Major Updates

• Accreditation, Foreign Support, Skill-Based Learning Addressed in New Trump Executive Orders
  The Trump administration has continued issuing an unprecedented number of executive orders with recent directives directly impacting colleges and universities, addressing topics like accreditation reform, foreign influence, skills-based learning (including alternative credentials), and support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Two executive orders likely to significantly affect UPCEA members are those concerning accreditation and skills-based learning.
  
  President Trump’s recent executive order on accreditation seeks a substantial overhaul of the current system. Notably, it proposes eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) mandates, instead placing greater emphasis on student outcomes and institutional accountability. This order explicitly seeks to reduce ideological influences in accreditation by threatening “denial, monitoring, suspension, or termination of accreditation recognition” for accreditors who fail to adhere strictly to newly defined recognition criteria and by prioritizing “intellectual diversity.” Building upon trends to influence accreditation which were initiated during Trump’s first term, this measure explicitly encourages accreditors to approve only institutions offering “high-quality, high-value academic programs” and to reduce barriers that limit the adoption of innovative educational models focused on credential and degree completion. Additionally, the administration intends to launch an experimental site to pilot “new flexible and streamlined quality assurance pathways.”
  
  Another recent executive order, “Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future,” aims to reshape federal workforce development by better aligning training initiatives with emerging industry demands, including fields driven by artificial intelligence and sectors critical to the administration’s broader goal of American reindustrialization. The order mandates a comprehensive review intended to consolidate and streamline existing workforce development programs, eliminate ineffective initiatives, and expand Registered Apprenticeships, with a targeted goal of exceeding one million new apprenticeships annually. Crucially for the UPCEA community, this order calls for a strategic evaluation of alternative credentials and assessments as viable alternatives to traditional four-year college degrees, closely matched to specific employer needs—a domain where UPCEA members’ expertise could be particularly valuable.
  
  As with other executive orders issued recently, extensive legal challenges are expected, and the ultimate short- and long-term impacts remain uncertain. Stay tuned for further updates in the months ahead.

• Over 400 Higher Education Presidents and Leaders Call for Constructive Engagement against Unprecedented Government Overreach and Political Interference (AACU)
  “As leaders of America’s colleges, universities, and scholarly societies, we speak with one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education. We are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight. However, we must oppose undue government intrusion in the lives of those who learn, live, and work on our campuses. We will always seek effective and fair financial practices, but we must reject the coercive use of public research funding.” Read more.

• Higher Ed Wins a SEVIS Battle, Not the Visa War (Inside Higher Ed)
  “International students, colleges and advocates caught a break Friday after weeks of confusion and disruptions. After thousands of students learned their Student Exchange and Visitor Information System status was revoked, they were relieved to hear that Immigration and Customs Enforcement was restoring students’ statuses nationwide. ‘I was in class when the news broke, and there was a sense of relief,’ said Chris. R Glass, a professor at Boston College’s Center for International Higher Education. ‘But it’s not the kind of relief that things are getting better, just that they’re not getting worse.’” Read more.

Following Higher Education Legal + Policy Updates

• Higher Education Litigation Summary {as of April 29} (Thompson Coburn LLP)
  “Thompson Coburn’s Higher Education Litigation Summary is your resource for legal updates on key rulings and ongoing cases shaping the higher education sector. This installment covers updates related to Gainful Employment, the Bare Minimum Rule, BDR, Student Loan Forgiveness, Title IX, False Claims Act, Nonprofit Institution Status, Federal Funding Freeze, DEI Executive Orders, the Executive Order Directing the Closure of ED, and Grant Terminations.” Read more.

• Tracking Trump’s Higher Ed Agenda (The Chronicle of Higher Education)

Other News

• Department of Education Begins Negotiated Rulemaking for Financial Aid, including Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) (Federal Register)

• House Republicans Advance Plan to Upend Student Loans (Inside Higher Ed)

• UPCEA Joins With 100 Other Entities to Sign Budget Request Letter to Congressional Leaders Supporting Funding for Higher Education (Today’s Students Coalition)

• College Financial Aid Hit With Glitches, Delays Due to Federal Staffing Cuts (Washington Post)

• NIH prohibits new grant awards to colleges with DEI initiatives (Higher Ed Dive)

Policy Matters: Primers and Insights
As institutions of higher education continue to innovate with online courses and professional continuing education programs, having a general understanding of the regulatory landscape that such initiatives are subject to is critical to their long-term success. These UPCEA resources provide an introduction to foundational topics in federal legislation and regulations impacting online and professional continuing education for universities and colleges.

• Introduction to the Online Learning Regulatory Landscape
• An Introduction to Negotiated Rulemaking for Higher Education
• Digital Accessibility Requirements for Online Learning
• Marketing Considerations Through the Lens of Regulations, Policies and Compliance
• International Policy Matters to International Program Success