The study, which surveyed students, parents, and counsellors across India, highlights how Ireland’s mix of academic excellence, affordability, safety, and employability is reshaping perceptions and driving enrolments.
Ireland’s rise as a destination
The report shows that while India continues to lead globally in outbound student mobility, sending more than 760,000 students abroad in 2024, Ireland’s growth has been particularly striking. From just 700 Indian students in 2013, enrolments crossed 9,000 in 2023/24 a 120% increase in five years. Even in 2024, when overall outbound mobility dipped by nearly 15%, interest in Ireland grew by 38%.
What makes this growth significant is that it is not driven by marketing or advertising alone, but by the trust created through authentic student experiences, alumni voices, and counsellor guidance. Families see Ireland as a country that delivers not just degrees, but outcomes.
Key highlights from the student perception study 2025
India leads in global outbound mobility: 7.6 lakh Indian students went abroad in 2024, compared to 2.6 lakh in 2020.
Ireland’s rapid growth: Indian enrolments rose from 700 in 2013 to over 9,000 in 2023/24 a 120% jump in five years.
Academic excellence: Six Irish universities now rank among the world’s top 500.
Affordable pathways: Tuition and living costs are 30-40% lower than in the US or UK; one-year Master’s programs add time and cost efficiency.
Employability outcomes: 80% of graduates secure employment within nine months; 1,800+ global companies including Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Pfizer offer strong career pathways.
Safety and community: Ireland ranks as the world’s third safest country, with over 60,000 Indians already settled.
Tier II/III interest rising: Students from Coimbatore, Guwahati, and Kochi are increasingly choosing Ireland, aided by education loans and growing awareness.
A new student mindset
The report underscores a fundamental shift: Indian students are increasingly outcome-oriented. Decisions are now guided by employability, post-study work opportunities, affordability, and return on investment, rather than prestige alone.
Peer and alumni referrals, counsellor guidance, and authentic word-of-mouth are the strongest drivers of choice. Ireland’s reputation in STEM, AI, sustainability, data science, and cybersecurity is particularly resonant with this new generation of aspirants.
Decisions are now guided by employability, post-study work opportunities, affordability, and return on investment, rather than prestige alone
This aligns with India’s own reforms under the National Education Policy (NEP) and UGC guidelines, which are actively encouraging student exchange, internationalisation, and the establishment of foreign campuses within India. Together, they signal a new era where India is not just an outbound source market but also a global partner in talent and education.
Why Ireland matters
Ireland’s rise as a destination of choice reflects more than just academic strength. It represents trust – the trust of students who see real employability outcomes, of parents who value safety and affordability, and of institutions worldwide who view India as a critical partner in shaping global education.
As global higher education undergoes transformation, Ireland’s expanding reputation, student-first approach, and strong industry linkages position it uniquely. It is not a “Plan B” market; it is becoming a first-choice destination for Indian students.
For families making one of the most important decisions of their lives, the message is clear: Ireland is where ambition meets opportunity.
About the author: Aritra Ghosal is the Founder & CEO of OneStep Global, a market entry firm specialising in higher education. With deep expertise in student mobility and institutional strategy, he has worked with global universities to expand their presence across Asia. Under his leadership, OneStep Global has partnered with leading institutions to build authentic student connections, support internationalisation, and shape the future of global education.
More Ohio students are being homeschooled now than during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The number of Ohio students being homeschooled was trending upward pre-pandemic, spiked to about 51,500 students during the COVID-19 pandemic and dipped back down slightly.
But homeschooling recently saw another surge with about 53,000 homeschooled students during the 2023-24 school year, according to data from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.
The number of homeschooled students in Ohio, according to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce:
2023-24: 53,051 students
2022-23: 47,468 students
2021-22: 47,491 students
2020-21: 51,502 students
2019-20: 33,328 students
2018-19: 32,887 students
2017-18: 30,923 students
There were about 3.1 million homeschooled students nationwide in 2021-22 — quite the jump from 2.5 million in spring 2019, according to the National Home Education Research Institute.
“Homeschooling was already on a slightly slower upward trajectory, and had been for a number of years,” said Douglas J. Pietersma, research associate at National Home Education Research Institute. “What COVID did, from our perspective, is just infused it.”
