STURGE: 5 ways the Trump administration reset higher ed for 2026

In 2025, higher education entered a new chapter as President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office. The Trump administration wasted no time restoring accountability in higher education, moving swiftly to realign colleges and universities with constitutional principles and civil rights law.

From cracking down on campus antisemitism to dismantling race-based programs, the administration used executive orders, agency investigations, and funding leverage to force colleges to restore merit, fairness, and legal compliance. 

With these reforms underway, 2026 offers a clear opportunity for President Trump and his administration to build on these successes by continuing to raise academic standards, protect students’ rights, and ensure taxpayers are no longer footing the bill for lawless or discriminatory campus policies.

Here are five key ways the federal government reset higher education this year:

1.  Cracking down on campus antisemitism and restoring Jewish students’ safety

In the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas, the Trump administration launched an aggressive campaign to hold colleges accountable for antisemitic incidents and failures to protect Jewish students. The Department of Education warned more than 60 universities they could lose federal funding over Title VI violations, triggering a wave of settlements and reforms. Institutions that had previously faced criticism or protests over inaction began implementing new safeguards, including mandatory training, revised protest policies, and increased reporting requirements.

Major schools like Columbia University, Brown University, and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) entered binding agreements that restored millions in federal funds previously frozen by the administration in exchange for sweeping policy overhauls. Policy changes include new requirements for Title VI compliance reporting, tighter restrictions on anti-Israel demonstrations, campus climate assessments, and increased transparency in admissions and hiring.

The administration’s efforts in 2025 show a major shift in how the government enforces civil rights protections for Jewish students in higher education.

2.  Restoring Title IX to protect women’s sports

Upon taking office in 2025, President Donald Trump prioritized reinstating sex-based protections in education, launching a comprehensive overhaul of how Title IX is enforced. His administration swiftly issued executive directives, launched a dedicated task force, and partnered with the Department of Education and Department of Justice to crack down on schools that permitted male participation in women’s sports.

President Trump’s aggressive federal enforcement of Title IX helped reverse Biden‑era policies that blurred sex‑based protections, leading to new investigations, agreements, and federal actions forcing schools to comply with sex‑separate women’s athletics.

Institutions including the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), Wagner College, and California’s education agencies faced investigations and were compelled to revise policies, restore records to female athletes, and issue formal apologies.

3.  Rolling back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs

Colleges across the country are scaling back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives as a result of new federal directives under the Trump administration and a growing number of state laws restricting race-based programs. Universities have responded by revising course offerings, restructuring campus offices, and adjusting policies to avoid legal and financial penalties tied to noncompliance.

These changes have affected nearly every area of campus operations. Schools have eliminated DEI course requirements, shut down or renamed diversity offices, dropped race-based hiring practices, and removed ideological language from job titles. In some cases, universities have also disciplined or terminated employees who continued DEI efforts despite new restrictions.

These reforms reflect the administration’s commitment to enforcing civil rights law by eliminating race-based programs and reestablishing merit as the foundation of higher education policy.

4.  Forcing transparency and accountability in college admissions

The Trump administration rolled out a plan that asks colleges to reveal how race and sex factor into admissions decisions. The Department of Education will require schools to report detailed data about applicants from both the current and past five academic years to make sure they are following federal civil rights laws.

Colleges will need to share information like test scores, grades, family income, and whether students received Pell Grants. This information will be broken down by race and sex with the goal of exposing any unfair practices and ensuring schools are basing admissions on merit, not skin color. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the administration is focused on restoring fairness and opportunity in higher education.

5.  Exposing and curbing resources and scholarships for illegal alien students

Federal enforcement actions in 2025 highlighted how some universities offer scholarships, free legal services, and other perks exclusively for illegal alien students. The Department of Education and Department of Justice argue that benefits to non-citizens violate federal law. 

The Department of Education launched civil rights investigations into five universities over scholarships for illegal alien students. The schools under review are University of Louisville, University of Nebraska Omaha, University of Miami, University of Michigan, and Western Michigan University. The investigations aim to determine whether these scholarships violate Title VI, which bans race and national origin discrimination in institutions receiving federal funding. Education Secretary Linda McMahon emphasized that non-citizens should not receive preference over American students. 

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