“Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) suddenly terminated about 4,700 records in the database of foreign students with F-1 visas authorizing them to attend American universities. That move, which sowed panic among students across the country, was the result of the Trump administration’s “Student Criminal Alien Initiative.” But contrary to the implication of that label, the initiative affected many people who had no criminal record that would justify revoking their visas. Nor did ICE cite any other specific justification listed in the relevant regulations. Instead, the students were told their records had been terminated for “otherwise failing to maintain status.””
The SAT helps colleges determine who will succeed at college. It helps show which students from disadvantaged schools have the most potential to shine. The wealthy can better game other admissions standards than they can the SAT.
Trump administration is forcing students to start paying their loans again. The systems in place to help people who can’t afford it are broken due to DOGE cuts. The lack of staff also makes it difficult to fix a mistake, like when people receive a loan bill higher than it should be.
“the administration’s indiscriminate approach has also halted countless important projects like the use of artificial intelligence to detect early signs of breast cancer. There are simple alternative policy changes that would both curb politically biased research and protect crucial scientific research that benefits the public. For instance, the administration could change the criteria by which future grants are evaluated to avoid funding projects that are political in nature. If researchers or universities are unwilling to comply, the administration could let existing grants expire and decline further renewal.
Some higher education critics might consider this nitpicking — after all, when the federal government holds the leverage, what does it matter if the changes are implemented with the proper decorum? But they neglect the decentralized nature of universities and the buy-in from faculty required to make long-term changes.
The Trump administration’s current approach alienates exactly those influential allies within universities who would help facilitate and maintain long-term changes, forcing them to choose between left-wing intolerance and right-wing authoritarianism.”
“Bots create AI-generated student profiles, apply for enrollment, and submit minimal online coursework—often AI-generated—to stay enrolled long enough to receive federal and state aid disbursements intended for low-income students. The scammers are known as “Pell runners,” who disappear after collecting the $7,400 federal grant.”
“The results were both bizarre and, for the students, terrifying. Students with years-old DUIs, misdemeanor gambling charges, traffic violations and other minor infractions learned their immigration status had been canceled. In some instances, the schools told the students they could face immediate deportation. And as lawsuits began to pile up, the Justice Department compounded their fear further, with government lawyers saying they couldn’t verify whether those students remained in the country legally.
Judges recoiled at the lack of information, ordering the administration in several individual cases to undo the damage and restore the students’ records to the immigration database, known as SEVIS. On Friday, the administration said it would restore the canceled records and no longer terminate students’ files based solely on information pulled from the FBI’s criminal record system.”
“Basically all major colleges and universities are tax-exempt organizations, and the government revoking that status over policy disagreements would be unprecedented. The U.S. tax code also grants exemptions to a wide swath of organizations, including charities, religious institutions — and even some political organizations.
But Republicans have taken aim at the Ivy League through the tax code in the past.
Congress imposed a 1.4 percent tax on high-dollar university endowments, like Harvard’s, in 2017 and Republicans may expand the levy in the tax package they are currently assembling.
Trump’s threats follow his administration pulling over $2.2 billion of Harvard’s federal funding in response to the university announcing it would not comply with a list of demands to curb what the White House views as antisemitism on campus.
Educational institutions can lose their tax-exempt status if found to be participating in activities related to political campaigning for or against candidates, or substantial amounts of lobbying by the Internal Revenue Service. There is no public evidence of Harvard violating IRS rules.”