He expects the number of homeschooled students to keep growing.
“It’s not going to put public schools out of business or anything like that, but it’s going to be a slow growth that is certainly going to be measurable over time,” Pietersma said.
Remote learning during the pandemic made parents become more aware of what was being taught in schools, said Melanie Elsey, Christian Home Educators of Ohio’s legislative liaison.
“I don’t think that it was a mass exodus from the public or private schools into homeschooling, but for parents who felt like they could accomplish more with one-on-one attention to learning … You can tailor the education to meet the needs of their children,” she said.
Not everyone who switched to homeschooling stayed after the pandemic, Elsey said.
“Some of them put their children back in because it was too much of a commitment,” she said. “So I think it was sort of a time period that parents felt comfortable trying something different to see if they could help their children learn more.”
The modern home education movement sprung out of the 1970s and “skyrocketed” in the 1980s, Pietersma said.
“People were either upset with the quality of education in general,” he said. “Then another group of people, it was more about the content of education.”
Today there are many reasons why a family might opt for homeschooling.
“Obviously, the quality of education is still one of the big issues,” Pietersma said. “Safety issues are a huge thing. People who have had their children in schools where they’ve been bullied or assaulted or had exposure to drugs … given the size of school, it may be not impossible to prevent some of those things.”
The reason for homeschooling varies and it is not always because a family is not satisfied with their local school district, Elsey said.
She homeschooled her children, but did not originally think it was for her family. However, she changed her mind after she enjoyed being home with her children through their preschool years.
“We prayed about it and really felt like it was something that was worthwhile,” Elsey said.
Jeannine Ramer has homeschooled her four children — two are now in college and two (ages 17 and 13) are currently being homeschooled.
“Homeschooling has really strengthened our family relationships, my kids are very, very close and supportive of one another, and I think that’s all of the hours spent at home and just really learning together,” said Ramer, who lives in Alliance.
They were not initially planning on homeschooling their children, but Ramer’s sister-in-law homeschooled her children and encouraged them to think about it as their oldest approached preschool age.
They decided to try it for a year or two, but found it worked well for their family.
“We loved it,” Ramer said. “We’ve had the ability to tailor each child’s education to that child.”
A parent does not need to be a licensed teacher in order to homeschool their children, Elsey said.
“It’s amazing how well families do because they have access to resources, really, all over the world, when you can get curriculum from anywhere that meets the needs of your students to learn to pursue their interests,” she said.
Families who decide to homeschool their children enjoy the flexibility, Pietersma said.
“They can tailor the education that they’re providing to their child in so many ways that an institutional school can’t just because of sheer numbers,” he said. “One teacher in a classroom with 30 students can’t take the lesson plan and tailor it to each of the 30 students.”
Ramer’s oldest child was interested in printing and design work as a teenager, so they were able to craft his high school education to those areas. Now he is studying industrial and innovative design in college.
“It just allowed us the ability to foster that,” she said. “There was much more flexibility.”
Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David Dewitt for questions: [email protected].
Keystone search data reveals the UAE, along with other MENA destinations, is benefiting from shifts in global international study demand during 2025, with an increase of nearly 90% in search interest in June 2025 compared to last year.
Although the MENA destination is expecting growth, the UAE’s rise is particularly notable, drawing highly diverse audiences from South Asia (especially India and Pakistan), Southeast Asia (Singapore and Indonesia), East Asia (Hong Kong China), and Europe (France, Germany). There has also been a modest uptick in interest from US students.
Keystone’s data – which measures relative search interest from millions of monthly searches on Keystone websites – points to subject availability and tuition fees as the two leading factors influencing student decisions to study in the MENA region, as India remains the UAE’s largest source of international interest, with the fastest-growing audiences in 2025 being India, Singapore, France, the US, and Germany.
