Higher Education in America

Over the past decade, American trust in institutions of higher education has eroded considerably. So, it might seem like an overstatement to say that “It’s Worse Than You Think,” a claim made in the subtitle of a new book edited by Heritage Foundation president Kevin D. Roberts and introduced by education gadfly Chris Rufo.

But Higher Education in America backs up its assertion with data and considerable expertise. The book’s chapters are written by a veritable Who’s Who of conservative higher education policy analysts and gurus. Writers hail from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), the Manhattan Institute, the Cato Institute, Do No Harm, First Things, the Goldwater Institute, and, of course, the Heritage Foundation.

It’s easy to agree with Rufo when he writes in the book’s conclusion that, “The diagnosis of higher education’s ills is complete” (p. 231). Where some Americans, and even many conservatives, might disagree is on some of the specific prescriptions for reform, many of which would assert more political authority over both public and private institutions than governments have wielded in the past.

The Scope of the Higher Education Crisis

Roberts’ central aim in compiling these arguments is to demonstrate the great scope of the higher education crisis and foster the necessary political will to address it.

The book is divided into four sections: Part I focuses on “The Economic Model,” Part II on “The Bureaucracy,” Part III on “The Leftist Dominance,” and Part IV on “Where Do We Go From Here?” However, none of the sections stays solely in its own lane. For example, a discussion of government funding in Part I necessarily touches on administrative bloat (which one might expect to find in Part II). This is unsurprising, since most of higher education’s problems can be traced, one way or another, to overly generous government funding and the regulations that come with it.

In Part I, authors from across the conservative and libertarian policy spaces argue that higher education’s economic model is broken. Preston Cooper of AEI demonstrates that government funding has contributed to ever-increasing college costs and opaque pricing. Jonathan Butcher and Madison Marino Doan (Heritage) argue that accreditation fails to guarantee quality while miring colleges and universities in high compliance costs. Doan and Adam Kissel (also Heritage) lament that the government’s commitment to college “access” in the form of grants and loans has led to worse outcomes. Andrew Gillen, of the Cato Institute, argues that higher education, as a sector, operates as an intellectual monopoly. Wyoming Catholic College president Kyle Washut decries students’ low return on investment—both financial and intellectual.

Part II follows up by diagnosing the various causes and consequences of an outsized higher-education bureaucracy. Christendom College president George Harne blames university leaders for ignoring, minimizing, or manipulating their missions in pursuit of prestige and money for their own sake. The Manhattan Institute’s John Sailer explains how universities have been transformed from truth-seeking to ideological institutions through programs designed to hire “scholar-activists.” Do No Harm’s Jay P. Greene advises donors to start new universities rather than giving to their alma maters. Jonathan Butcher, of the Heritage Foundation, traces the evolution of Marxist ideas from the Frankfurt School in 1930s Germany to modern critical theory.

Part III catalogs and decries leftist dominance on campus. First Things contributing editor Mark Bauerlein recounts the changes to university curricula from the 1960s to today. Kenneth L. Marcus, former Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights, explains the antecedents of today’s resurgence of antisemitism on American university campuses. Goldwater Institute scholars Timothy K. Minella and Matt Beienburg suggest possible paths for “reversing activism to citizenship” (p. 147). Inez Feltscher Stepman describes and laments “the Great Feminization of the American university” (p. 160). Retired professor Carol M. Swain argues that racial preferences contributed to a “pandemic of plagiaritis” (p. 174). Joshua Katz and Solveig Lucia Gold explore whether Ivy League institutions can be reformed.

Part IV attempts to answer the difficult question, “Where do we go from here?” (p. 193). Jay P. Greene writes favorably about President Trump’s “aggressive prosecutorial strategy” to end illegal discrimination (p. 198). Patrick Deneen envisions “revitalized universities that might . . . shape and usher in . . . a better nation” (p. 213). Roberts sets out a list of reforms that would constitute a “moral reset” (p. 222) on campus, reoriented to the pursuit of truth. Chris Rufo ends the book with an aggressive plan for “interventions by federal officials, state legislators, trustees, accreditors, and university leaders” (p. 231).

