
dotEDU Live at ACEx2026
From dotEDU by American Council on Education
March 9, 2026 · 1h 1m · Episode 151
About this episode
The episode features a live discussion on the future of federal higher education policy at ACEx2026.
At ACEx2026 in Washington, DC, the dotEDU team recorded a special live episode during a session at the ACE Annual Meeting. Instead of the usual format, hosts Mushtaq Gunja, Sarah Spreitzer, and Jon Fansmith took turns posing questions to each other about the direction of federal higher education policy in 2026: how it may differ from the first year of President Trump's second term, what the year's major policy stories could be, where their lobbying efforts have and have not gained traction, and how to advocate effectively for colleges and universities in a contentious environment. The episode concludes with questions from the audience.
People in this episode
Hosts: Mushtaq Gunja, Sarah Spreitzer, Jon Fansmith
Topics covered
- federal higher education policy
- lobbying efforts
- advocacy for colleges
- political environment
- policy stories
Keywords
- higher education
- federal policy
- lobbying
- advocacy
- politics
- ACEx2026
- ACE
- Trump
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: ACE
Places: Washington, DC
More episodes of dotEDU
- Continuing the College Access Conversation · April 22, 2026 · 1h 0m
- Student Voting Is Getting Harder. Now What? · April 8, 2026 · 1h 2m
- Workforce Pell, Professional Degrees, and a Complicated Spring in Washington · March 20, 2026 · 57 min
- A Funding Deal, the Pell Shortfall, and New Federal Pressure on Campuses · February 19, 2026 · 57 min
- What the Headlines Miss About Higher Ed: A Conversation with Kirk Carapezza · February 13, 2026 · 31 min
- What the Future Holds for Federal TRIO Programs · January 29, 2026 · 1h 1m
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the dotEDU podcast page.