Eighteen parents and seven financial-aid advisers in the Chicago area have been charged with federal student-aid fraud for allegedly obtaining more than $2.6-million in funds by purposefully underreporting their income on financial-aid applications. Two of the aid advisers worked at colleges.

At the request of the Committee on Science and Education, several higher education institutions have been charged for forcing students to attend political meetings. School officials are thus accused of promising to pass students in return for their participation.