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Omnibus spending package boosts student aid while restricting DeVos priorities - A massive spending bill agreed to by congressional negotiators Wednesday raises the maximum Pell Grant by $175, includes an additional $3 billion for the National Institu... ow.ly/hizX50gXp5D

Colleges changing their policies after visits from controversial speakers - In 2016, white nationalist Richard Spencer visited Texas A&M University, intending to -- by his own admission -- rile the campus and shake the status quo. It was the start of ... ow.ly/TnJp50gWtiL

Professional association that supports creative writing departments just ousted its executive director, with no public explanation - David Fenza’s 29-year tenure as executive director of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs ended abruptly t... ow.ly/RwJl50gVwfe

Reports that Trump administration is considering limits on visas for Chinese citizens cause concern - Two major news organizations are reporting that the Trump administration is considering restrictions on visas for Chinese citizens, including student... ow.ly/1G2K50gSuqz

Penn says Amy Wax will no longer teach required first-year law courses after more comments about race come to light - The University of Pennsylvania defended the academic freedom of Amy Wax, Robert Mundheim Professor of Law, last year when she co-wrot... ow.ly/VT3K50gRzZp

Pressure mounts on colleges' ties to the firearms industry - A revitalized movement pressuring colleges to distance themselves from firearms manufacturers scored a significant victory Tuesday when a high-ranking administrator left St. Thomas Universit... ow.ly/OVAG50gQFHM

Ashford University is latest big for-profit to attempt nonprofit conversion - Another large for-profit university is seeking to become a nonprofit. Bridgepoint Education today will announce a planned merger of its University of the Rockies with the la... ow.ly/1X3050gPKsY

Students value diversity, inclusion more than free expression, study says - College students value a diverse and inclusive environment more than free speech rights, according to a new study on student attitudes on free expression. The report from Gall... ow.ly/HRt250gOPnI

Survey of college presidents finds worry about public attitudes, confidence in finances - One in eight campus leaders say their college could close or merge within five years, half agree that academe is disconnected from society and most feel badly mi... ow.ly/h9fG50gMMKy

Study finds evidence of racial and gender bias in online education - Many proponents of online education have speculated that the digital learning environment might be a meritocracy, where students are judged not on their race or gender, but on the co... ow.ly/vIpW50gLS9f

Accreditor backs Purdue University Global as more for-profits seek to convert or sell - Purdue University Global has cleared its third and final regulatory hurdle, with the Higher Learning Commission following state and federal agencies in backing Pur... ow.ly/Ptl850gKZfA

New study says graduate students' mental health is a "crisis" - Several studies suggest that graduate students are at greater risk for mental health issues than those in the general population. This is largely due to social isolation, the often abstra... ow.ly/gVun50gK4Xb

"Contra-power" harassment of professors by students isn't that common, but it's real - Academe’s Me Too movement has thus far focused on professors harassing students, or senior professors harassing junior professors. And that makes sense, given the o... ow.ly/dLl850gJane

Wesleyan switches graduation speakers amid controversy over author's comments on women - Wesleyan University announced recently that Daniel Handler, an alumnus and the children's author who writes under the name Lemony Snicket, would be this year's co... ow.ly/3clx50gHb50

SNHU, other donors guaranteeing education for 1,000 Dreamers - In higher education and nationally, support for Dreamers remains strong, despite the tenuous status of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programs. That support is evident in a new... ow.ly/cu0p50gGiec

Faculty, students and alumni object to moving UT Austin's fine arts collection off-site - Real estate on the University of Texas at Austin campus is scarce -- so scarce that the College of Fine Arts and the University of Texas Libraries have already m... ow.ly/J4wu50gFpmh

Debate at University of Tennessee over posttenure review plan - A joint committee of faculty members and administrators from across the University of Tennessee’s four campuses spent months revising the system’s posttenure review policy, which it ackno... ow.ly/5BTz50gEv6n

UC San Diego Academic Senate rejects student-led push to cut a course on Woody Allen - Calls to boycott Woody Allen movies over allegations that he sexually abused his daughter Dylan Farrow when she was a child have been renewed amid the growing Me To... ow.ly/buvN50gDCBQ

Concordia Alabama, a historically black college, announces that it will shut down operations - Concordia College in Alabama has announced that it will end operations at the end of this academic year. Concordia is a historically black institution, and ... ow.ly/ydUm50gCaLb

Admissions officers take a stand to back high school students engaged in anti-gun protests - High schoolers regularly joke about infractions that might end up on their "permanent record," the one that will be reported to colleges to which they apply. ... ow.ly/Mn7V50gBDxA