At 11th hour, judge blocks Trump’s pause on federal funding (Higher Ed Dive)

“UPDATE: Jan. 28, 2025: A U.S. District judge halted the government’s temporary freeze on federal funding just minutes before it was set to take effect at 5 p.m. Tuesday, according to news reports. U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan in Washington, D.C., blocked the Trump administration’s directive for one week.

The challenge came from a coalition of organizations that filed a motion for a temporary restraining order on Tuesday. The plaintiffs, represented in the legal challenge by Democracy Forward, include the National Council of Nonprofits, the American Public Health Association, Main Street Alliance, and SAGE.” Read more.

Other coverage:

• NSF and NIH Grant Reviews Still On Hold After White House Rescinds Memo (Inside Higher Ed)
• The Trump Administration Walked Back a Funding Freeze. Higher Ed Remains Unsettled (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
• The 2,600 Federal Programs Under Scrutiny by Trump’s OMB (The New York Times)

Please look out for future Policy Matters updates with the latest on this developing story.

 

Department of Education reminds institutions that misrepresentation rules extend to third party service providers

On January 16, the U.S. Department of Education published a new Dear Colleague Letter to remind institutions of their obligations to avoid misrepresentations when working with third-party service providers, including Online Program Managers (OPMs). While noting this is not an exhaustive list, the Department provides examples and warnings relating to the following practices: (i) inaccurately identifying an individual employed by an external service provider such as an OPM as being employed by the institution itself; (ii) inaccurately presenting a sales representative or recruiter as an academic advisor; (iii) and describing a version of a program provided in partnership with an external service provider as an institution’s campus-based version of the program when there are meaningful differences. Many of the examples provided involve third party employees implying affiliation with the institution or the institution failing to properly disclose the involvement of an external service provider in the program. According to the Department, this letter was intended to remind institutions that the Higher Education Act’s prohibition on providing false, misleading, or inaccurate information about the nature of educational programs “applies equally to circumstances where an institution has arranged for an external service provider to exclusively manage functions of online programs, such as recruitment, advising, and clinical placements.” Read more.

 

NEW Primers and Insights Resource – International Partnerships and Programs

Introducing a new resource tailored for higher education professionals looking to build online and professional educational partnerships with foreign universities: International Policy Matters to International Program Success: Considerations for International Programming in Online and Professional Higher Education. This resource provides a broad overview of some of the most critical policies that affect international online and professional education programming. More importantly, it provides UPCEA members with key questions to ask about a potential international online and professional education program in order to adequately measure the policy risk involved. Knowing what questions to ask during the project planning and vetting stage will help surface risks that can help institutions judge the merits of a given international education project, and if they proceed, avoid delays and challenges during implementation. Access our new Policy Matters: Primers and Insights – International Policy Matters to International Program Success: Considerations for International Programming in Online and Professional Higher Education.

• See all Primers and Insights resources here.

 

U.S. Department of Education Reveals New Distance Education and Program Integrity Rules: Final Outcomes and Responses to Concerns Raised by UPCEA

In this blog post, UPCEA Senior Policy Fellow and Associate Director of Compliance and Policy at the University of Michigan’s Center for Academic Innovation, Ricky LaFosse, summarizes key issues from the Department of Education’s new distance education and program integrity rules addressing a number of topics raised during negotiated rulemaking in 2024, along with the final decisions made by the Department. Read more.

 

Other News

• Trump Names Acting Education Secretary Ahead of Linda McMahon’s Confirmation (EducationWeek)
• Trump picks former Tennessee education chief Penny Schwinn as Deputy Secretary of Education (The Tennessean)
• ED Reopens GE and FVT Institutional Reporting Process Until February 18 (NASFAA)
• Ed Department Changes Reporting Requirements for Online Colleges (Higher Ed Dive)
• Supreme Court to review decision on student borrower defense case (Politico)