Higher Education

Light brown woven baskets with detailed patternsare displayed on a glass shelf at a museum.

Commentary

Sacred work: Museums and universities must reunite ancestors’ remains with tribes.

Federal and state laws challenge the taking of Native American bones and cultural items. Yet too little has been returned, a curator says.

By Jeannine Pedersen-Guzmán • November 24, 2025

A group of students marches down a campus walkway on a sunny day. Several wear red shirts with protest messages about tuition, holding signs and a megaphone. A few campus police officers on bicycles are visible to the right, and leafy trees surround the scene.

Higher Education

UC continues annual tuition hikes despite student appeals. Here’s how much it will increase

The model regents approved allows the system to increase undergraduate tuition and systemwide fees by as much as 5% annually, depending on inflation, and locks in that rate for students enrolling that year for up to six years.

By

Mikhail Zinshteyn

• November 19, 2025

Two people sit across from each other at an outdoor table on a college campus, talking quietly. Leaves are scattered on the ground, and a brick archway and greenery appear in the background. Another person sits further behind them, partially visible.

Commentary

California’s rural youth struggle alone with mental health. Their peers could learn to help them

Suicide is 50% higher among rural young people than among others in urban or suburban environments. Many also live too far to get counseling.

By Alonzia Quinn • November 19, 2025

The CSU Long Beach campus in Long Beach on April 24, 2024. Photo by Jules Hotz for CalMatters

Higher Education

Cal State wants to offer bigger raises to campus presidents while cutting elsewhere

The current base pay for Cal State campus presidents ranges from $370,000 to more than $500,000.

By

Mikhail Zinshteyn

• November 18, 2025

People hold up various signs at a rally. One person holds a white sign that reads "I'd rather be in lab but the NIH cut my funding."

Higher Education

‘Unlawful coercion’: Trump can’t withhold funds or demand payment from UC, federal judge rules

The judge has previously sided with UC scholars several times since June in halting Trump’s termination of science and health research funding. The latest ruling is arguably the most sweeping yet.

By

Mikhail Zinshteyn

• November 14, 2025

Commentary

California colleges must target financial aid to students who need it most, despite federal cuts

Federal cuts will produce new challenges for higher ed, but financial aid priority should go to those with little or no wealth and low incomes.

By Emmanuel Rodriguez and Laura Hamilton • November 14, 2025

Students stand behind barricades on the left, facing a row of UC Berkeley campus police holding batons on the right.

Education

Turning Point tour ends with fights and arrests at UC Berkeley. Our student reporters were there

While protesters chanted against the conservative ideals of Turning Point USA, event attendees laughed and danced inside the hall of one of the most liberal universities in the nation.

By

Ella Carter-Klauschie

and

Chrissa Olson

• November 11, 2025

Two people — one wearing a light blue suit and the other wearing a gray blazer and orange blouse — sit in front of a blue table while smiling into the crowd.

Education

As tuition keeps increasing, UC students want a bigger say on the Board of Regents

Of the 26 UC Regents, one student position has voting power. A second student seat is a non-voting “designate.” To increase student representation, UC student leaders are pushing for the second seat to also have voting power.

By

Khadeejah Khan

and

Phoebe Huss

• November 11, 2025

A person in a graduation cap and gown holds there hands together, near their chest, as they smile and face up towards a crowd during an outdoor graduation ceremony at a university stadium.

Commentary

Flipping fairness: California’s ‘colorblind’ laws fail Black students

A scholarship meant to repair racial terror now must include descendants of those who were never targets of it. Critics now say such programs are discriminatory.

By Marcus Anthony Hunter • November 10, 2025

A person wearing a white shirt points to a cheering crowd while holding red "Make American Great Again" hats with his other hand.

Education

How UC Berkeley is preparing for Turning Point’s final tour stop after Charlie Kirk’s death

UC Berkeley officials won’t divulge security plans but say they are prepared to host the conservative organization Turning Point USA on Nov. 10 after its founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated nearly two months ago at Utah Valley University.

By

Ella Carter-Klauschie

and

Martin Romero

• November 3, 2025