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** Weekly Update
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A newsletter from The Hechinger Report
Sponsored by:
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In this week's edition: Some states are thinking about cutting college budgets in the name of efficiency ([link removed]) . International students reconsider college in the U.S. ([link removed]) Education researchers band together to challenge Trump ([link removed]) .
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[Credit: Camilla Forte/The Hechinger Report]
** In some states, colleges face a double dose of DOGE
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Oklahoma is one of about a dozen states that has considered an approach similar to the federal DOGE, though some state attempts were launched before the Trump administration’s. The federal Department of Government Efficiency, established the day Trump took office on Jan. 20, has commanded deep cuts to federal spending and the federal workforce, with limited justification.
As academia becomes a piñata for President Donald Trump and his supporters, Republican state lawmakers and governors are assembling in line: They want to get their whacks in too.
Beyond Oklahoma, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis launched FL DOGE in February, with a promise to review state university and college operations and spending. Republicans in the Ohio statehouse formed an Ohio DOGE caucus. One of the Iowa DOGE Task Force’s three main goals is “further refining workforce and job training programs,” some of which are run through community colleges, and its members include at least two people who work at state universities.
The current political environment represents “an unprecedented attack on higher education,” said Veena Dubal, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine, and general counsel for the American Association of University Professors.
Read the story ([link removed])
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** Talk to us about Tuition Tracker
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Our Tuition Tracker website helps students, parents and educators research the true cost of a college degree. This interactive tool is used in thousands of classrooms nationwide.
We know this website has value — and we are committed to keeping this tool free for all to use. Here's how you can help: Please fill out this short survey ([link removed]) telling us how we can make TuitionTracker.org ([link removed]) even better. A few minutes of your time will make a difference in the lives of young people. (Bonus points: Share the website and survey link with a friend!)
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This week's newsletter is supported by:
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Stay informed on the conversations driving school board politics and education policy around the country with Hall Pass, Ballotpedia's free, nonpartisan weekly newsletter ([link removed]) . Get exclusive research and election insights from Ballotpedia's school board experts—plus curated commentary from across the political spectrum.
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** International students are rethinking coming to the U.S. That’s a problem for colleges
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Foreign-born students often pay double what domestic students do — and are key to universities’ bottom line.
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“I just don’t feel safe going to the U.S. right now.” ([link removed])
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** Education researchers sue Trump administration, testing executive power
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Prominent scholars ask the courts to reverse DOGE cuts at the Education Department.
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"If the destruction that we see continues, we won’t exist, and our members won’t exist." ([link removed])
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** 📣 Listen up
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Episode 4 of season 4 of College Uncovered, a podcast from The Hechinger Report and GBH News, is out now.
College Uncovered: The Revenge of the Humanities ([link removed])
Some colleges are rebranding liberal arts as “applied humanities” or “leadership studies” to better connect with career paths and market demand.
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** Reading list
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The return of student loan debt collection: What borrowers need to know ([link removed])
The Trump administration plans aggressive new collection policies for federal borrowers who don’t pay back their loans
Education research takes another hit in latest DOGE attack ([link removed])
Education sector accounts for 40 percent of National Science Foundation cuts
Tracking Trump: His actions to dismantle the Education Department, and more ([link removed])
Read the latest updates about Trump's actions on education
As federal dollars for Head Start slow, rural parents left without other options ([link removed])
Nearly half of Head Start slots are in rural areas
Universidades recurren estudiantes hispanos para compensar disminución en la matrícula ([link removed])
Los estudiantes hispanos de bachillerato, olvidados durante mucho tiempo, están recibiendo más atención porque las universidades los necesitan. Hasta ahora, el sentimiento anti DEI no se ha interpuesto en el camino.
OPINION: Book bans draw libraries into damaging culture wars that undermine their purpose ([link removed])
Libraries should continue to be vital hubs for lifelong learning and civic engagement
OPINION: Calling all California education leaders: This is no time to sit back and watch our world-class systems be demolished ([link removed])
We need a vociferous defense of the fundamental values that have allowed progress and racial justice to flourish
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