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The American Council on Education, the chief lobbying group for the higher education industry, wants the next president to repeal the tax on wealthy universities’ endowments and work to increase the Pell Grant to $13,000 from $7,395 as a way of making college more affordable, among other policies.
“Once in office, the next administration would have the opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of tens of millions of students, staff, and educators,” ACE president Ted Mitchell wrote in a memo sent this week to both the Trump and Harris campaigns. “All of American higher education stands ready to work with you in building a stronger and fairer America through our thousands of colleges and universities.”
Former president Donald Trump has released few details about his plans for higher education. He’s said that he wants to fire accreditors to reclaim colleges from “the radical left,” create a free national online college and abolish the Education Department.
Vice President Kamala Harris has said little about her higher education agenda since she became the Democratic Party’s nominee last month. Experts expect her to build on the Biden administration’s efforts to make college more affordable, forgive student loans and protect students from bad actors. Harris’s campaign website touts investments made under President Biden in historically Black colleges and universities as well as recent increases to the Pell Grant.
In addition to improving the visa process for international students and providing new funding to address student mental health, ACE wants the next administration to provide clarity about how colleges can comply with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational settings. The Biden and Trump administrations both issued their own versions of Title IX regulations, resulting in a confusing back-and-forth for institutions.
Title IX isn't the only federal civil rights statute getting attention. In the past year, the Education Department has stepped up enforcement of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin, following a rise in reports of antisemitism and Islamophobia on college campuses. The Biden administration has said regulations detailing colleges’ Title VI responsibilities will be out later this year.
“We ask that any efforts by the next administration to address Title VI or campus free speech not undermine campus efforts to foster free speech and to meet institutional legal obligations to provide safe learning environments free from unlawful discrimination,” ACE wrote.
