President-elect Donald Trump has discussed plans to change higher education as we know it, and the implementation of these plans could be problematic.
Trump claims his administration’s plans will remove liberal bias from the education system and lead to more affordable schooling options. However, the exact details of Trump’s goals are difficult to pinpoint as the plan has been unveiled across various interviews.
“What’s kind of frustrating about trying to understand Donald Trump’s plan is that it seems to be a very dynamic thing,” said Scot Schraufnagel, a professor of political science at NIU. “It’s changing, and it seems to change based on whoever he’s talked to last.”
The Northern Star Editorial Board would like to highlight four major plans that have been discussed and explain what these plans could mean for the future of education in the United States.
THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
One of Trump’s most prominent steps in his plan calls for the removal of the federal Department of Education. The department began operation in 1980.
Student financial aid takes the largest portion of funding from the Department of Education, accounting for over $160 billion in the 2024 fiscal year.
While removing the department does not mean there would be a total absence of federal government involvement in education, it would demolish a system that provides billions of dollars to school funding and start from scratch.
THE AMERICAN ACADEMY
In order to combat rising tuition costs and the liberal bias that he believes is present in higher education, Trump intends to tax, fine and sue private university endowments to fund the “American Academy.”
This academy would offer free online courses as an alternative to traditional four-year college programs. The academy would offer certificates that would need to be recognized as equivalent to a bachelor’s degree by the federal government and contractors.
This course of action devalues the pursuit of knowledge and curiosity that comes with a collegiate education by sacrificing traditional universities’ resources to fund a corner-cutting system that may or may not appropriately prepare people for their work.
ACCREDITATION
Accreditation is the process by which accreditors enforce standards of higher education by overseeing colleges and their programs. Accreditation is done by the Higher Learning Commission, and NIU had their most recent accreditation in March. Being accredited, currently, is of profound importance for colleges and universities across the country.
Trump believes that accreditors have contributed to making higher education biased toward left-wing political ideals. As a response, he wants to remove liberal-leaning accreditors and put new people in their place who will emphasize, according to Trump, standards of free speech, American traditions and more.
The primary purpose of accreditation is to ensure colleges meet appropriate education standards for future workers. Trump seems to want to use the system as a political weapon to push right-wing ideals in higher education.
“Almost no left-leaning anything has been pushed on me at all,” said Sam Stade, a fifth-year mechatronics major at NIU. “I tend to see more of a conservative bias in terms of economic or fiscally conservative.”
DISCRIMINATION CASES
Trump intends to file civil rights cases against universities on the grounds of racial discrimination. This would include targeting schools facilitating diversity and inclusion programs, as well as schools allowing pro-Palestinian protests.
Developing litigation against campus protesters and equity practices would lower the freedom and diversity that make college a place of curiosity and exploration. Using the federal government to restrict college campuses in this way is an overuse of power that many other Republicans may also stand against.
“It used to be, when you think about the government, Republicans want less government,” Schraufnagel said. “Well, if you start banning Palestinian protests and you start banning diversity and equity and inclusion initiatives, you’re talking about a lot more government.”
SUMMARY
The changing of accreditation and founding of the American Academy could severely lower the standard of higher education in our nation. These ideals threaten to create a public that is less educated and less prepared for the workforce.
To remove a significant source of funding from the federal government and instead use the government to attack equity and free speech could fundamentally change the college experience.
While Trump claims to be seeking the removal of bias in education, the results of his plans would likely bring the opposite. The plans discussed by Trump put the inclusion of right-wing politics first and everything else second, including the quality of education.
