dotEDU
Each episode of dotEDU presents a deep dive into a major public policy issue impacting college campuses and students across the country. Hosts from ACE, joined by guest experts, lead you through thought-provoking conversations on topics such as campus free speech, diversity in admissions, college costs and affordability, and more.
Episodes
At ACEx2026 in Washington, DC, the dotEDU team recorded a special live episode during a session at the ACE Annual Meeting. Instead of the usual format, hosts Mushtaq Gunja, Sarah Spreitzer, and Jon Fansmith took turns posing questions to each other about the direction of federal higher education policy in 2026: how it may differ from the first year of President Trump's second term, what the year's major policy stories could be, whe...
The hosts run a rapid-fire policy lightning round on the biggest higher ed issues right now, from federal funding and a looming Pell shortfall to new graduate loan limits. They also dig into two fast-moving flashpoints: the Education Department's scrutiny of a long-running student voting study and the administration's escalating actions aimed at Harvard, including potential impacts on service members' education benefits. Plus, an u...
The national conversation about higher education shifted dramatically in 2025. In this episode recorded in Boston in December, Jon Fansmith and Mushtaq Gunja talk with GBH News correspondent Kirk Carapezza about the reporting landscape and the pressures facing colleges beyond the headlines.
Here are some of the links and references from this week's show:
Brandeis bets big on rebuilding the liberal arts around real-world skills
G...
Questions about the future of federal TRIO programs—academic and support services for low-income, first-generation, and disabled students—come up more than almost any other topic on the podcast. We're joined this week by Kimberly Jones, president of the Council for Opportunity in Education, for a conversation about where TRIO stands and what may be ahead. We begin with some speculation on whether or n...
Valerie Fuller, president of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, visited the podcast to talk about how new federal loan limits will change what graduate students can borrow and why nursing may no longer be considered a professional degree. The hosts also looked at the appropriations outlook on Capitol Hill, negotiations on rulemaking to implement the One Big Beautiful Bill, and more.
Here are some of the links and refe...
In this final episode of 2025, hosts Mushtaq Gunja, Sarah Spreitzer, and Jon Fansmith spend the hour taking questions on the policy shifts and challenges campuses are watching most closely and the developments expected to matter early in 2026.
Here are some of the links and references from this week's show:
Lucy Dacus and Hozier, Bullseye
Jason Isbell, Bury Me
Stranger Things Season 5 (Netflix)
The dotEDU hosts look back at a year that reshaped higher education in ways few expected back in January. Mushtaq, Sarah, and Jon talk through their top five stories of 2025, including the push to dismantle the Department of Education, the cuts at NIH and NSF, the sweeping changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill, and Congress's response to it all.
For International Education Week, Sarah and Jon talk with Dr. Judyth Sachs,
The One Big Beautiful Bill may have made headlines but now comes the hard part: writing the rules....
The Trump administration's proposed "Compact for Academic Excellence" lands on nine campuses with vague perks and 23 demands, including tuition freezes, international caps, and "viewpoint diversity" audits. Hosts Mushtaq Gunja, Jon Fansmith, and Sarah Spreitzer ask can they do that?—then discuss the shutdown's real impacts, week one of negotiated rulemaking, the stalled $100,000 H-1B fee, and a Dear Collea...
The Trump administration is cutting off or moving funding for TRIO, GEAR UP, and MSI programs—even though Congress approved the money. Hosts Mushtaq Gunja, Jon Fansmith, and Sarah Spreitzer explain what's happening, why it matters, and what colleges should do next. ACE President Ted Mitchell also joins to discuss the need to protect free expression and civil dialogue on campus following the murder of Charlie Kirk.
Here are some of ...
dotEDU is back for Season 7 with an examination of President Trump's demand for admissions data by race and sex and what that means for campuses. Hosts Mushtaq Gunja, Jon Fansmith, and Sarah Spreitzer—joined by ACE's Hiro Okahana—explain what's being requested, what's lawful, and the need to avoid misleading metrics and protect student privacy. Plus: updates on international students, Harvard's funding-fre...
At the six-month mark of the Trump administration, the dotEDU Live hosts take stock of the landscape for colleges and universities. Kicking off with big-picture questions about how colleges can stay mission-focused and weather sustained political attacks, this season finale also explores the implications of the Columbia settlement, accreditation challenges, visa delays for international students, and the road ahead for implementing...
https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/The One Big Beautiful Bill is now law, and colleges are facing a wave of new policies with real consequences for students and campuses. Mushtaq Gunja, Jon Fansmith, and Sarah Spreitzer break down what's coming for student loans, Pell Grants, accountability rules, endowment taxes, and more. Plus, a quick look at what's ahead for FY 2026 federal funding and accreditation.
Here are some of th...
Hosts Jon Fansmith, Sarah Spreitzer, and Mushtaq Gunja dig into the Senate's reconciliation bill and what it means for colleges and students—student loan limits, endowment taxes, accountability rules, and more. They also discuss delays in student visa processing, stalled federal research funding, and a growing number of legal and policy challenges to programs serving undocumented and international students.
Here are some of the lin...
In this episode of dotEDU Live, hosts Jon Fansmith, Sarah Spreitzer, and Mushtaq Gunja offer expert analysis on the implications of the student visa freeze, mounting political pressure on Harvard from the Trump administration, and the House reconciliation bill, which proposes major cuts to higher education funding and threatens financial aid and access for low-income students.
Here are some of the links and references from this wee...
Jon Fansmith, Mushtaq Gunja, and Sarah Spreitzer are joined by Steven Bloom, ACE assistant vice president for government relations, about the Trump administration's escalating actions against higher education. Topics include a joint statement from more than 50 associations condemning political attacks on colleges and universities, deep funding and tax cuts proposed in the House reconciliation bill, legal efforts to block new restri...
At the 100-day mark of the Trump administration, Jon Fansmith, Sarah Spreitzer, and Mushtaq Gunja review a fast-moving and consequential start: 142 executive orders, declining approval ratings, and significant policy shifts affecting higher education. They discuss new executive orders on accreditation, foreign influence, DEI, immigration, and ...
In this episode of dotEDU Live, the hosts unpack the Trump administration's sweeping demands to Harvard—including oversight of teaching, governance, and student speech—and the university's refusal to comply, a defining moment in higher education's response to growing federal pressure. They also examine the surge in international student visa revocations and the escalating legal fight over federal research funding cuts at the Nation...
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