Since launching in September 2025, CollegeWatch has tracked the Trump administration’s escalating campaign against higher education. Through reported features, data analysis, campus dispatches and conversations with experts, the publication has documented how federal policy shifts and political pressure are altering the landscape for colleges and universities across the country.
"Higher ed is experiencing a time unlike any other," said CollegeWatch Editor Professor Michael Shapiro. "We see our role as capturing for readers the impact on schools across the country."
As spring semesters continue throughout higher education institutions across the country, the CollegeWatch editorial team is highlighting several stories that capture the urgency and complexity of this moment:
Timeline
It Only Looks Chaotic
What appeared to be a baffling series of visa policy shocks targeting international students revealed itself, in reporting from Nate Rosenfield, '23 M.S. Stabile, as something far more deliberate. His timeline traces the administration’s actions from campaign promises to executive orders, mass SEVIS terminations and visa revocations.
Analysis
Rising Costs, Declining Confidence
This analysis by Kate Selig explores a deeper source of public distrust. Leaders of major higher education associations point to affordability as the central concern driving Americans’ waning confidence in colleges. The piece examines how financial anxiety may be laying the groundwork for political attacks.
Feature
Teaming Up With ICE
Adlai Coleman, '24 M.S. Stabile, reports from Florida International University, where campus police signed an agreement to train as ICE officers, empowering them to conduct immigration enforcement on campus. Through interviews with students and faculty, the story captures the immediate fear, the growing climate of self-censorship and the broader pattern of policy shifts that critics say threaten academic freedom in Florida and the rest of the country.
Data Story
The Message
Journalist Elena Cox, '20 M.S. Data Journalism, analyzed transcripts from 777 podcast episodes totaling more than 1,100 hours of audio from Joe Rogan, Tucker Carlson, Ben Shapiro and Matt Walsh, whose combined audiences reach tens of millions each month. The reporting found a sustained narrative portraying colleges as “woke” indoctrination centers, degrees as overpriced and deceptive, and student loan relief as a bailout.
Campus Dispatch
Letter from East Lansing
Theo Scheer reports from a five-hour Michigan State board of trustees meeting, capturing a campus attempting to avoid federal scrutiny while confronting internal tensions, offering a snapshot of how national politics translate into local decisions.
Q&A
For Student Journalists, “The Rules of the Game Have Changed”
In conversation with the Student Press Law Center’s Mike Hiestand, Macy Alcido, '21 M.S., explores how this political moment is reshaping campus reporting. With immigration enforcement concerns, increased surveillance and growing uncertainty around press protections, student journalists are navigating new risks while continuing to document historic change.
Published every Tuesday, CollegeWatch pairs on-the-ground reporting with broader context to help readers understand not only what is happening in higher education, but why it matters and what may come next.
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