Ultimately, Dubai is not just offering education but a launchpad for global careers, with an ecosystem that is becoming increasingly difficult to replicate, given the current policy headwinds. Suneet Singh Kochar, CEO of Fateh Education
“The global landscape of international education is shifting, and traditional destinations like the US, UK, Canada, and Australia (the ‘Big Four’) are facing increasing pressure from visa constraints, immigration policy tightening, and affordability concerns. As global mobility patterns evolve, Indian and South Asian students are actively exploring alternative destinations that offer both quality and pragmatism, and Dubai is emerging as a frontrunner,” Suneet Singh Kochar, CEO of education consultancy, Fateh Education, told The PIE.
“Another trend that I see, when it comes to Dubai’s growing appeal, is the uptick in interest for undergraduate studies in addition to the students going there to pursue their masters. For Indian families, it provides the perfect balance – global education within a four-hour flight radius, cultural familiarity, and significantly greater parental access and peace of mind. Safety, quality healthcare, and multicultural inclusivity further reinforce Dubai’s appeal for families looking for a secure, supportive environment for these younger students.”
The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR) has announced that students applying to the higher education institutions based in the UAE for the upcoming Fall 2025-2026 intake must accept or reject their offers by August 11, 2025, via its electronic portal. All program acceptances and related steps must be completed by this deadline to ensure smooth processing.
With encouragement for students to regularly monitor their applications and promptly fulfil any additional requirements set by institutions, the MoHESR has significantly simplified admissions, reducing document requirements by 86%, cutting the application time and enabling registration at 59 higher education institutions across the country.
“Ultimately, Dubai is not just offering education but a launchpad for global careers, with an ecosystem that is becoming increasingly difficult to replicate, given the current policy headwinds. Today, over 42% of Dubai’s international student population is Indian – clear evidence of the region’s growing credibility and resonance with India,” Singh Kochar added.
“Dubai’s high graduate employment rate is backed by a system where universities are closely aligned with national priorities, offering programs in areas like AI, sustainability, logistics, and fintech that are directly connected to the country’s economic vision.”
Elsewhere, Singh Kochar commended Dubai’s institutions for their strong ties to industry – providing students with access to internships, live projects, and employer networks during their studies.
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Though it’s expected that teacher turnover will decrease over the next few years, it’s estimated that there were at least 49,000 vacant teaching positions and 400,000 underqualified educators instructing in classrooms nationwide during the 2024-25 school year, according to a project led by researchers from the University of Missouri and the University of Pittsburgh.
Texas has one of the highest teacher underqualification rates in the country, according to the University of Missouri-University of Pittsburgh research project.
Between the 2019-20 and 2024-25 school years, the total number of uncertified teachers in Texas jumped from 12,900 to 42,100, the Texas Education Agency found. That means 12% of the state’s total teachers were uncertified by 2024-25 compared to 3.8% before the pandemic.
On top of that, 34% of the nearly 49,200 newly hired teachers in the 2023-24 school year had no Texas teaching certifications, according to TEA data.
Texas makes a change
Texas’ growing reliance on uncertified teachers stems from the District of Innovation policy enacted by the state legislature in 2015.
Some 986 Texas school districts participate in the program, which essentially automatically allows them to waive teacher certifications even though it was initially intended just for career and technical education teachers, said Jacob Kirksey, an assistant professor of education policy at Texas Tech University. Kirksey is also the associate director of the university’s Center for Innovative Research in Change, Leadership and Education.
Since the pandemic, however, there has been a “dramatic spike” in districts using the District of Innovation program to help with hiring uncertified teachers for foundational subject areas, Kirksey said.
According to Kirksey’s research, Texas’ use of uncertified teachers with no classroom experience led to major learning losses for students. Those taught by new uncertified educators lost 4 months in reading and 3 months in math compared to their peers taught by certified instructors.
But a major shift is underway: HB2, a new state law enacted in June, will phase out all uncertified teachers in foundational content areas by the 2029-30 school year.
Now in Texas, Kirksey said, “we’ve seen the extent of the damage. I think our legislature realized, ‘OK, we created this hole, and now we need to put in the work to fix it.’”
HB2 also incentivizes districts to hire high-quality teachers, he said. Under the new law, districts can receive $1,000 bonuses for every teacher they certify who previously lacked necessary credentials. Other larger bonuses can be earned from the state for mentoring and training teachers.
