Week in Review: Deep program cuts proposed at the Education Department

Most clicked-on story from last week:

Illinois lawmakers passed a bill creating a direct admissions program that will send automatic acceptance offers for public universities to high school and community college students who meet GPA criteria. Nine public universities are part of the program, which is set to launch for the 2027-28 academic year.

Number of the week:

Federal budget updates:

• A detailed fiscal 2026 budget request released May 30 by the U.S. Department of Education calls for reducing the maximum Pell Grant award by 23% to $5,710. It would also nix all $1.6 billion from the budget for the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant program for low-income students and slash $1 billion from the Federal Work-Study budget. The appropriations request is now in the hands of Congress.
• The U.S. Department of Interior released an FY26 budget plan that would gut funding for tribal colleges by nearly 90%, from $182 million this year to just over $22 million in fiscal 2026. 

Trump doubles down on higher ed attacks:

• Continuing his attacks on Harvard University, President Donald Trump issued a presidential proclamation Wednesday to bar entry for immigrants aiming to study at Harvard University and directing the State Department to consider revoking visas of existing students. By late Thursday, a judge had blocked the proclamation via a temporary restraining order. 
• In another feud with an Ivy League institution, the Trump administration on Wednesday contacted Columbia University’s accreditor, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. The Education Department claimed that the university violated accreditation criteria and federal civil rights law through what the agency alleged was “indifference towards the harassment of Jewish students.” On an FAQ page devoted to the topic, MSCHE noted that Columbia’s accreditation remains intact and that the federal government cannot legally direct an accrediting body to revoke approval for an institution. 

More consolidation in higher education:

• Keystone College completed its protracted merger with the nonprofit higher ed organization Washington Institute for Education and Research after years of financial turmoil. The private Pennsylvania college is now a subsidiary of WIER but will keep “its current name and educational mission.”
• Another deal came to fruition during the week as Seattle University officially absorbed the Cornish College of the Arts. As the university’s new arts college, Cornish is expected to enroll 430 to 450 students in the upcoming fall semester and will employ many of Cornish’s former staff and faculty. 
• Meanwhile, merger talks ended between the University of Idaho and University of Phoenix, with the parties agreeing to kill their plan for the state institution to absorb the for-profit college. The troubled deal had sparked heated opposition and legal challenges. 
• And the world lost another arts college after the for-profit New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts announced plans to close in late August, citing national enrollment trends and demographic predictions. The 45-year-old institution offered two-year degrees and shorter-term programs.

Quote of the week:

“The reality is this administration is actually taking unprecedented steps to extort schools and universities and hold federal funding hostage if they don’t conform with your agenda.”

That’s Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington, speaking during U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon’s appearance on Capitol Hill Tuesday. McMahon faced tough questions about her department’s proposal for dramatic budget reductions for the agency she leads.