market, questioning whether certain programs adequately prepare students for gainful employment. It raises concerns about "hypercredentialism," where degrees become mere "tickets to be punched" without necessarily leading to meaningful work or sufficient income to repay student loans. HEI investigates the job placement rates of graduates from different types of institutions, particularly for-profit colleges and online programs, and highlights instances where these rates may be misleading or inflated.
Impact of Technology on Work:
The Higher Education Inquirer examines how technology is changing the nature of work, both within and outside of higher education. It discusses the rise of the "gig economy" and the increasing prevalence of precarious employment in the tech sector and related industries. The publication explores the potential for automation and artificial intelligence to displace human workers, raising concerns about job security and the future of work. This technological shift is often driven by corporate interests, which HEI critically examines.
Critique of Corporate Influence and Profit-Driven Models:
HEI is critical of the increasing influence of corporations and profit-driven models in higher education and the broader economy. We argue that the pursuit of profit often comes at the expense of workers' rights, job quality, and the overall well-being of individuals. This critique extends to the "tech bro" culture and its emphasis on maximizing profits and technological advancement, often without regard for the social and economic consequences.
Advocacy for Workers and a More Equitable Economy:
The Higher Education Inquirer advocates for fair labor practices, decent wages, and greater economic equality. It supports efforts to organize workers and challenge exploitative practices in various industries, including higher education. The publication promotes a more human-centered approach to work, emphasizing the importance of meaningful employment, job security, and a balance between work and life.
The Higher Education Inquirer provides significant coverage of labor strikes, particularly those within the higher education sector. HEI offers detailed accounts of specific labor strikes, providing context, timelines, and analysis of the issues at stake. For example, they've covered:
The 2023 Rutgers University strike.
The August 2024 strike by UAW Region 9 workers at Cornell University.
Focus on the Underlying Issues: The Higher Education Inquirer goes beyond simply reporting on the events of a strike. They delve into the root causes, such as: low wages and inadequate benefits for academic workers (including graduate students, adjuncts, and other staff), job insecurity and the increasing reliance on contingent labor, issues related to fair contracts, bargaining in good faith, and protection of union activity, and the impact of university policies and management decisions on workers' rights and well-being.
Highlighting the Voices of Workers:
HEI often includes the perspectives and experiences of the striking workers themselves, giving them a platform to share their stories and explain their reasons for striking. This humanizes the issues and provides a more personal understanding of the impact of labor disputes.
Connecting Strikes to Broader Trends
The Higher Education Inquirer connects individual strikes to larger trends in higher education and the economy, such as: The increasing corporatization of universities. The rise of precarious employment and the gig economy. The growing gap between executive compensation and worker wages. The impact of austerity measures and budget cuts on public institutions.
Advocacy for Workers' Rights and Collective Action
HEI supports the right of workers to organize and strike for better working conditions. They frame labor strikes as a legitimate and necessary tool for workers to exercise their power and demand fair treatment.
The Higher Education Inquirer views the nature of work as an integral part of the larger discussion about higher education. It recognizes that education is often linked to employment outcomes and that the quality of work available to graduates is a crucial factor in determining the value of a degree. By examining the working conditions of academic staff, the connection between education and employment, and the broader impact of technology and corporate influence on the labor market, the Higher Education Inquirer provides a comprehensive and critical perspective on the nature of work in the 21st century.
This is what AI told us about its own limitations.
1. Illusion of Learning: Teachers may perceive an illusion of progress due to improved homework scores when students use ChatGPT. A study in Turkey found that while homework scores increased with ChatGPT use, final exam performance actually decreased by 17% for students using unprompted ChatGPT[4], that is, without guiding prompts, simply navigating it on their own]. This suggests that teachers might observe apparent progress that doesn't translate to actual learning.What happens now with the US Department of Education now that Elon Musk claims that it no longer exists? It's hard to know yet, and even more difficult after removing career government workers that we have known for years.
