On the 100th day of President Trump’s second term in the White House — a period that has brought sweeping changes to the U.S. education landscape — college and university leaders and policy experts convened at U.S. News’ “Leadership of Tomorrow: Challenges and Opportunities in Higher Education” forum in Washington, D.C. to discuss concerns about the value of a college degree.
Many Americans are questioning the value of a college education weighed against the cost, and the public is divided in their feelings about higher education. In a 2024 Pew Research Center poll, for instance, 40% of U.S. adults said a four-year degree is “not too important” or “not at all important” to have in order to obtain a well-paying job in today’s economy.
“There are certainly stories that we see where there’s not the economic payoff and there are a lot of reasons for individual circumstances, what they’ve chosen to study, which schools they’ve chosen to go to,” Jonathan R. Alger, president of American University in Washington, D.C., said during a panel discussion today at the National Union Building. “But still, for the vast majority, it is an important payoff.”
Research indicates that a college degree tends to lead to higher earnings over a lifetime. However, there are also societal benefits: “It’s a public good, not just a private benefit,” Alger said.
[Read: Is College Worth the Cost? Factors to Consider.]
“There are better economic outcomes for individuals,” he said. “They pay more taxes, they need less welfare. There are better health benefits. There are more stable family situations that arise when people go to higher education. There are more engaged citizens in your society.”
Panelist Mary Papazian, executive vice president of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, said schools “have to rethink the way we talk about higher education.”
“We have to focus not on who we exclude, but on who we include,” she said. “We have to think more about some of the reasons why the public is dissatisfied with what we do. Yes, it’s cost. Yes, it’s debt. Yes, it’s alignment. But it’s also about how we think about our own roles. It’s critical that we keep doing the work we do.”
Trump Administration’s Effects on Education
While dissolving the federal Department of Education is not a new idea, the Trump administration has taken several steps to dismantle it during the president’s first 100 days.
The department was “a political gift,” Mark Becker, president of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, said during the panel, referencing Congress’ creation of the agency after President Jimmy Carter pushed for its creation based on a campaign promise to a teachers union.
[Explainer: Trump’s Executive Orders Targeting Education]
“As a university president, I had a lot of issues with the department,” he said. “And now that I work in Washington, D.C. representing lots of public institutions, I’ve got a lot of issues with the department. … But the essential functions, the student loan programs, the Pell programs, the data systems that we have, all those things need to continue to function — and function at a high level.”
Panelists expressed concerns about the administration’s recent executive orders and agency directives, including research funding cuts and freezes, accreditation changes and mandates that some see as threats to institutional independence.
“One of the strengths of American higher education has been the independence of its institutions,” Papazian said. “That they’ve been able to pursue the questions that they’ve wanted to ask and educate and develop the partnerships and the programs according to what they think is best — perhaps for their local needs, for the students they serve, etc. So I worry a lot about the encroaching control over higher education.”
Alger criticized an “overreach” on diversity, equity and inclusion on campuses and how such programs are being defined.
“It’s not just about race and gender,” he said. “You’ve got programs for veterans, for first-generation students, for individuals with disabilities that are being swept up in this. Those programs were intended to make sure that we practice what I call ‘radical hospitality’ in higher ed to make sure that we are accessible and available to individuals of all backgrounds. That is essential for our long-term competitiveness.”
[READ: NIH Cuts to University Research Funding: What to Know]
However, despite these challenges, panelists said there’s an overarching need for change within higher education.
“After COVID when there was so much change, people really wanted to go back to the old days to where things were,” Papazian said. “What we really had to do is lean into the changes. And sometimes it takes disruption, even if it’s not the disruption you want to see, to create the space for that kind of change to happen. The jury is out whether it will, but that’s what I hope comes out of it.”
?Higher education “is and will continue to be important for the future of this nation,” Becker said. “All hope is not lost. We will get through this. At the same time, there’s some serious challenges that our university leaders and our politicians need to take hold of and we all need to do better. But the future will be bright again.”
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U.S. News Forum Discusses Current Challenges, Opportunities in Higher Education originally appeared on usnews.com
