Shows / dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
Each episode of dotEDU presents a deep dive into a major public policy issue impacting college campuses and students across the country. Hosts Mushtaq Gunja, Jon Fansmith, and Sarah Spreitzer lead you through thought-provoking conversations on topics such as Department of Education policy, college costs and affordability, and more.
Episodes
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
Paul LeBlanc on Reinventing Higher Education for an AI World
Paul LeBlanc, former president of Southern New Hampshire University and author of Reclaiming Purpose: The University in an AI World, joins the conversation…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
What's Next for the Legal Landscape of Higher Ed
The courts continue to play a major role in shaping higher education policy, with cases involving research funding, admissions standards, and more moving…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
Appropriations, Visas, Accreditation ... and It's Only September
Congressional appropriations for the upcoming fiscal year, new proposals on international students and visas, accreditation, and colleges' tax-exempt status…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
Predicting an Unpredictable Fall for Higher Ed
Higher education is looking ahead to a busy fall, with midterm elections shaping the political landscape, an unfinished government funding process for FY 2027…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
The One Big Beautiful Bill Reaches Financial Aid Offices
The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) higher education provisions are effective July 1, and financial aid offices are on the front lines of putting them into…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
The Future of the Education Department's Civil Rights Investigations
The Department of Education is shifting civil rights investigations to the Department of Justice, a move that undermines the resolution-focused approach to…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
New Grant Rules, Accreditation, and the Summer Policy Outlook
The hosts talk live to an audience of ACE Fellows about the White House's new proposal to rewrite the rulebook that governs how campuses manage federal grant…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
What Will It Take to Rebuild Trust in Higher Education?
Yale University's Committee on Trust in Higher Education spent a year examining the forces behind declining public confidence in colleges and universities and…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
Continuing the College Access Conversation
The landscape for federal TRIO programs has shifted dramatically since we talked about it in January. The Department of Education (ED) has issued new grant…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
Student Voting Is Getting Harder. Now What?
Colleges have spent years building systems to help students vote. Now a mix of federal guidance, investigations, and state-level changes is putting new…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
Workforce Pell, Professional Degrees, and a Complicated Spring in Washington
The hosts are joined by ACE's Emmanual Guillory to break down key federal rulemaking shaping student aid. The conversation focuses on the latest developments…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU Live at ACEx2026
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…
dotEDU: Higher Education Policy ExplainedA Funding Deal, the Pell Shortfall, and New Federal Pressure on Campuses
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…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
What the Headlines Miss About Higher Ed: A Conversation with Kirk Carapezza
The national conversation about higher education shifted dramatically in 2025. In this episode recorded in Boston in December, Jon Fansmith and Mushtaq Gunja…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
What the Future Holds for Federal TRIO Programs
Questions about the future of federal TRIO programs—academic and support services for low-income, first-generation, and disabled students—come up more than…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
What Counts as a Professional Degree in 2026?
Valerie Fuller, president of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, visited the podcast to talk about how new federal loan limits will change what…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
The dotEDU Wrap Party for Policy Nerds
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…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
2025 in Review: A Year That Redefined the Higher Ed Landscape
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…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
Judyth Sachs on International Students and a Changing Landscape
For International Education Week, Sarah and Jon talk with Dr. Judyth Sachs, chief academic officer at Studiosity, about the pressures students face across…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
From Big Beautiful Bill to Big Complicated Rules
The One Big Beautiful Bill may have made headlines but now comes the hard part: writing the rules. In this episode of dotEDU, we unpack the Education…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
If it's a shutdown, why are we so busy?
The Trump administration's "Compact for Academic Excellence" faces near-universal rejection from the nation's leading universities, even as the White House…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
Can They Do That? The White House's Higher Ed Compact and Shutdown Fallout
The Trump administration's proposed "Compact for Academic Excellence" lands on nine campuses with vague perks and 23 demands, including tuition freezes…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
Congress funded equity and access. The Trump administration calls it discrimination.
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…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
Demands for Data on Race and the Future of College Admissions
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…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU Live: Ask Us Anything About Higher Education Policy
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…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU Live: The Big Beautiful Bill Has Passed. What's Next?
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…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU Live: What the Senate Reconciliation Bill Gets (Mostly) Wrong
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…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU Live: Pause on Student Visas, Reconciliation in the Senate, and More Pressure on Harvard
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…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU Live: Associations Speak Out as Reconciliation Targets Higher Ed
Jon Fansmith, Mushtaq Gunja, and Sarah Spreitzer are joined by Steven Bloom, ACE assistant vice president for government relations, about the Trump…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU Live: The Trump Administration's Pressure Campaign Continues
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…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU Live: Harvard Pushes Back, Visa Chaos, and the Fight for Research Funding
In this episode of dotEDU Live, the hosts unpack the Trump administration's sweeping demands to Harvard—including oversight of teaching, governance, and…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU Live: Latest on Dismantling of the ED, International Students, and Budget Issues
In this episode of dotEDU Live, Jon, Sarah, and Mushtaq unpack the sweeping policy shifts affecting higher education, including the executive order to…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU Live: What the Education Department Layoffs Mean for Colleges and Universities
The latest episode of dotEDU Live unpacks the sweeping layoffs at the Department of Education and their implications for colleges and universities. Hosts Jon…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
Fixing FAFSA—Lessons From the Rollout
In this episode of dotEDU, Sarah Spreitzer and Mushtaq Gunja give an update on the unprecedented workforce cuts at the Department of Education and share their…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU Live: More Policy Shifts, More Uncertainty for Colleges
As colleges and universities face mounting federal scrutiny, dotEDU Live hosts Jon Fansmith, Mushtaq Gunja, and Sarah Spreitzer break down the latest…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU Live: The Future of Campus Diversity and Student Support
The Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has issued a sweeping directive declaring that race-conscious student programs, financial aid, and…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU Live: New Orders and New Challenges for Higher Education
In this all-Q&A episode of dotEDU Live, hosts Jon Fansmith, Mushtaq Gunja, and Sarah Spreitzer break down the latest policy shifts, legal battles, and…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU Live: What the Trump Administration's Funding Freeze Means for Higher Education
NOTE: Both parts of this episode were recorded before the administration rescinded the order. The Trump administration's sweeping pause on all federal grants…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU Live: Navigating Trump's First Week
Jon Fansmith, Mushtaq Gunja, and Sarah Spreitzer break down the early days of the Trump administration's second term and its impact on higher education. With…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU Live: ACE Fellows Go to DC (and Get Snowed in)!