We are saddened to hear of contacts we know who have been fired: hard working and capable people, in an agency that has been chronically understaffed and politicized.
We also worry for the hundreds of thousands of student loan debtors who have borrower defense to repayment claims against schools that systematically defrauded them--and have not yet received justice.
And what about all those FAFSA (financial aid) forms for students starting and continuing their schooling? How will they be processed in a timely manner?
Without funding and oversight, the Department of Education looks nearly dead. But with millions of poor and disabled children relying on Title I funding and IDEA and tens of millions more with federal student student loans, it's hard to imagine those functions disappearing for good.
Let's see how much slack is taken up by private enterprise and religious nonprofits who may benefit from the pain. With student loans, much of the work has already been contracted out. It would not be out of the question for the student loan portfolio to be sold off to corporations who could profit from it. And that may or may not require Congressional approval.
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has documented the decline in community college enrollment for more than a decade. And the Higher Education Inquirer has been reporting on the decline for much of that time.
The question we are asking now is, where is the floor for the community college meltdown? The answer, from what we gather, is not clear. Folks should not assume the bottom has already been felt, even if there are signs of a rebound.
The downward path for community colleges is likely the result of several factors related to economics (including the economics of individual states and counties), demographics, and consumer choices. And we do not see these variables, in general, improving in the near future. Especially in states with declining youth and young adult populations.
If state-level austerity lies ahead for many states, the floor could be lowered, even though these community colleges provide job training at a fraction of the cost of state universities. Working class folks, in particular, would have to change the way they think about themselves and their perceptions of community colleges. And community colleges would need to provide stronger returns on investment for those who attend.
There are some bright spots, including the use of College Promise (low-cost college) in many states and proposed increases in funding in California. Community colleges have also shored up these declines with dual enrollment (high school students taking courses).
We are told that our personal health is our individual responsibility based on our own choices. Yet, the biological truth is that human health is dependent upon the health of nature’s ecosystems and our social structures. Decisions that negatively affect these larger systems and eventually affect us are made without our consent as citizens and, often, without our knowledge. Dr. Rupa Marya, Associate Professor of Medicine at UC San Francisco, and Faculty Director of the Do No Harm Coalition (https://www.donoharmcoalition.org/) , says “social medicine” means dismantling harmful social structures that directly lead to poor health outcomes, and building new structures that promote health and healing. Learn more about Rupa Marya and her work here. (https://profiles.ucsf.edu/rupa.marya)
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(Press Release)
Today, U.S. Congresswoman Hillary Scholten (MI03) introduced the Consistent Legal Expectations and Access to Records (CLEAR) Act, which clarifies that temporary organizations created under 5 USC 3161, like DOGE, are subject to FOIA. Given the breadth of power these organizations wield, they should be subject to the same standard of scrutiny and public information sharing that other agencies are beholden to.
As it currently stands, DOGE does not need to comply with FOIA requests from the American public. Scholten is joined by House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member Gerry Connolly (VA11), Dave Min (CA47), and Kweisi Mfume (MD07) as co-leads on her legislation.
“In the first two weeks of Trump’s second term, chaos has reigned and has many asking… what is happening? An unelected businessman with numerous conflicts of interest has been given unprecedented access to government data and Americans' personal information. These are taxpayer dollars he’s controlling, and the American people deserve to know what’s happening. Knowledge is power, and in America, that power belongs to the people. My bill will make sure that no president, Republican or Democrat, can hide their actions from the American people,” said Rep. Scholten.
President Trump created DOGE through an executive order using an authority that allows the president to set up "temporary organizations." Congresswoman Scholten introduced this legislation to make it clear that any organization created this way is automatically subject to FOIA. The bill would apply retroactively, meaning all of DOGE’s records since it was formed would become public if the legislation is signed into law.
[Editor's note: The Higher Education Inquirer has requested digital copies of all emails between the White House and DOGE sent or received on February 5, 2025.]
His Executive Order on Antisemitism is a Threat to Muslims and Palestinians on Campuses and an Attack on the First Amendment
