Students return to transformed campuses: How Trump's assault on higher education is reshaping American universities

As the new academic year begins, students and faculty across the United States are returning to campuses significantly altered by a series of federal interventions under President Donald Trump's administration. A broad campaign to align higher education with a conservative agenda has led to funding cuts, programme eliminations, and changes to free speech policies.Institutions including Columbia, Harvard, and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), are navigating the effects of recent federal settlements, lawsuits, and budgetary threats. As reported by The Guardian, some students are returning to campuses where their organisations have been defunded, their academic programmes discontinued, and international classmates barred from re-entry into the country.Cuts, closures and campus changesAt the University of Utah, the Black Student Union has lost both its funding and campus space, one of several student groups affected by federal anti-diversity measures. Public universities in Indiana have eliminated or merged over 400 academic programmes—around one-fifth of their total offerings—according to The Guardian. Similar programme cuts have been enacted at institutions across the country, often linked to threats of federal funding reductions.Certain criticisms of Israel at universities such as Harvard and Columbia are now subject to disciplinary action under a redefined standard of antisemitism, as reported by The Guardian. The federal government has linked compliance with this standard to financial support, prompting multiple universities to settle with the administration in exchange for continued funding.International students and surveillance measuresInternational enrolment is also expected to decline sharply due to visa revocations and social media screening protocols. The Guardian reported that 6,000 visas for international students have been revoked since Trump took office. New immigration procedures include monitoring applicants' online activity for "anti-American" content, significantly deterring international interest in US education.Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, told The Guardian that these changes have already created a "chilling effect" on academic discourse. In legal proceedings, academics reported avoiding travel, cancelling research projects, and declining to publish controversial opinions.Federal settlements and lawsuitsThree universities—Columbia, Brown, and the University of Pennsylvania—have reached financial settlements with the federal government, relinquishing aspects of institutional autonomy. According to The Guardian, Harvard has taken legal action against the administration over funding cuts and international student restrictions but is reportedly nearing its own settlement.UCLA had $584 million in federal funding frozen, with the Trump administration demanding a $1 billion settlement over alleged antisemitism. A federal judge has since ordered the partial restoration of those funds, The Guardian reported.Growing faculty unrest and national implicationsTodd Wolfson, president of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), described the situation to The Guardian as the "most intense assault on higher education by the federal government in the history of the United States." Faculty unions are preparing for potential mass strikes in protest, not just over labour conditions but over the political direction of US higher education.With research funding cuts, programme restrictions, and administrative overhauls continuing, students and educators are bracing for a year defined by uncertainty and structural change.TOI Education is on WhatsApp now. Follow us here.