In this special episode of dotEDU Live, hosts Jon Fansmith and Sarah Spreitzer engage with the distinguished ACE Fellows, a prestigious group of faculty…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU Live: Higher Education's Path Forward in Trump's Second Term
In this episode of dotEDU Live, Jon Fansmith and Sarah Spreitzer are joined by a full team of ACE experts—Steven Bloom, Peter McDonough, and Emmanual…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
Changing History at Colegio de México: Silvia Giorguli
In the third episode of our special series dotEDU Global Voices, hosts Sarah Spreitzer and Devorah Lieberman—ACE senior advisor and president emerita of the…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
Discovering Your Leadership Path: Sue Cunningham
In the second episode of our special series dotEDU Global Voices, hosts Sarah Spreitzer and Devorah Lieberman—ACE senior advisor and president emerita of the…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
Trailblazing Leadership in Turkey: Gülsün Sağlamer
In this three-part special series, dotEDU Global Voices, hosts Sarah Spreitzer and Devorah Lieberman—senior advisor at ACE and president emerita of the…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU Live: What Trump's Win and a New Congress Mean for Higher Education
In this special post-election episode recorded on November 6, ACE President Ted Mitchell joins hosts Jon Fansmith, Sarah Spreitzer, and Mushtaq Gunja to…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
Windward CC Chancellor Champions Student Parents
In this episode of dotEDU, Jon Fansmith, Sarah Spreitzer, and Mushtaq Gunja analyze the presidential campaigns so far and discuss what the upcoming lame duck…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU Live: Student Voting in 2024
New laws enacted since 2020 may impact student voters, especially tighter restrictions on student IDs. ACE General Counsel Peter McDonough joins hosts Jon…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
The First Amendment and Campus Protests: A Conversation with Cass Sunstein
Harvard legal scholar Cass Sunstein joins Mushtaq Gunja and Sarah Spreitzer to delve into the foundational role of the First Amendment in shaping responses to…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU Live: Campuses, Congress, and the Campaign Trail: What to Expect This Fall
In the latest episode, Jon Fansmith and Sarah Spreitzer kick off the sixth season with a deep dive into the key issues shaping higher education this fall. With…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU Live: From Heat Waves to Fall Challenges
In this episode, Jon Fansmith and Sarah Spreitzer give their insights into the current presidential election developments before they discuss decisions…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
State of the States: How Higher Ed Can Build Their Future
In this episode, Katharine Meyer of Brookings and ACE's Heidi Tseu join Jon Fansmith to delve into the complex landscape of state higher education governance…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU Live: Navigating the Current Landscape of College Sports
In this episode, ACE General Counsel Peter McDonough joins us to delve into the turbulent developments in college sports over the past year. Jon and Sarah then…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
The State of Student Affairs: Mental Health, Campus Protests, and Supporting Students
NASPA President Kevin Kruger joins the podcast to talk about the challenges facing students—and student affairs professionals—in 2024. On the agenda: the…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU Live: How Congress Is Responding to Campus Unrest
In this episode, Jon Fansmith and Sarah Spreitzer discuss the campus protests that have been making headlines nationwide and how Congress and the Biden…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
The Campus Speech vs. Safety Tightrope: A Conversation with Fred Lawrence
In a special episode, Fred Lawrence, secretary and CEO of Phi Beta Kappa, returns to dotEDU to help explain how tensions between free speech and campus safety…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
Generating the Future: Exploring AI in Higher Education
In this episode, ACE hosts Jon and Sarah, alongside special guests Lev Gonick, chief information officer of Arizona State University, and ACE's Derrick…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU Live: Budget Battles, FAFSA Fails, and Biden's New Loan Forgiveness Plan
With Congress back from spring break, Jon and Sarah look at what's on the agenda in DC, including a House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing on…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
College Admissions in 2024: "A Year Like No Other"
Hosts Jon and Mushtaq are joined by ACE President Ted Mitchell to examine the complexities of college admissions in 2024. They discuss the potentially…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
dotEDU Live: Student-Athlete Unions and the Mental Health Crisis in Higher Ed
ACE's Steven Bloom, assistant vice president of government relations, joins hosts Jon Fansmith and Sarah Spreitzer to explore the complicated relationship…
- dotEDU: Higher Education Policy Explained
FAFSA Glitch Puts Students, Colleges in Limbo
Hosts Jon and Mushtaq are joined by special repeat guest Justin Draeger, president and CEO of NASFAA, to talk about the Education Department's flawed rollout…