Higher Education

Returning from summer break, University of North Florida professor John White was caught off-guard by the urgent news, relayed by administrators, that the state ordered certain taboo words to be removed from all class syllabi or course descriptions in the university’s teacher-education department.

The Trump administration is trying to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs as part of a broader campaign to end what it calls “wokeness” in American education. As part of this rollback, the Justice Department announced in July 2025 that it would no longer “defend” the federal definition of Hispanic-Serving Institutions, or HSIs.

Slightly more than 78% of the 2,152 first-time applicants — or 1,687 people who took the Florida Bar examination in Tampa this summer — passed, data released by the Florida Supreme Court Monday show.

In a Faculty in the South survey conducted by various conferences of the American Association of University Professors, 31% of Florida respondents said they have applied for a job outside of Florida since 2023. That number was 25% among all survey respondents in the South.

Across the country, tens of thousands of college students without legal status are losing access to in-state tuition as part of an immigration crackdown carried out by President Donald Trump and his allies.

Another former Republican lawmaker and ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis is officially taking the helm of one of Florida’s public universities. Manny Diaz, who DeSantis previously appointed to be his state commissioner of education, started his first day on the job Monday as the interim president of the University of West Florida in Pensacola.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announces a new college accreditation consortium called the Commission for Public Higher Education to tackle "idealogical fads."

Jeanette Nuñez was confirmed as the seventh president of Florida International University on Wednesday. The state Board of Governors – which holds the final stamp of approval – unanimously approved her for the role.

On "The Florida Roundup," Andrew Atterbury of Politico digs into all the changes at the top of the state's universities.

The latest was Friday, when Marva Johnson was tapped to be FAMU's 13th president

An item in the budget would cut Effective Access to Student Education or EASE grants, which help to subsidize a college education for Florida students.

The police departments of at least three public universities in Florida including Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton are seeking agreements with the federal government to carry out immigration enforcement on campus.