What the Book Gets Right

The book’s strongest contributions are all different versions of the same story: the availability of federal funding in higher education has caused significant unintended consequences. Such problems abound throughout the book, verified with strong evidence and research.

For example, Cooper explains how government subsidies allow universities to “hike tuition and cut back on institutional aid” (p. 9), which contributes to colleges’ ability to maintain opaque pricing structures and engage in significant tuition discounting. Together, these practices drive tuition higher every year. Cooper’s sensible solutions, such as eliminating Parent PLUS loans and pro-rating loans to part-time students, would wisely unwind the federal interventions that contributed to high costs in the first place.

Butcher and Doan rightly point out that, “it wasn’t until federal passage of . . . the second GI Bill . . . that federal lawmakers required institutions to be accredited in order to enroll students using federal loans to pay tuition costs” (p. 20). All of accreditation’s subsequent problems stem from this original federal funding and resulting regulation. Butcher and Doan go on to show that accreditation has failed to ensure quality and has undermined state and institutional authority.

Kissel and Doan show that even poor academic outcomes and credential inflation can be traced to federal and state subsidies driven by a myopic commitment to “access” in lieu of outcomes. Generous subsidies, Kissel and Doan argue, drive colleges to compete for “large numbers of . . . mediocre students. Instead of building honors colleges, they build climbing walls and lazy rivers” (p. 32). One of their suggested solutions, “Tough Love via Financial Aid,” recognizes and reverses some of the federal government’s largesse.

Together, the authors’ contributions in Higher Education in America offer a sober, comprehensive analysis of higher education’s many problems. Any higher education reformer, left or right, would do well to take its arguments seriously.

What the Book Gets Wrong

Although various individual authors call for muscular government interventions, the book as a whole fails to make the case for why conservatives should accept or even prefer this solution to the problems in higher education. It may be true that such government interventions are the only viable course of action. Public spending may be too entrenched to meaningfully retract, leaving aggressive regulation as the only answer. Christopher Rufo, in his conclusion, jumps from diagnosis of the problem to the political will necessary to enact solutions. “The question is no longer what must be done, but whether we, Americans, possess the resolve to do it,” Rufo says (p. 231).

This weakness stems from a fundamental oversight: the book lacks a unifying theory of higher education. Larry Arnn argues that higher education should liberate the mind. Others argue that higher education should prepare students for citizenship or careers. It’s perfectly possible to believe (as I do) that higher education, especially public higher education, should work towards all three of these goals—but the book fails to argue that case. In doing so, it leaves essential questions unanswered: To what extent must federally funded and -regulated universities all serve the same purpose? Which aspects of higher education can we rightly call “public goods” and therefore need to provide and regulate?

In a compilation such as this one, with authors who range from libertarians to post-liberal conservatives, it may be impossible to settle on one vision of higher education and the appropriate government role in its provision. But it leaves readers asking an important question: what does success in higher education reform look like? Rufo says it’s a “virtuous education system,” (p. 237) but the agreement between the authors of this book seems to lie more in the direction of reform than in a shared vision of its ultimate end.

Why This Book Matters

Higher Education in America is an appropriate book for this moment of national reckoning for the sector. As public trust continues to fall, many lawmakers are now considering (or already implementing) muscular oversight. This book’s tailored, specific solutions give policymakers serious options for systematically addressing various problems.

The solutions found under the heading “The Economic Model” are especially important for federal reformers looking to undo the harms that their own interventions have caused or exacerbated. Without addressing these serious regulatory blunders, higher education reform will remain an uphill battle.

Despite its shortcomings, Higher Education in America succeeds in describing and diagnosing the many ills that afflict American colleges and universities. As we grapple with questions about the relationship between government and higher education, this book must be part of the conversation. Everyone involved in higher education governance, from the faculty to the federal government, should read this book.