On August 7, 2025, President Trump issued a presidential memorandum titled “Ensuring Transparency in Higher Education Admissions” along with a related fact sheet. According to the memorandum, the Supreme Court has “definitively held that consideration of race in higher education admissions violates students rights” but a “persistent lack of available data” combined with “overt and hidden racial proxies” caused further “concerns about whether race is actually used in process.” The memorandum indicated that the government has not been able to collect sufficient data to “expos[e] unlawful practices[,]” and directed the Secretary of Education to makes changes to the federal collection and publication of admissions data for U.S. institutions of higher education.

The House v. NCAA settlement, effective July 1, 2025, marks a new era in college sports compensation that allows for payments to student-athletes for the use of their name, image, and likeness (NIL) from their colleges or universities. Despite these advancements, receiving NIL payments will create a unique challenge for international student-athletes, the vast majority of whom are studying in the U.S. on student visas that limit their ability to work. 

The landscape of college athletics is undergoing a seismic shift with the rise of name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights. As student-athletes gain the ability to monetize their personal brands, a new era of opportunity—and liability—is expanding far beyond the athletes. In addition to the student-athletes, NIL stakeholders include universities, athletic conferences and organizations, sponsors, and the athletes’ families, among others. Whether the goal is to guard against emerging liabilities or protect the NIL revenue stream itself, stakeholders should consider both traditional and specialty lines of insurance. Here’s what you need to know.

K-12 schools and institutions of higher education should be keenly aware of the laws and best practices for engagement with minors (i.e., persons under the age of 18).  Teachers, non-instructional staff, coaches, and volunteers in every school district interact with minors on a daily basis.  In higher ed, faculty, staff, and even college students themselves regularly interact with minors in the context of collegiate athletics and recruiting; college and university admissions programs; and summer school sessions and internships for high-school students.

As the landscape of college athletics undergoes fundamental changes, institutions of higher education (“IHEs”) have a myriad of new issues to consider. At Hunton, attorneys in our Higher Education and Private Schools practice are well prepared to advise on these issues and assist on topics including:

On April 23, 2025, the Administration issued an Executive Order entitled “Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education” along with an accompanying fact sheet. An institution of higher education’s accreditation is a prerequisite for participation in the U.S. Department of Education’s federal student financial aid program under Title IV. 

On April 17, 2025, Hunton Immigration and Higher Education attorneys provided a client alert summarizing recent visa revocations and student SEVIS record terminations (e.g., F-1 visa and F-1 student status).  This updates the previous client alert, and summarizes important and ongoing changes in federal policy and practices that impact the status of international students studying in the United States. 

On April 24, 2025, federal courts in New Hampshire, Maryland, and the District of Columbia weighed in on three separate challenges brought against the U.S. Department of Education’s February 14, 2025 Dear Colleague Letter (“DCL”), the March 1, 2025 Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”), and the April 24, 2025 Certification Requirement for states and public school districts (the “Certification”).

Among the many changes imposed by the new Trump administration, colleges and universities can add one more possible scenario to their list; federal agents  appearing on campus to conduct immigration enforcement activities. On January 21, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) rescinded Biden-era guidance designating colleges and universities as “protected areas” for purposes of immigration enforcement and have conducted at least one arrest on university property.