COLLIN BINKLEY Education Writer, Author at The Rapid City Post

FILE - Students, faculty and members of the Harvard University community rally, April 17, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo, File)

With Columbia as a model, White House seeks fines in potential deals with Harvard and others

July 25, 2025

The White House is pursuing heavy fines from Harvard and other universities as part of potential settlements to end investigations into campus antisemitism, according to an administration official familiar with the matter. The government’s new settlement with Columbia University is being used as a template in talks with Harvard and other universities, with monetary fines becoming a staple of proposed deals, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. The strategy was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. Columbia agreed to pay a $200 million fine to regain access to federal funding.

FILE - Students sit on the front steps of Low Memorial Library on the Columbia University campus in New York City, Feb. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

Trump’s settlement with Columbia could become a model for his campaign to reshape higher education

July 24, 2025

The Trump administration’s milestone settlement with Columbia promises to bring stability to a university embroiled in scrutiny. It also delivers a crucial win to President Donald Trump in his campaign to reshape higher education. And at colleges around the country, the deal clarifies the stakes for anyone weighing whether to fight the administration’s demands or concede. Trump’s deal with Columbia offers a template for his administration as more universities come under federal investigation over allegations of antisemitism and discrimination related to diversity, equity and inclusion. The settlement also raises questions about university independence as Columbia submits to closer federal oversight.

Civil rights work is slowing as Trump dismantles the Education Department, agency data shows

July 17, 2025

Data from the Education Department shows the pace at which it resolves civil rights complaints has slowed as the Trump administration dismantles the agency. The administration insists it hasn’t wavered in its duty to protect students’ rights. But a public database of the office’s resolution agreements — cases in which schools voluntarily agreed to address civil rights concerns — shows they are on track to fall far below previous years’ totals. The department’s civil rights branch lost nearly half its staff amid layoffs in March, raising questions about its ability to address complaints from students alleging discrimination based on disability, sex or race.

University of Michigan faces federal investigation after arrest of 2 Chinese scientists

July 15, 2025

The University of Michigan is under federal scrutiny after two Chinese scientists linked to the school were separately charged with smuggling biological materials into the United States. The Education Department on Tuesday opened an investigation into the university’s foreign funding, citing the pair of cases that were announced days apart in June. It said the “highly disturbing criminal charges” raise concerns about Michigan’s vulnerability to national security threats from China. The university will cooperate with federal investigators and takes its responsibility to comply with the law seriously.

FILE - Education Secretary Linda McMahon speaks during a Senate Appropriations hearing, Tuesday, June 3, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

How Trump plans to dismantle the Education Department after Supreme Court ruling

July 15, 2025

Education Secretary Linda McMahon is expected to move quickly now that the Supreme Court has cleared the way for the Trump administration to continue unwinding her department. Monday’s ruling allows the department to move ahead with mass layoffs and a plan to outsource work to other federal agencies. Lawyers from the department have already previewed next steps in court filings. In March, Trump suggested the Small Business Administration would take on federal student loans. But a court filing in June indicated the Treasury Department is expected to take over the work. The department had also recently struck a deal to outsource workforce training and adult education to the Department of Labor.

President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

George Mason University faces investigation in Trump administration’s anti-DEI crackdown

July 10, 2025

The Trump administration on Thursday opened a civil rights investigation into the hiring practices at George Mason University, expanding a national campaign against diversity policies to Virginia’s largest public university. The Education Department said it is responding to a complaint from multiple professors at George Mason who accuse the university of favoring those from underrepresented groups. The complaint takes aim at the university’s president, Gregory Washington, saying he issued guidance that favors faculty candidates based on their diversity rather than their credentials. It marks a further expansion of the Trump administrations campaign to reshape higher education, which until recently focused on private institutions like Harvard and Columbia.

FILE - Students cross the campus of Dartmouth College, March 5, 2024, in Hanover, N.H. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

Republicans urge US universities to cut ties with China-backed scholarship program

July 9, 2025

Dartmouth College and the University of Notre Dame say they’re ending their participation in a Chinese scholarship program. House Republicans have called the program a “nefarious mechanism” to steal technology for the Chinese government. Leaders of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party said Wednesday they had sent letters to Dartmouth, Notre Dame, Temple, the University of Tennessee and three University of California campuses. The lawmakers raised concerns about the schools’ partnerships with the China Scholarship Council. The study-abroad program is funded by China and sponsors hundreds of Chinese graduate students at U.S. universities annually. China’s U.S. Embassy hasn’t commented.

President Donald Trump walks toward the media to speak with them before boarding Air Force One, at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, N.J., Sunday, July 6, 2025, en route to Washington after a weekend in New Jersey. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Student loan cancellation program could become Trump retribution tool, some advocates fear

July 7, 2025

President Donald Trump is revamping the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, sparking concerns it could become a tool for political retribution. The program cancels student loans for public sector and nonprofit workers after 10 years of payments. A draft proposal from the Education Department suggests excluding organizations involved in “illegal activities,” with definitions targeting immigration, transgender issues, and terrorism. Critics worry this could disqualify hospitals, schools, and nonprofits, potentially affecting millions of borrowers. The final proposal is expected to take effect in 2026.

Republican plan for nationwide private school vouchers deemed in violation of Senate rules

June 27, 2025

A Republican plan to expand private school vouchers nationwide was dealt a major setback when the Senate parliamentarian said the proposal would run afoul of procedural rules. The plan had been years in the making. It would have created a federal tax credit supporting scholarships to help families send their children to private schools or other options beyond local public schools. The Senate parliamentarian advises against including the proposal in President Donald Trump’s tax cut and spending bill. That adds to mounting problems for Republicans as key proposals are deemed ineligible for the filibuster-proof reconciliation package. The parliamentarian’s rulings are advisory but rarely ignored.

FILE - A bicyclist walks by Langdell Hall, the Harvard Law Library, on the Harvard Law School campus at Harvard University, Aug. 1, 2005, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Judge halts another Trump administration effort to block foreign students from attending Harvard

June 23, 2025

A federal judge has blocked another effort by the Trump administration to keep international students from attending Harvard University, granting a second preliminary injunction in the case. The order Monday from U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston preserves the ability of foreign students to travel to the U.S. for study at Harvard while the case is decided. President Donald Trump has sought to cut off Harvard’s enrollment of foreign students in a pressure campaign seeking changes to governance and policies at the Ivy League school.

Top US universities raced to become global campuses. Under Trump, it’s becoming a liability

June 5, 2025

Three decades ago, foreign students at Harvard University accounted for just 11% of the total student body. Today they account for 26%. Like other prestigious U.S. universities, Harvard has admitted booming numbers of foreign students in recent decades. The college has been cashing in on its global cache to recruit the world’s best students. Yet universities’ race to the top of global rankings has made them vulnerable to a new line of attack. President Donald Trump is using his control over the nation’s borders as leverage in his quest to reshape American higher education. On Wednesday, Trump barred nearly all foreigners from entering the country to attend Harvard.

COLLIN BINKLEY Education Writer.