Donald Trump hates the current state of higher education in the United States so much that he wants to create a new online university that will offer free bachelor's degrees to compete with existing universities.
President Trump also vowed to “deport pro-Hamas extremists and make college campuses safe and patriotic again.” He wants to dramatically change the accreditation process that ensures universities meet set standards and open the door to programs currently in place. Please don't.
These are just some of President Trump's ideas for overhauling universities, which are a frequent target of right-wingers who see them as incubators of leftist ideology. Many of Mr. Trump's higher education proposals involve eliminating these perceived ideas.
What is Mr. Trump proposing?
President Trump's higher education platform is less detailed. it consists of Most are just one-liners proposing, for example, “make college healthy and affordable.” But he signaled what would be a dramatic change for higher education: dismantling the U.S. Department of Education, which helps distribute federal financial aid to college students. Shutting down the government requires approval from Congress, something Republicans have said they want to do for decades but have not been able to do so.
His allies are proposing more in-depth policies. project 2025, The conservative blueprint created by the Heritage Foundation includes ways to strip protections for LGBTQ+ students, “restore due process” for those accused of assault and harassment on campus, and reduce student loan forgiveness. is included.
If fully implemented, the conservative changes to higher education under President Trump would be monumental.
What is “American Academy”?
1 videoPresident Trump's platform, known as Agenda 47, focuses on the American Academy. It is designed to counter institutions of higher education that are “turning our students into communists, terrorists, and sympathizers of so many different dimensions.”
he says this They would tax private universities' endowments, impose fines, sue them, use that money to fund universities, and use those funds to establish this academy. He said he would provide a “free world-class education” without adding to the federal debt and give people “equivalent” qualifications by offering online courses that give qualifications that the federal government and contractors need to recognize. It is claimed that it will give Bachelor's degree.
“This is strictly non-political, there is no wokeness or crusade,” Trump said in the video.
Overhaul certification
in another videoTrump calls accreditation systems a “secret weapon” for overhauling higher education. Accrediting bodies essentially oversee universities and programs to ensure they meet educational standards, a type of industry self-regulation. But some conservatives say the process is weaponized and unduly burdensome.
President Trump called the accrediting agencies a failure and said, “I'm firing the radical left accrediting agencies that have allowed our universities to be controlled by Marxist fanatics and lunatics.” He then went on to “defend American traditions and Western Civilization, protect free speech, eliminate redundant government jobs that raise costs beyond belief, and promote Marxist diversity, equity, and inclusion in all bureaucracies.'' The plan is to find a new certifier to create standards that include “exclusions.”
Last month, the Guardian published a video of a meeting between House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and the pro-Israel lobby group the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (I-Pac), in which Scalise said that the He detailed plans to withdraw billions of dollars in federal funds from the government. Revoking accreditation from some of the country's most prestigious universities to punish them for allowing pro-Palestinian protests on campus.
Weaponizing civil rights law
President Trump said he would use the Justice Department to file civil rights lawsuits against universities “engaging in racial discrimination.” The Justice Department now routinely pursues discrimination cases, but the Republican president-elect says he will pursue diversity, equity and inclusion practices after school – What he calls “blatant illegal discrimination disguised as fairness” and that schools are allowing pro-Palestinian protests on campus..
He also mention End programs that research misinformation and disinformation. “We need to dismantle the entire toxic censorship industry that has arisen in the false name of tackling so-called misinformation and disinformation,” he said. He suggested that if a university program warns a platform to remove social media content, the university should lose access to federal research funding and student loans for at least five years.
What are Trump's allies proposing?
Project 2025 includes detailed plans for higher education. Although President Trump has previously denied the plan, it often aligns with new proposals by the next president and could become policy. Other organizations, such as the America First Policy Institute, also offer roadmaps.
Project 2025 is aligned with President Trump on certification changes. The group said many of these institutions do not recognize faith-based colleges, impede free speech and have “done nothing to quell the illiberal chill that has spread on American campuses over the past decade.” It claims that it functions as a “gatekeeper.”
The project argues that student loan forgiveness is essentially a political ploy. The government wants to privatize student loans and, in the meantime, proposes eliminating forgiveness programs because “borrowers should be expected to repay their loans.” Joe Biden tried a massive student loan forgiveness plan, but it was rejected by the courts. He introduced various programs to forgive loans and reduce monthly payments for certain groups of borrowers.
Project 2025 specifically states that the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program should end. The system allows people who work for the government or certain nonprofit organizations to have their loans forgiven after 10 years of payments.
The project also proposes abolishing or significantly reducing visas for students from “enemy countries.” U.S. universities are increasingly relying on international students, who typically pay full tuition, to cover their bills and offer lower tuition to local students. The America First Institute for Policy Studies makes a similar point, saying there should be “intensified surveillance” of students coming from “countries with hostile governments,” but did not specify which countries. do not have.