South Carolina embraces uncertified teachers
On the flip side, some states are implementing laws that would allow more uncertified teachers to enter classrooms.
In South Carolina, for instance, a law enacted in May launched a five-year pilot program that will allow public school districts to hire uncertified teachers — capped at 10% of a district’s instructional staff.
These teachers must have a bachelor’s or master’s degree with at least five years of relevant work experience in the subject area they are hired to instruct. Uncertified teachers must also enroll in an educator preparation program within their first three years of instruction.
The new law comes as South Carolina’s school districts reported over 1,000 teacher vacancies at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year — 600 fewer vacancies, or a 35% decrease, from the previous year, according to a November 2024 analysis by the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement.
Dena Crews, president of the South Carolina Education Association, said she’s concerned that the law doesn’t require uncertified teachers to take any foundational training before they can instruct students. “The business world and the education world are not the same,” she said.
Uncertified teachers also don’t have any incentive to stay in schools and won’t face any consequences if they quit in the middle of their contract, Crews said. For instance, if one of these teachers doesn’t know anything about classroom management and they can’t get students’ attention for days on end, they may not want to come back and teach.
“So those kids are left at a deficit,” Crews said. “That didn’t help with the shortage. It helped with the shortage for a couple of days and really didn’t do anything, because those kids didn’t learn anything.”
Overall, Crews said she hopes South Carolina’s uncertified teacher pilot program “will not become the norm” for states and school districts nationwide.
Texas has watched its uncertified teacher policies play out longer than other states, Kirksey said. Some lessons learned from watching this trend, he said, are that states facing educator shortages should avoid the easiest option, which is to “deregulate everything” for teaching regulations like in South Carolina. Instead, states should look for ways to prioritize training people to become high-quality educators.
“I do think it’s just a matter of time before folks realize that if we choose to de-incentivize quality, then it’s going to impact kids,” Kirksey said.
Kirksey said he doesn’t believe there’s a lack of qualified adults who can teach. Rather, there’s “a lack of educators who are willing to be in the classroom, who are well-prepared.”
That’s why states and districts ultimately need to address issues with teacher pay, burnout and job satisfaction, Kirksey said. In Texas, he said, “I feel like, as a state, we finally recognize that.”
The applications from 11 British, one French and one Cypriot institution were submitted to the Greek Ministry of Education on March 31, after regulatory reform allowing international universities to establish fully accredited branch campuses in Greece.
Greek education minister Sophia Zacharaki welcomed the “historic reform”, which aims to meet the growing demand from Greek students for internationally recognised and accredited university degrees.
“[The reform] provides new choices to Greek college students, establishes Greece as an educational destination for thousands of foreign students,” said Zacharaki.
She added that the reform would provide the opportunity for Greek scientists working abroad to return to Greece, transforming the country into “a hub of knowledge and innovation for the greater region of southeastern Europe”.
As well as attracting international students, the legislation aims to meet the “ever-increasing domestic demand” for higher education, halt the emigration of Greek young people and encourage the return of Greek academics and scientists.
In 2024, more than 40,000 Greeks studied abroad, according to the government.
And yet, the bill was met with fierce opposition during its parliamentary debate, sparking weeks of protests from domestic students and faculty who argued the legislation would undermine Greek state universities and devalue domestic degrees.
It’s advocates, however, maintain that healthy competition will uplift Greece’s higher education system, attract international investment and create new jobs.
“The government wants to modernise the Greek higher education landscape and create two systems, one state and one non-state that will interact creatively with each other,” said Study in Greece director, Theodoros Papaioannou, when the bill was passed.
Pending government approval, the majority of applicants plan to launch branch campus operations in October 2025, with nine institutions already partnered with Greek private colleges that operate as affiliates of European institutions.
For instance, York University’s existing partner, CITY College in Thessaloniki, will transition into the University of York Europe Campus, CITY U.L.E, operating as a non-state, non-for-profit university.
Among the other UK applicants are the University of East London, the University of Greater Manchester, the University of Derby, London Metropolitan University, the University of West London and the University of Essex.
[The branch campus] promises to elevate the educational landscape in Greece and offer students even more pathways for success
UEL’s institutional partner, Metropolitan College, Greece (MC), welcomed the collaboration, highlighting the benefit of Greek students obtaining accredited degrees from leading European universities.
