Leaders at a growing number of universities across the country say they are looking for ways to cut costs and buy time, as questions swirl around President Trump's efforts to slash financial support for some schools. Education experts say the pullback of resources will not only hurt current and prospective students, staff and faculty, but could also harm the local economies of university towns and ultimately make the U.S. less competitive globally.
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Many universities have said that the hiring pauses are temporary, and will be evaluated when they have more information about the status of federal support.
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The Trump administration has threatened to pull federal funding from schools that don't eliminate diversity initiatives or adequately protect Jewish students from discrimination. It also moved to limit National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for research universities.
And it's proposed eliminating the Department of Education, whose responsibilities include managing college financial aid and federal student loans. The department announced Tuesday that it is laying off nearly 50% of its workforce, but says it will continue to deliver programs protected by law.