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Compliance, Ethics, and Regulatory Affairs

Compliance Alert – September 2025

Final Rules

Proposed Rules

Notices

Items of Interest

  • AI Skills Needed in Many Postgrad Careers—Not Just Tech More companies are seeking employees with experience using artificial intelligence tools outside of traditional computer science or IT fields, according to a recent report.
  • Under Secretary Nicholas Kent Sets Priorities for Higher Ed Nicholas Kent, a career higher education policy expert and now the Department of Education’s under secretary, has made his priorities for American colleges and universities clear—controlling student debt, building public trust and ensuring students experience a positive return on investment.
  • Understanding Value of Learning Fuels ChatGPT’s Study Mode When classes resume this fall, college students will have access to yet another generative artificial intelligence tool marketed as a learning enhancement. But instead of generating immediate answers, OpenAI’s new Study Mode for ChatGPT acts more like a tutor, firing off questions, hints, self-reflection prompts and quizzes that are tailored to the user and informed by their past chat history. While traditional large language models have raised academic integrity concerns, Study Mode is intended to provide a more active learning experience. It mimics the type of Socratic dialogue students may expect to encounter in a lecture hall and challenges them to draw on information they already know to form their own nuanced analyses of complex questions.
  • As higher ed ramps up modular construction, easier maintenance could follow Facility managers at higher education campuses can expect better quality and lower maintenance needs if new dormitories and other student housing use modular construction, a general contractor experienced in that method says. 
  • How Colleges Use Geography to Recruit Students The ways in which colleges decide whom to accept in their incoming classes have recently come under increased scrutiny from the Trump administration, which has used settlements, a memo and an executive action to pressure colleges to change their admissions practices. Those directives reflect the administration’s focus on ensuring what they call merit in the process, as well as an effort to expand the Supreme Court’s decision banning race-conscious admissions to bar any type of race-based programming or activities.
  • Indiana U to Launch GenAI 101 Course for Students, Staff  A new, self-paced course at Indiana University teaches students, faculty and staff generative AI skills and expertise.
  • ‌COGR Summary of Executive Orders (V.16, Released August 19, 2025)
  • Education Department details plans to collect applicant data by race, sex The proposed change to IPEDS reporting, in line with a recent Trump administration memo, could add over 740,000 hours to higher ed’s workload.
  • Judge Keeps Alabama’s Anti-DEI Law in Place for Now Ruling in part that professors lack First Amendment protections in the classroom, a federal judge denied an effort from college faculty and students in Alabama to block a 2024 state law that banned diversity, equity and inclusion programs as well as the teaching of so-called divisive concepts.
  • U of Missouri Forges Ahead With Ambitious Nuclear Research Project As the Trump administration upends federal research, Mizzou aims to raise more than $1 billion to build an advanced nuclear reactor to accelerate production of key ingredients for cancer treatments.
  • Half of college students say their mental health is ‘fair’ to ‘terrible,’ survey finds These issues may impact their trajectory, with large shares of learners reporting that they’re considering reducing their classload, transferring or dropping out.
  • Agencies Share New Guidance on Foreign Threats at U.S. Colleges Warning American colleges and universities about increasing foreign threats to research, a group of federal intelligence agencies and the Education Department released new guidance this week outlining how the institutions can better protect themselves. For example, the 40-page “Safeguarding Academia” bulletin in part encourages colleges and researchers to be transparent about who else is involved in a research project, noting that failing to disclose foreign collaborations could lead to sanctions. The agencies urged researchers to do their due diligence on any potential collaborators and outlined other cybersecurity best practices.
  • 6 higher education trends to watch for in the 2025-26 academic year This year has already brought big challenges to the higher education sector, from major shifts in federal policy to massive cuts in government research funding. 
  • How AI Is Changing—Not ‘Killing’—College Key findings from Inside Higher Ed’s student survey on generative AI show that using the evolving technology hasn’t diminished the value of college in their view, but it could affect their critical thinking skills.

Policy Updates

  • The Fireworks and Pyrotechnics Policy was revised on 8/12/2025 to add language related to cold pyro.
  • The Food Safety Policy was revised on 8/12/2025 to provide more accurate information on the review process, guidance, and requirements for food safety.
  • The Data Governance Policy was created on 8/13/2025 and sets the framework and guiding principles for promoting and safeguarding the effective use of university data. 
  • The Faculty Handbook was revised on 8/20/2025 to further codify Board Rule 304 and add a section on Institutional Neutrality.
  • The Sub-Recipient Monitoring Policy was revised on 8/20/2025 to update policy language and add a reference and hyperlink to new “Guidelines for Subrecipient Monitoring” procedure on ORED website that was required as a result of federal agency review (NSF).

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