“[The branch campus] promises to elevate the educational landscape in Greece and offer students even more pathways for success,” said MC academic board chairman Constantine Arcoumanis, adding he was “excited” about the proposals.
To ensure accessibility for domestic students, UEL said that many of its programs would be delivered in Greek, and that students would have access to UEL’s careers services and soft skills support, as well as study abroad, cultural exchange and learning resources.
The University of York’s campus, with locations in Thessaloniki and Athens, plans to establish a “leading hub for computer science studies”, initially offering undergraduate and postgraduate degrees across the schools of business studies, sciences, and law and humanities.
In a video message, York’s vice-chancellor welcomed the Greek government’s decision and said that his branch campus aimed to “contribute to the advancement of higher education and to establish Greece as an international education hub”.
Last month, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis spotlighted York University’s interest in expanding operations to Greece: “Ranked 146th globally in 2025, York has been recognised for its excellence in research and teaching by official British institutions,” he told Greek media.
Since Mitsotakis came to power in 2019, Greece has pursued the internationalisation of higher education, with the Prime Minister highlighting the need to combat Greece’s “brain drain”.
In July 2022, the government changed the constitution to allow universities to offer bachelor programs taught in English.
According to Common App’s latest “Deadline Update” report released Thursday, college applications for the 2024-25 admissions cycle continue to show strong growth, particularly among underrepresented and first-generation students.
The report, which analyzes application data through March 1, 2025, reveals that 1,390,256 distinct first-year applicants submitted a total of 8,535,903 applications to 863 returning Common App member institutions—marking a 4% increase in applicants and a 6% increase in total applications compared to the same period last year.
One of the most significant trends is the substantial growth among underrepresented minority applicants, which increased by 12% over last year. Specifically:
Latinx applicants rose by 13%
Black or African American applicants increased by 10%
The share of domestic applicants identifying as Black or African American grew from 13.3% to 14%
White applicants’ share of the applicant pool continued its long-term decline, dropping from 48.2% to 45.7%
First-generation college students showed remarkable growth, with a 13% increase in applicants while continuing-generation applicants remained flat. Similarly, applicants eligible for Common App fee waivers increased by 9%, compared to just 2% for non-eligible students.
Students from lower-income communities also made strong gains:
Applicants from ZIP codes with below-median household incomes increased by 8%
Applicants from above-median income ZIP codes grew by only 3%
The report highlights several notable geographic patterns:
The Southwestern region experienced the fastest growth at 34%
Texas led state-level growth with a 37% increase in applicants
District of Columbia applicants grew by 18%
For the first time since 2019, domestic applicant growth (5%) outpaced international applicant growth, which declined by 1%
Applications to public institutions grew at 10%, significantly outpacing the 2% growth rate for private institutions. Additionally, less selective institutions (those with admit rates above 25%) saw application growth of 6-7%, while the most selective institutions (admit rates below 25%) experienced the slowest growth at 4%.
For the first time since the 2021-22 season, applicants reporting test scores (up 11%) outpaced those not reporting scores (down 1%). This reversal comes despite minimal change in the proportion of institutions requiring test scores (increasing only from 4% to 5% of member schools).
This comprehensive report offers valuable insights into college application trends as institutions finalize their incoming classes for the 2025-26 academic year. A more detailed analysis is expected in August when Common App releases its full end-of-cycle report.
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Recent attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion have rocked the higher education sector, with the Trump administration ratcheting up the conservative-led fight against those efforts.
President Donald Trump has signed multiple executive orders aimed at eliminating DEI across higher education and other sectors.
More recently, the U.S. Department of Education issued guidance barring colleges from weighing race in any decision-making or promoting diversity efforts. The letter — which used broad language and stirred confusion among colleges — triggered immediate backlash from free speech and faculty groups.
The department gave colleges until Friday to comply or risk losing their federal funding.
Higher education groups have challenged the legality of the directives from both the White House and the Education Department.
But with no clear outcome, the following colleges are stripping down their diversity efforts to avoid endangering their funding.
