Where Do We Stand?
I could begin with Donald Trump’s election in 2020, but that’s not what I want to focus on here. Instead, I want to explore the most recent battle between Higher Education and Trump. President Trump has made it clear that he is unhappy with the current state of higher education in this country. Higher education leaders and faculty have made it clear that they oppose the President’s higher ed policies. What is to be done? The situation exists, so how do we move forward to repair higher education’s reputation, avoid more attacks from this presidential administration, and get our industry back on track financially? Responding to Trumpism will be a long-term necessity for American higher education. So, let’s look at ways to do this.
Why Are Americans Losing Faith in Higher Education?
On May 5, 2025, Dahn Shaulis of Inside Higher Education, posted a blog titled “Trump’s War on Intellectualism Is a Threat to Democracy—But Elite Universities Aren’t Innocent Victims, which discusses ideas about why the American public has lost its trust in institutions of higher education. Shaulis notes that higher education’s elite institutions have long perpetuated the exclusivity that many Americans dislike about higher education. They have continued to preserve inequality by rewarding privilege, Whiteness, and legacy admissions all while avoiding the economic realities of smaller private and public institutions, as well as the American public. They hold billion-dollar endowments, while charging students unreal tuition rates, and the current perception is that much of the research the produce is often useless to the larger population.
Is it any wonder that Trump was able to tap into an anti-intellectualism growing in the U.S.? Millions of Americans associate universities with attacks on their own ways of life. They see institutions of higher education continuing to raise tuition, while students leave with degrees, but no job prospects. They believe that the problem in the country is not “left vs. right,” but rather “generational wealth vs. working class.” I could go on, but you see the point. If we intend to survive the Trump years in higher education, we need to find ways to demonstrate our value beyond research universities and institutions. I believe that we must return to our roots: educating future generations.
How Did Trump Gain Their Support?
There are dozens of reasons that approximately 80 million American voters chose Donald Trump. As it relates to higher education, there are some critical issues. The cost of higher education continues to increase, while the American public questions its value. When students leave our institutions with debt in the tens of thousands and no real possibilities of paying off their loans, they are understandably angry. They believe the higher education system has swindled them.
Many American voters no longer believe that a degree will lead to continued or improved socioeconomic standing. The public questions their own investments in education, but also those of American taxpayers. They no longer see higher education as a public good. They demand that the government (both federal and state) shift their tax monies to issues they find more compelling. These include issues like securing borders, improving the economy, and addressing healthcare disparities. Americans want practical solutions. We can debate whether the current administration’s policies will improve any of these issues or not. Realistically, though, the Trump campaign convinced enough Americans that it could do this to earn the votes. So, we have three years in front of us to work on improving our image among American voters. Meanwhile, we need to find ways to stay afloat with less funding than in the past.
What Is To Be Done Now?
As we anticipate the coming years, I think higher education needs to work on shedding its elitist label. Here are some of my ideas:
- We can begin by looking for ways to lower the cost of higher education.
- We can offer micro-credentialing, job skills training, and credit for demonstrated mastery. All of these could allow students to spend less money earning valuable skills and training that puts them in the workforce sooner and with less debt.
- We can also explore wider options for transfer credit. General education credits aren’t different enough from one school to another to prohibit transfer credit in most cases.
- Suggesting otherwise is another demonstration of an elitist attitude that discredits the work of other institutions.
- In the higher education industry, we should agree on standards for these courses so that students don’t have to retake a course with the same content just because the names or numbers differ.
- I think that we have to question the salary discrepancies between the administrative sector in universities compared with that of faculty, staff, contingent faculty, and graduate employees.
- The public is aware of the six-to-seven figure salaries earned by university presidents, provosts, and chancellors. They question how much of their tuition and fees truly support teaching students. While it is certainly valid to argue that the experiences of these higher education leaders deserve higher salaries, one wonders if the exponential differences in pay reflect the reality of what those leaders bring to the university.
Conclusions
In short, I would argue that it is time to rethink the higher education landscape if we hope to regain public trust. We know that AI and virtual learning have already led to important changes in the way higher education works. Perhaps, it is time for those of us in the industry to use this opportunity to do some of our own introspection and implement paradigm shifts in the centuries-old university model.
You can read more about my ideas on improving higher education here.
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