Author: Elissa Nadworny

A coalition of labor unions and higher-education groups sued the Trump administration to stop a new rule limiting the time foreign students, exchange visitors and journalists can stay in the U.S. Transcript SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST: The Trump administration is being sued by a group of labor unions and higher-education groups that want to stop an immigration rule announced last month. The rule would limit the amount of time foreign students and journalists can stay in the U.S. Students could stay for four years unless they apply and pay for an extension. NPR’s Elissa Nadworny reports.ELISSA NADWORNY, BYLINE: The lawsuit filed…

We take a look at how a range of concerns, from the cost of a college degree to visas for foreign students, affecting colleges and universities at the start of this academic year. Transcript SCOTT SIMON, HOST: High tuition, fear of student debt, increased interest in the trades and changes to student visas. There is a lot going on in the world of higher education as fall classes get underway, and all of that combined with an emerging question – is a college degree even worth it? NPR’s Elissa Nadworny, who covers higher ed, joins us from a college campus…

Catch up on what you missed with our Education newsletter, sent weekly. New visa restrictions could make it harder for international students to study in the U.S., in another example of how the Trump administration’s goals for cutting immigration are at odds with the aims of American higher education. The Department of Homeland Security says it’s cracking down on foreign students who intentionally take a long time to earn their degrees. It’s adding strict time limits to student visas and restricting how international students transfer schools or change their study plans. The rule announced last week could have a big…

July 1 marks the official opening of a program that allows federal dollars to go toward short-term workforce training programs. But so far, just 12 states have created road maps for colleges to apply. Transcript JUANA SUMMERS, HOST: Starting today, a federal program will pay for short-term workforce training. It’s an expansion of the Federal Pell Grant program, which helps low-income students pay for college. But as NPR’s Elissa Nadworny reports, very few existing programs will actually qualify, at least at first.ELISSA NADWORNY, BYLINE: In a night class at St. Paul College in the Twin Cities…MELISSA SIEBENALER: Get in your…

Colby McCaskill (right) is the grand prize winner of the NPR College Podcast Challenge. His entry features his grandparents Kathy and Dick McCaskill (left) and discusses her dementia, something Colby had been scared to confront. Matthew Coughlin for NPR hide caption toggle caption Matthew Coughlin for NPR PENSACOLA, Fla. — At the kitchen table at their rental condo in Florida, Dick and Kathy McCaskill were working on coloring in an elaborate star, one of the few unfinished designs in the adult coloring book they’ve been working on. “We love to do this,” said Kathy, 77, laughing as she picked up…

The top 10 countries that gave contracts and gifts to U.S. colleges and universities as of December 16, 2025. Screenshot by NPR/The U.S. Department of Education hide caption toggle caption Screenshot by NPR/The U.S. Department of Education U.S. colleges received more than 5 billion dollars in reportable foreign gifts and contracts in 2025, according to a new website from the U.S. Education Department. The release is part of a push by the Trump administration to make foreign influence in colleges and universities more transparent. Among the biggest recipients, the data show, are Carnegie Mellon University, Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute…

Brown University has awarded the first grants under its deal with the Trump Administration. Lane Turner/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Lane Turner/Getty Images In a first step toward fulfilling a settlement with the Trump administration over alleged anti-semitism on its campus, Brown University has started making payments to local workforce development training. The Ivy League school has announced a grant of $1.5 million to the Community College of Rhode Island, and an equal amount to Building Futures, a nonprofit apprenticeship program. “These investments will provide important funding for key workforce initiatives by helping to maximize their impact and empower…

Texas A&M University in College Station. Jay Janner/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Jay Janner/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images Texas A&M University on Friday announced it is ending its programs in women’s and gender studies as part of a broader effort to eliminate teaching related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). The university said it had also modified hundreds of courses and canceled six to comply with a policy adopted last November that prohibits, without approval from the campus president, teaching that “will advocate race or gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or…

Overall enrollment is up slightly at colleges and universities, driven by gains at community colleges and public four-year programs. JUANA SUMMERS, HOST: Overall college enrollment across the U.S. is up compared with numbers last year. That is because more Americans are going to community college and four-year public universities, even as polling shows people are losing confidence in higher education. Here’s NPR correspondent Elissa Nadworny to explain what’s happening.ELISSA NADWORNY, BYLINE: The latest fall enrollment data shows a slight increase overall – up by about 200,000 students, according to the research center at the National Student Clearinghouse.JEFF STROHL: These findings…

Thousands of high school seniors are filling out their federal financial aid form or FAFSA. Numbers show a record increase in applications despite confidence in higher ed being at a low. MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: The number of high school seniors or their parents filling out the federal form for access to college financial aid, the FAFSA, is way up this fall. That’s despite indications that many Americans are souring on the importance of higher education. NPR’s Elissa Nadworny reports.ELISSA NADWORNY, BYLINE: Seeing so many students fill out the financial aid form matters because it’s often a critical step in the…