Liam Knox

@liamknox.bsky.social

Education reporter at Bloomberg News. Send tips to lknox18@bloomberg.net

Scoop: The Trump administration is sending a letter to college presidents asking them to pledge a series of policy changes by the end of the year. Unlike last year's Compact, this effort was devised with input from higher ed leaders. Free link to my exclusive: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

McMahon Asks US Colleges to Pledge Campus Reforms by End of 2026

Education Secretary Linda McMahon is sending a letter Monday to the leaders of US universities asking them to commit to a slate of campus reforms by the end of 2026 in the Trump administration’s lates...

bloomberg.com

Do you have student debt? How is it affecting your finances -- and your vote? As default rates reach a historic high ahead of the midterms, we want to hear from you for a story on student loans and affordability. Learn more and fill out our brief survey here: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

How Is Student Debt Affecting Your Life — And Your Vote?

After President Donald Trump ended a yearslong pause on student loan collections, default rates are at historic highs. How is education debt squeezing your finances and influencing your vote?

bloomberg.com

The number of international graduate students in the US plummeted in 2025 by 12% from a year earlier, & recent data suggests a similar — or even steeper — drop coming this fall. Great story on how Trump is impacting grad schools by @liamknox.bsky.social(gift link): www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...

How Trump’s Policies Are Hurting Graduate Schools and Universities

Trump’s visa, loan and research policies are putting the $100 billion graduate school market under pressure

bloomberg.com

Donald Trump is dismantling the Education Department piece by piece. Since taking office they've laid off 40% of its staff and moved billions in grant programs to other agencies. We dug into the numbers and the impact of the White House's plan: www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...

How to Shred the Department of Education

Republicans have been trying to dissolve the Department of Education since it was created. Under Trump, this is how they are dismantling the federal agency, step by step

bloomberg.com

NEW: Trump is pausing plans to garnish the wages of millions of student loan borrowers in default, less than a month after announcing the effort. The about-face comes amid a broader affordability push from the White House ahead of this year's crucial midterms. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Trump Delays Plan to Seize Wages of Student Borrowers Amid Affordability Push

The Trump administration has paused its efforts to seize student debt from borrowers’ paychecks, the Education Department said Friday, as the White House makes a concerted push around an affordability...

bloomberg.com

The Trump admin will start garnishing wages for student loan borrowers in default next year, sending the first 1,000 notices the week of January 7. More than 5 million borrowers are in default on their student loans, and that number could balloon next year. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

US to Begin Garnishing Wages for Student Debt Collection in 2026

The Trump administration will begin to seize student debt repayments from the wages of borrowers in default early next year, the US Education Department said Tuesday.

bloomberg.com

Colleges were once a bulwark of skepticism about AI's role in education. Now they're a growing customer base for OpenAI, according to documents we obtained, and the company is making a push for more deals. How did higher ed learn to stop worrying and love ChatGPT? www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

OpenAI Inks Deals With Colleges, Seizing Early Lead in Education Market

OpenAI has established a beachhead at many US colleges, overcoming university administrators’ wariness of artificial intelligence and giving ChatGPT a headstart on becoming the go-to assistant for the...

bloomberg.com

Three days after a tragic shooting killed two students at Brown University, the attacker remains at large. Security footage is scarce, a vexing challenge for a campus with more than 800 cameras. As Brown closes down early, anxiety and frustration is mounting: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Frustration Mounts as Brown University Shooter Remains at Large

Shock over a shooting rampage at Brown University over the weekend is giving way to frustration over the lack of video footage and suspects.

bloomberg.com

Scoop: The Education Department ordered more than 260 Office for Civil Rights staff laid off in March to return to work this month as a court case over the firings drags on, according to emails I obtained. A spokesperson told me the order is temporary, and ED will still pursue the layoffs.

Excited to share my first weekend essay for @bloomberg.com! I wrote about Trump's college funding compact, the schools he saw as potential allies in his campus reform crusade, and why its getting harder and harder for universities to stay out of politics: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

In Trump’s War With Colleges, No School Gets to Be Switzerland

The administration’s “compact” for preferential funding targets fence-sitters, putting pressure on schools that thought they could stay above the fray.

bloomberg.com

The Trump admin is leveraging the accreditation system to reshape campuses. I sat down for an exclusive interview with the man leading that charge, Nicholas Kent, who laid out his plans for a higher ed "revolution." "We're not afraid to fire accreditors," he said. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Trump’s College Czar Has a ‘Secret Weapon’ to Transform Campuses

Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent wants to overhaul the accreditation system that ties schools to government funds. Agencies are already falling in line.

bloomberg.com

The University of Southern California declined the Trump administrations preferential college funding compact, hours after Penn did the same. USC is the fourth of nine formally invited schools to reject the White House’s deal.

UPenn declined to sign the Trump administration's preferential funding compact, becoming the third of nine formally invited schools to do so. But Penn president Larry Jameson said the university provided substantive feedback, unlike MIT and Brown, which rejected the deal's "fundamental premise."

One billionaire has waged a five-year campaign to force Credit Suisse and later UBS to examine the mishandling of Holocaust victims’ money — and that quest is nearing completion. Read The Big Take ⬇️

A Billionaire’s Quest to Find Credit Suisse Nazi Accounts Puts UBS in the Spotlight

Ronald Lauder has led a push to reopen investigations after he helped reach a $1.25 billion settlement in the 1990s. He thinks that deal left billions on the table.

bloom.bg

DeSantis Announces Launch of New Accreditor Florida governor announced the state is launching its own accrediting body. Other states involved in the effort are Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. #HigherEd #EDUSky #AcademicSky bit.ly/4k8PL8s

DeSantis Announces Launch of New Accreditor

Florida governor announced the state is launching its own accrediting body. Other states involved in the effort are Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

bit.ly

Workforce Pell, which both houses of Congress support, would allow students enrolled in short-term credential programs to receive the federal aid grants. That could spur unaccredited providers to seek a piece of the burgeoning credentials market. @liamknox.bsky.social reports: tinyurl.com/un455zu9

Workforce Pell Would Extend Grants to Unaccredited Programs

Lawmakers are poised to extend Pell eligibility to short-term credential programs. With few guardrails in place, it could incentivize an explosion in unaccredited and for-profit providers.

insidehighered.com

Congress Opens the Credential Floodgates Lawmakers are poised to extend Pell eligibility to short-term credential programs. With few guardrails in place, it could incentivize an explosion in unaccredited and for-profit providers. #HigherEd #EDUSky #AcademicSky bit.ly/4jOZctB

Workforce Pell Would Extend Grants to Unaccredited Programs

Lawmakers are poised to extend Pell eligibility to short-term credential programs. With few guardrails in place, it could incentivize an explosion in unaccredited and for-profit providers.

bit.ly