Higher Education

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.

Florida's public universities and colleges have just two weeks to turn over six years' worth of records on staffing, research and grant funding as part of the first formal information request under Gov. Ron DeSantis' newly mandated Department of Government Efficiency – a sweeping effort to identify "inefficiencies" in higher education.

Private college and university leaders said Monday they are worried about potential cuts in the state Effective Access to Student Education, or EASE, program, which provides $3,500 annual grants to undergraduates at the private schools.

House Speaker Daniel Perez defended a bill that would repeal a law shielding information about school presidential candidates from public disclosure.

The University of Miami, one of the largest private universities in the state still maintaining diversity, equity and inclusion programs, removed DEI websites in response to an executive order passed by the Trump administration. Although it targets federally-funded institutions, the order also threatens some corporations, foundations and private educational institutions with compliance investigations.

Prospective undergraduate students for the fall 2026 semester will be required to submit standardized test scores as a part of their application to the University of Miami for the first time since 2020.

The six professors claim the restrictions violate educators’ and students’ speech rights. They say is has "left instructors and students fearful for the future of not only education, but also free thought and democracy in Florida.”

The board which oversees the state’s universities set goals regarding school rankings, number of degrees awarded and graduation rates.

By the time the university noticed 12 days later that it had been victimized, nearly all the money had vanished. There were no reports of arrests in the case.