Ohio State University
Ohio State University said Thursday it will eliminate its DEI offices and programming effective Friday.The state flagship plans to close its Office of Diversity and Inclusion and discontinue services at its Center for Belonging and Social Change less than 24 hours after announcing the change.
The move will result in job cuts, though Ohio State did not specify how many.
“The federal government has signaled its intent to enforce guidance invalidating the use of race in a broad range of educational activities, including by withdrawing federal dollars that are so important to our student, academic and operational success,” Ohio State President Ted Carter wrote in a letter to students and employees.
In addition to federal forces, the university faces anti-DEI efforts from the Ohio Legislature. The Republican-controlled body is weighing a massive higher education bill that would, among other things, ban the state’s public colleges from having DEI offices or taking positions on “controversial” topics, such as climate or immigration policies, DEI, or abortion.
“Here in Ohio, a bill barring DEI is also making its way through the legislature, and the Attorney General of Ohio – our statutory counsel – has advised us that his office concurs with the federal government’s position regarding the use of race in educational activities,” Carter said.
The university’s Office of Academic Affairs will continue to offer the Young Scholars Program and the Morrill Scholarship Program with modified eligibility. The former is currently open to low-income, first generation students, while the latter is open to students “actively engaged in diversity-based leadership, service, and social justice activities,” according to their web pages.
The university will also rename its Office of Institutional Equity as the Office of Civil Rights Compliance “to more accurately reflect its work,” according to Carter.
“Our goal is to ensure that Ohio State continues to be a place where all are welcomed and treated with respect, while following the letter and spirit of the laws and regulations that govern us,” he said.
Ohio State leaders announced earlier this month they were evaluating the university’s roles and DEI work so they could “make changes if state or federal law requires it or if we decide a different approach is in the university’s best interests.”
The cuts to DEI will not reduce current student scholarships or financial aid, Carter said Thursday. Ohio State will offer alternative jobs to affected student employees.
The University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is stuck in limbo — its president announced a complete dissolution of the public institution’s DEI efforts before appearing to walk back the announcement just days later.
On Feb. 21, President Neville Pinto said the university would eliminate all DEI initiatives to comply with one of Trump’s executive orders and the Education Department’s guidance.
“It is untenable to operate as if noncompliance with these directives is an effective option,” Pinto wrote in a community letter. “Given this new landscape, Ohio public and federally supported institutions like ours have little choice but to follow the laws that govern us.”
Pinto said at the time that the University of Cincinnati was reviewing its jobs, programming and projects to eliminate DEI aspects. The institution had also begun removing “references to DEI principles” from its web presence and communications.
“I recognize that these decisions are weighty, and these actions are a departure from decades of established practice within academic communities,” Pinto wrote. “I also continue to ask for your patience and understanding as we do the hard work that will be required to unwind many years of DEI efforts under an extremely compressed timeline.”
The decision sparked multiple days of protests from students, faculty and staff.
According to localnews sources, Pinto told protesters at the university’s Feb. 25 board of trustees meetingthat all DEI-related programming would continue until final decisions had been made regarding the proposed state legislation and Trump’s executive orders.
The University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania has recently scrubbed references to DEI from its offices, websites and policies, as well as the phrase “affirmative action.”
The Ivy League institution renamed its “Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Policy” to its “Policy on Equal Opportunity.”
A previous version of the policy said “Diversity is prized at Penn as a central component of its mission and helps create an educational and working environment that best supports the University’s commitment to excellence in teaching, research, and scholarship.”
The current version does not reference diversity, instead saying: “The University of Pennsylvania’s special character is reflected in the wide variety of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives of the Penn community.”
The university also retitled its main inclusion website as “Belonging at UPenn,” replacing “Diversity and Inclusion.”Beginning Feb. 22, diversity.upenn.edu redirected to belonging.upenn.edu.
One of the university’s student resource centers, previously known as The Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Programs, is now called the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs.
Several schools and departments within UPenn — including its schools of medicine, design, communications and law — have also removed or replaced references to DEI from their web presences, according to The Daily Pennsylvanian, the university student-led newspaper.
Philadelphia lawmakers met with university leaders this week but two walked out after they took issue with college officials’ explanations on why UPenn had reversed its stance on DEI, according to WHYY.
