Donald Trump hates the state of higher education in the United States so much that he wants to create a new online university that will hand out free bachelor’s degrees to challenge existing colleges.
Trump also pledged to “expel pro-Hamas radicals and make our college campuses safe and patriotic again.” He wants to radically change the accreditation process that ensures colleges meet established standards, opening the door to programs that are currently unavailable. not.
These are just some of Trump’s ideas for restructuring colleges and universities — frequent targets of right-wing campaigns that see them as incubators of left-wing ideology. Many of Trump’s higher education proposals involve eliminating these perceived ideas.
What does Trump propose?
Trump’s higher education agenda is not very detailed; it is composed mostly simple sentences that propose, for example, “making colleges and universities healthy and affordable.” He did, however, suggest what would be a seismic shift for higher education: dismantling the U.S. Department of Education, which helps distribute federal financial aid to students. It would require congressional approval to close the agency, something Republicans have failed to achieve despite saying for decades that they wanted to close it.
Its allies have proposed more consistent policies. Project 2025, The conservative plan created by the Heritage Foundation includes ways to remove protections for LGBTQ+ students, “restore due process” for those accused of assault and harassment on campus, and restrict student loan forgiveness.
If fully implemented, the conservative changes to higher education under Trump would be monumental.
What is the “American Academy”?
A videoTrump’s program, called Agenda47, focuses on the American Academy, which is designed to combat institutions of higher education that “turn our students into communists, terrorists, and sympathizers of many, many different dimensions.”
He says he he would impose taxes, fines and sue private university foundations, which fund these universities, and use the money to create this academy. It would provide “free, world-class education” without adding to the federal debt, he claims, by offering online courses that then produce degrees that the federal government and business owners would be required to recognize, and granting people ” ‘equivalent’ of a baccalaureate.
“It will be strictly apolitical and there will be no awareness and no jihadism permitted,” Trump said in the video.
Accreditation review
In another videoAsset refers to the accreditation system as the “secret weapon” for overhauling higher education. Accreditors essentially oversee colleges and programs to ensure they meet educational standards, a form of industry self-regulation. But some conservatives say the process is weaponized and too cumbersome.
Trump calls accreditors a failure and says he will “fire the radical left accreditors who have allowed our universities to be dominated by maniacs and Marxist lunatics.” It will then seek new accreditors who will create standards that include “defending American tradition and Western civilization, protecting free speech, eliminating unnecessary administrative positions that drive costs up incredibly, removing all Marxist diversity, equity and inclusion bureaucrats” and much more.
Last month, the Guardian published video of a meeting between House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and the pro-Israel lobby group the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), during which Scalise detailed his plans to withdraw billions from dollars in federal funding from some of the most prestigious universities in the country. the country, and to withdraw their accreditation to punish them for allowing pro-Palestinian demonstrations on their campuses.
Arming Civil Rights Law
Trump said he would use the Justice Department to file civil rights lawsuits against colleges that “engage in racial discrimination.” The Justice Department regularly pursues discrimination cases, but the Republican president-elect says he would go after schools with diversity, equity and inclusion practices. – what he calls “explicit and illegal discrimination under the guise of fairness” – and schools allowing pro-Palestinian protests on their campuses.
He also mentioned Stop programs that seek out misinformation and disinformation. “We must dismantle the entire toxic censorship industry that has sprung up under the false pretense of fighting so-called misinformation,” he said. If a university program reports the removal of social media content on platforms, it should lose federal research funding and access to student loans for at least five years, he suggested.
What are Trump’s allies proposing?
Project 2025 includes detailed plans for higher education. Although Trump has previously disavowed the project, his plans often align with the president-elect’s new proposals and could become policy. Other groups, like the America First Policy Institute, also provide roadmaps.
Project 2025 aligns with Trump on changing accreditation. He claims that many of these agencies serve as “gatekeepers” that do not approve of religious universities, have hindered free speech, and “have done nothing to alleviate the illiberal chill that has swept America’s campuses over the the last decade.
The project views student loan forgiveness as a political ploy. He wants to privatize student loans and in the meantime suggests eliminating forgiveness programs because “borrowers should be expected to repay their loans.” Joe Biden attempted a mass student loan forgiveness plan that was rejected by the courts. It has implemented various programs that cancel loans for certain groups of borrowers and reduce monthly payments.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, in particular, is set to end, according to Project 2025. It allows loan forgiveness for people who work for the government or certain nonprofit organizations after ten years of payments.
The draft also suggests ending or significantly reducing visas for students from “enemy nations.” U.S. universities increasingly rely on international students, who typically pay full price, to cover their bills and offer discounted tuition to local students. The America First Policy Institute advocates a similar approach, saying there should be “increased scrutiny” of students coming from “countries with conflicting governments,” although they have not specified which countries this includes.