5 positive higher ed policy changes in 2025
The result was a set of policy moves that all point in the same direction: fairness over favoritism, rigor over bureaucracy, and reality over slogans.
In 2025, universities and state leaders took concrete steps to unwind the last decade’s ideological drift: race-based preferences got scrubbed out of scholarship rules, DEI-shaped accreditation stopped being treated as the only game in town, and lawmakers pushed schools back toward basic transparency about what they teach and who’s teaching it. At the same time, public institutions faced new pressure to stop pretending that contested social theories are settled truth.
The result was a set of policy moves that all point in the same direction: merit, rigor, and reality.
Campus Reform gathered five of the clearest examples of a real, measurable course correction in policy this year.
1. University of Arkansas to remove race and ‘diversity’ language from 100+ scholarships
The University of Arkansas is modifying more than 100 scholarships to remove race- and “diversity”-based eligibility language, citing compliance with the Supreme Court’s 2023 Students for Fair Admissions decision. The school has been reviewing scholarships since January and notifying donors throughout the year. The changes followed civil-rights complaints by the Equal Protection Project, which says race- and sex-restricted scholarships violate federal law. University of Arkansas officials said scholarships must be legally compliant even if donors want tweaks, marking a sweeping, system-level rollback driven by outside pressure.
2. DeSantis’ DOGE demands full syllabi, faculty data from Florida public universities
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ new state Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) has ordered Florida’s 12 public universities to submit sweeping academic data, including full syllabi for every course, lists of majors and departments, how courses apply to majors, delivery formats, honors-program stats, and which faculty will teach each course for the next two years. The directive is part of a higher-ed accountability review aimed at identifying unnecessary spending and ideologically driven programs, with universities given a short deadline to comply.
3. Florida, five GOP states launch new higher ed accreditor to counter DEI ‘monopoly’
Florida and five other Republican-led states launched a new higher-education accrediting body, the Commission for Public Higher Education (CPHE), as an alternative to existing accreditors they argue have become a DEI-driven monopoly. Approved by Florida’s Board of Governors in July, the consortium (including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas A&M’s system) says CPHE will streamline standards and prioritize merit, student outcomes, and academic excellence over ideological box-checking.
Iowa’s State Board of Education approved rule changes enforcing new laws that require fetal-development instruction in grades 5–12 and remove “gender identity” as a protected class in state education policy. The rules also direct schools to swap “gender identity” for “gender theory” in official documents. The moves reflect voters and lawmakers forcing public education away from DEI-style frameworks and back toward biology-based policy and pro-life instruction, despite heavy progressive opposition.
5. Yale ends gender medication program for minors after federal order
Yale Medicine and Yale New Haven Health ended the medication portion of their pediatric gender program for patients under 19, stopping puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones while continuing counseling and mental-health support. The change followed federal executive orders threatening funding for “gender-affirming” medical interventions on minors, and Yale said it was complying with the new regulatory environment.
