\n\tCompiled by SUSAN JONES<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Auburn University Board of Trustees on June 5 gave itself complete control over course offerings, curriculum, degree requirements and academic credentials while eliminating shared governance at the Alabama land-grant university, according to Inside Higher Ed<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tFaculty say they have serious concerns about the policies and a host of unanswered questions about what the changes will mean in practice.<\/p>\n \n\tThe two policies, passed unanimously without discussion, mimic what Alabama House Bill 580<\/a> will require of other public institutions when it takes effect in October. As a land-grant institution created and governed by the state Constitution, Auburn isn\u2019t explicitly bound by the law, but lawmakers have made veiled threats<\/a> to punish noncompliance anyway by withholding state funding for offending institutions. The university appears to be taking a page out of Texas public institutions\u2019 playbook<\/a> by pre-emptively overcomplying<\/a> with new state law, experts say.<\/p>\n \n\tThe existing Faculty Senate has been dissolved. It already held an advisory-only role, but its replacement \u2014 the Presidential Academic Advisory Council \u2014 \u201cis a shift from faculty-led governance to administratively controlled consultation,\u201d the Auburn American Association of University Professors chapter wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n \tFight over professional degrees continues<\/p>\n \n\tThe House Appropriations Committee advanced a bill<\/a> that would designate graduate nursing programs as professional degrees, meaning students in those programs would have higher loan limits. Earlier this year, the Department of Education released regulations that excluded graduate nursing programs<\/a>, among other programs, from its list of professional degrees. The designation allows students to take out up to $200,000 in federal student loans \u2014 double that for other graduate programs.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tIn addition, a pair of advocacy groups filed suit on June 3 against the Education Department over its cap on how much physician associates and assistants can borrow in student loans, The Hill reported<\/a>. The American Academy of Physician Associates and the PA Education Association filed suit<\/a> in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging that the Department of Education\u2019s impending rule change on the borrowing cap for physician associate students is unlawful.<\/p>\n \n\tJUNE 10<\/p>\n \n\tThe U.S. Department of Justice alleged that the University of California\u2013Davis\u2019 medical school violated civil rights law by adopting \u201cadmissions practices with the express purpose of circumventing\u201d the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s 2023 decision banning race-conscious admissions, Higher Ed Dive reported<\/a>. According to the agency\u2019s findings, the medical school admitted 1.4% of White applicants and nearly 8% of Black and Hispanic applicants in 2024. This was \u201cdespite the fact that the average GPA and MCAT scores for those minority applicants were significantly lower than the white applicants they competed against,\u201d DOJ said. The university did not immediately respond to questions.<\/p>\n \n\tJUNE 9<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tThe University of Denver is consolidating five schools<\/a> and colleges into two as it looks to streamline its academic structures and create a \u201cmore connected, flexible academic experience for students,\u201d university officials said. It also plans to eliminate five departments, though the academic programs under the departments will continue, the university\u2019s provost said in a memo to employees. The university faced a projected budget deficit<\/a> of up to $30 million.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tThe U.S. Department of Justice opened an investigation into the City University of New York system<\/a> over allegations that one of its student success programs violates civil rights law. The Black Male Initiative program, founded by CUNY in 2005, aims to boost educational outcomes for \u201cstudents from groups that are severely underrepresented in higher education,\u201d according to the system. The program focuses on Black men and men from Caribbean and Latino backgrounds but is open to all.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tUniversity of Arizona Health Sciences \u2014 which has housed the colleges of medicine in Tucson and Phoenix, and the colleges of nursing, pharmacy and public health \u2014 is being dismantled, and its various functions are being integrated into other parts of the larger university, the Arizona Daily Star reported<\/a>. The colleges under UA Health Sciences and its administrative units will now be under the Office of the Provost. The research centers under health sciences will be moved to report to the Office of Research and Partnerships.<\/p>\n \n\tJUNE 8<\/p>\n \n\tA federal judge struck down the $100,000 fee<\/a> for new H-1B visas, ruling that President Donald Trump didn\u2019t have the authority to impose a tax on the visa program for highly skilled workers. On June 11, the Trump administration appealed the ruling, and a White House spokesperson said the Trump administration was \u201cconfident this order will be reversed on appeal.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tJUNE 5<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tThe University of Iowa cannot redirect privately donated scholarship funds intended for Black students studying science, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled.<\/a> Higher Ed Dive reported<\/a> that under the university\u2019s plan \u2014 which the public flagship tied to the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s 2023 ruling against race-conscious admissions \u2014 eligibility for the scholarship would have been changed to cover first-generation students studying science. But the state\u2019s high court upheld a previous ruling blocking the university\u2019s plan and turned it over to the lower court to decide if and how the scholarship will be altered.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tThe Chronicle of Higher Education reported<\/a> that five members of the American Diabetes Association were removed<\/a> from the organization\u2019s annual conference by police for handing out copies of an opinion essay<\/a> criticizing the Trump administration outside the hall where Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, was scheduled to speak. The essay had been published in Diabetes Care, the association\u2019s own flagship journal (though with a note distancing the association from the paper\u2019s authors). It was the first session of the first day of the conference.<\/p>\n \n\tJUNE 4<\/p>\n \n\tVoters still have the ability to elect board members at Michigan\u2019s big three universities after a state house proposal failed, WNEM reported<\/a>. The legislation would have allowed the governor to appoint board members at the University of Michigan, Michigan State and Wayne State University. The three institutions are the only public universities in Michigan whose boards are currently elected by voters.<\/p>\n \n\tJUNE 3<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tThe University of Maryland, College Park has laid off 84 employees<\/a> as it navigates budget shortfalls stemming from federal and state funding cuts and spikes in energy costs, UMD President Darryll Pines said in a public message. The public institution in April estimated it may have to eliminate up to 150 jobs<\/a> through layoffs, vacancy closures and retirements. The cuts come after UMD has in recent years slashed discretionary spending, slowed hiring and reduced headcount through attrition.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tThe U.S. Department of Justice opened an investigation into Arizona State University<\/a> over allegations its diversity, equity and inclusion work violated civil rights law. The federal agency said it will examine Arizona State\u2019s policies on admissions, recruitment, scholarships, tutoring and educational support to see if the public university \u201csubjects its students to illegal discrimination\u201d through DEI.<\/p>\n \n\tSusan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu<\/a> or 724-244-4042.<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tHave a story idea or news to share? Share<\/a> it with the University Times.<\/p>\n