Ivy Tech Community College
In Indiana, Ivy Tech Community College announced it will close its DEI programs and offices on March 12,following Trump’s executive orders.”
Ivy TechPresident Sue Ellspermann said the college relies largely on state and federal funding, citing pending policies at both levels of government when announcing the forthcoming closures,according to a copy of her letter obtained by WTHI.
“While state laws and federal actions are not yet finalized, the College is acting now to protect our federal and state funding so we can ensure uninterrupted services and provide ample time for adjustment in our operations,” she said.
Affected college employees will receive career support services and will be “encouraged to apply for open positions in the College,” according to Ellspermann.
The soon-to-be closed office promotes “cultural and intellectual diversity” and hosts events for cultural heritage months, including for Women’s History Month, Black History Month, LGBTQ+ History Month and Native American Heritage Month, according to Ivy Tech’s website.
The University of Alaska
Regents for the University of Alaska ordered the system to scrub all references to diversity, equity, inclusion “or other associated terms” from its communications and programs, including websites and job titles. The Feb. 21 directive cited Trump’s executive orders against DEI.
The regent vote was nearly unanimous, with the only dissent coming from the board’s student member, Alaska Public Media reported.
In a recent op-ed in the Anchorage Daily News, the leadership of the University of Alaska Faculty Alliance called the regents’ decision “rash and censorious”and noted that the board’s approved meeting agenda did not give the public notice of the anti-DEI motion.
“This unilateral decision undermines our universities’ respective strategic plans that form the foundation for our accreditations,” the chairs wrote. “A decision without public process belittles the dedication and labor of those who openly collaborated to create these plans.”
The alliance also criticized the ban’s broad language, saying it gave regents free reign to expand the list of prohibited words.
The University of Iowa
Amid federal and state pressures, the University of Iowa has eliminated some of its living learning communities — residential programs allowing on-campus students to live in groups based on identity, degree program or common interest.
The university will not offer living learning communities for Black students, Latinx studentsand LGBTQ+ students during the 2025-2026 academic year, according to its website. University officials confirmed to The Gazette that it will not offer those three living learning communities going forward but declined to comment further.
In July, a new state law will take effect banning Iowa’s three public universities from funding or maintaining DEI offices. And back in 2023, the Iowa Board of Regents — which oversees the universities — ordered them to cut all DEI efforts not required to comply with the law or accreditation standards.
On Feb. 24, the president of the University of Iowa, Barbara Wilson, told lawmakers that the college has complied with their DEI ban.
“We’ve closed offices, we’ve gotten rid of every DEI committee in every department across every college,” she said, according to The Gazette. “We have retained a central office, but we’ve eliminated about 11 positions in that central office, and it’s focused primarily on civil rights, access and opportunity.”
Wilson also said she couldn’t “imagine getting rid of the word diversity” but would do so if directed to by lawmakers.
Des Moines Area Community College
Des Moines Area Community College in Iowahas paused its DEI efforts, including diversity-focused trainings and task forces, according to the Des Moines Register. It also removed information regarding its diversity commission from its website, as of Jan. 27.
Like the University of Iowa, the public college has faced increasing pressure from conservative state lawmakers to roll back diversity efforts.
On Feb. 26, the Iowa House’s higher education committee advanced a bill that would prohibit community colleges from having DEI offices, like their university counterparts. The committee chair acknowledged the state’s community colleges are already complying with the proposed standard but said lawmakers should codify the rule, according to the Iowa Capital Dispatch.
Grand View University
Grand View University, in Iowa, canceled its plans for International Women’s Dayset for March 8 amid changing federal and state anti-diversity policies, according to Axios. A spokesperson for the private college said Grand View wants to ensure its events aren’t exclusionary.
Iowa lawmakers are also taking aim at private colleges’ DEI efforts.
On Feb. 26, the House’s higher education committee advanced a bill that would ban DEI offices at the state’s private colleges, unless required by federal law or accreditation. If the legislation passes, those that don’t comply could lose access to the Iowa Tuition Grant program, which offers scholarships to students enrolled in private colleges in the state.
