Google announced on Nov. 3 that AI tools integrated into its Search product will be turned off by default for K-12 students starting next year, requiring teachers or administrators to manually enable them. Google education VP Chris Phillips said that because search and AI are tightly linked, schools that block the AI tools will also lose access to Search entirely for students, triggering a notification explaining the restriction. In response, CNET highlighted several free alternative search engines, including Brave and DuckDuckGo, that parents and educators could use instead.
cnet.com
· 2026-11-05
Google announced that starting next year, AI features across Gemini, NotebookLM, Gemini in Classroom, and Search will be off by default for K-12 students unless school administrators turn them on. However, because Google has integrated AI directly into Search, schools that opt out of AI entirely will also lose access to Google Search itself. The company said the policy follows discussions with schools, teachers, researchers, and policymakers.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-11-03
A letter published in Nature argues that laboratory and institutional safety alerts often fail to reach PhD students who are visiting from other institutions. The piece calls for clearer communication channels so that temporary or guest researchers are not left out of safety notifications.
nature.com
· 2026-11-03
Nature's careers coverage describes how Iranian postgraduate students and early-career researchers, including those studying in the United States, have been disrupted by a year of upheaval in Iran. This includes a 12-day war in June 2025 involving Israeli, Iranian and US strikes on nuclear and military sites, followed by an economic crisis and government crackdown on protests. Nearly 12,000 Iranian postgraduate students were enrolled in US institutions in 2024-25, many of whom now also contend with US travel, visa and work restrictions.
nature.com
· 2026-11-02
The Department of Justice announced charges against five people involved in a scheme that used stolen identities and AI to pose as college students and collect federal student aid. Investigators seized over $750,000 in cryptocurrency linked to a network of Kenyan nationals, describing it as the first international seizure of its kind tied to this type of fraud. The scheme involved buying victims' personal data, filing fraudulent FAFSA applications, and funneling leftover loan money through US-based bank accounts.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-10-30
England's government reaffirmed plans for an International Student Levy, requiring universities to pay £925 per overseas student annually, with the first 220 enrolments exempt. Education Minister Josh MacAlister told Parliament on October 19, 2026 that the revenue would fund higher education and skills programmes, citing a 2025 impact assessment and an updated analysis still to come. The Office for Students will administer the charge using enrolment data, with rates adjusted yearly for inflation.
africa.businessinsider.com
· 2026-10-27
An adviser to family-owned businesses and MBA instructor outlines six distinct forms of fear that employees and leaders commonly hide at work. The author argues that recognizing these hidden emotions is essential to understanding what actually motivates people's behavior in professional settings.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-10-20
California's Department of Education disclosed that a stolen login credential was used to access and copy personal data—names, birth dates, and addresses—of millions of current and former public-school students who took state standardized tests. The breach, tied to testing vendor Educational Testing Service, affected files dating back to 2006 and involved unauthorized access occurring over several months in 2026. Officials are offering affected individuals free identity-protection and restoration services, and recommend credit freezes for minors.
news.slashdot.org
· 2026-10-17
Nature's careers team hosted a 60-minute webinar last month examining whether graduate students' growing use of AI tools for literature searches, presentations, coding and paper summaries is weakening core doctoral skills. The session, moderated by science journalist Julie Gould, featured three panellists and a live audience Q&A, and a recording is now publicly available.
nature.com
· 2026-10-15
In a guest post on Terence Tao's blog, mathematics professor Álvaro Lozano-Robledo responds to a distressed undergraduate who questioned whether a career in math academia is still viable given rapid progress in large language models. The student, who described feeling at a loss about career trajectory and even the meaning of life, asked whether academia would remain open to passionate but not exceptionally gifted students. Lozano-Robledo frames his post as advice to reassure students making near-term decisions about their futures.
terrytao.wordpress.com
· 2026-10-09
The US Department of Homeland Security has published a proposed rule that would make universities pay up to $100,000 to let international graduates participate in Optional Practical Training (OPT), a program letting foreign students work in the US for up to three years after graduation. DHS estimates the change could cut OPT enrollment by as much as 44% and cost universities $8.4–$16.5 billion annually; roughly 420,000 students used OPT in 2025–26.
nature.com
· 2026-10-08
As students return to campus this fall, institutions are increasingly recognizing the importance of engaging the over 37 million Americans under 65 who have some college credits but lack a degree. This group represents a significant, underutilized talent pool that could help address workforce skill shortages. Educational programs tailored to these learners could reshape higher education's role in workforce development.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-10-06
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