Election & University — How Will the Election Affect Higher Education?

Higher education has been one of President Trump’s best areas. He and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos have made some noteworthy improvements, particularly the replacement of Obama-era Title IX regulations with ones that are more fair, and an executive order protecting free speech. If there is to be a second term for Trump, higher education would probably change little.

In contrast, if Joe Biden wins, the Democratic platform contains a raft of very costly higher ed proposals.

In today’s Martin Center article, Anthony Hennen takes a look at how the candidates compare on higher ed issues.

He writes, “Democrats have treated higher ed as a major issue, especially one to motivate young voters. The Republicans have treated it as an afterthought. The Biden campaign’s plan is wordy and in-depth, whereas the Trump campaign’s plan—a bullet list of self-proclaimed accomplishments—offers little detail.”

Among the most expensive Biden proposals are tuition-free community college, tuition-free four-year college (for families earning less than $125,000 per year), a doubling of Pell Grants, and more subsidies for HBCUs and Hispanic-serving schools. Hennen quotes AEI’s Rick Hess, who calls the Biden plans “the most expansive, expensive, and intrusive proposal ever offered by a major party nominee.”

We can also expect a return to those Obama-era Title IX regulations, so beloved of campus lefties. And I shudder to think about other regulations a “progressive” Education Department would impose.

Be afraid, ladies and gentlemen. Be very afraid.