The Biden Agenda: What Could Be Ahead for Higher Education

Expensive plans for free college and a return to Obama's Title IX guidance for starters.

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When it comes to domestic policy, the question is which President Biden would emerge: the affable Obamaphile centrist or the AOC sock puppet? In higher education, it’s something of a difference without a distinction. Biden may have been the most centrist top-tier candidate in the 2020 Democratic field, but his higher-ed agenda is also the most expansive, expensive, and intrusive proposal ever offered by a major party nominee.

While Biden has called for doubling or tripling federal spending on K-12 and for vast new outlays for early childhood education, his most ambitious education offerings are reserved for higher ed. Biden has proposed federally funded “free college,” billions in student loan forgiveness, and gender-related policies that would remake daily life in the nation’s colleges.

Biden’s proposals pale alongside what Sens. Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren called for during the primaries but also make Obama’s approach look positively Reaganesque.

Why is Biden’s education agenda so likely to focus on higher education? At least three factors are at work.

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  1. Avatar photo
    Justin Perry-Naw Dawg Doctrine

    Can we continue discussing the parallel universe where politicians worked together again? From what I can tell, there's a pretty strong consensus around Trade school/two year schools, a bit like what South Carolina is doing already.

    I love the idea of finding a way to pay for 1 or 2 years of CC, but having an "off-ramp" into trade schools for those students who college isn't the right choice (eg at the end of year 1). I'd really like some inclusion of a class that introduces alternative career options, a class that introduces students to real people from various professions. My wife's dad owns a plumbing/contracting company, and he was saying that his profession as well as others (eg electricians) have thousands of jobs with no one to fill them. It seems two problems that are each others' solution, no?

    The other problem I have is with attitudes. In my world (what many of you would call the coastal elite world), there's a profound devaluation of professional trade. On the other hand, the people I know from the professional trade world devalue scientists and other academics. It's as if everyone has forgotten what actually makes this country great, is the ecosystem that requires all of us. Just like the removal of one species can collapse an entire ecosystem, so too can the removal of a profession, trade, etc. We need to remember to value each other. I'm working on it from my end, and I think promoting the importance of trade school would be a huge step in the right direction.

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    1. Joe1776

      If there are many high paying jobs in the trades then the market will lead people to pay for training in them. I think that is the case now in many trades. The cost of trade schools are becoming very attractive for many people.

      I do agree that people are being lied to by the constant refrain that college is the ticket to big money. It is becoming obvious that is a lie when graduates can't pay for their loans. The market would naturally adjust for this. But the democrats want to force us to subsidize the lie even further to keep the distortion alive.

      Now I can download hundreds of college courses from very good professors for about $10. People have access to all sort of learning tools. I think going to college is a great way to further your education but it is definitely no longer the only way.

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    David Chen

    The fact that he wants to re-institute IX rules that would have convicted him over the Tarra Reade thing...

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    Vlad M.

    Unfortunately, this is further proof that Joe Biden is no moderate. His candidacy is basically a testament to the state of the Democratic Party. Just imagine how a Sanders candidacy would look like if this is the "moderate"!

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      Victor Clairmont

      It's a bait and switch at this point. Pod Save America's Jon Favrea (Obama's former speech writer) said it best when Kamala Harris was picked as VP:

      "It was hilarious to me that she's being called, in all this coverage, a 'moderate,' like Joe Biden has found a fellow moderate or centrist. She supports something extremely close to 'Medicare for All,' which Bernie Sanders acknowledged in his statement supporting her. She's for the Green New Deal. She has one of the most liberal records in the U.S. Senate..."

      "If you want to call Kamala Harris's record in the Senate and her policies that she's supporting now centrist or moderate, great,..." "If that's where the Overton window has moved, then congratulations to all the progressive activists, because you have f---ing moved the sh** out of that window — that supporting the Green New Deal and basically Medicare for All is now moderate and centrist. Fantastic, I'll take it."

      So...yeah, even if Biden was a moderate and the DNC picked him, the party clearly is....not moderate anymore.

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        David Chen

        Fantastic. Shoot me now.

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          Victor Clairmont

          With a WATER gun sure!

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            David Chen

            I'm from California. I'm used to getting hosed by taxes.

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    Show Jay Janney the 🚪!

    I'm a tenured faculty, former department chair.

    The elephant in the room are grad school masters/professional degrees/Ph.D. programs. We'd be better off reforming those so students don't go too far in debt. Those programs are typically overpriced because of student loans.

    Second, if you're going to make repayment income based, get rid of the meaningless for-profit v non-profit treatment of loans (20 year term v 10 year term). Set both at 20 years.

    Create a better form for students that captures all borrowing, and provides them a loan sheet showing all loans and what those payments will be.

    Final advice--never ask a president or a provost how many associate provosts it takes to change a light bulb, because they'll have to hire one to find out...and then you have their staff to consider as well.

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    1. Avatar photo
      David Chen

      I think I read a report that the average American undergrad spends 6 years to get a bachelors and changes majors like 4-5x. Nobody should go to an expensive school right out of HS if so much of the undergrad experience is just dicking around and figuring stuff out. Once you get it out of your system and are ready to commit, then consider going somewhere expensive if you think the education is truly worth it. But like Ben Sasse said in his TED talk, college is just becoming the de-facto path because people have absolutely no idea what else to do.

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      Victor Clairmont

      THANK YOU!

      Once the government stepped in to pay for students college tuition, even if they meant well, Universities did exactly what most insurances do:

      University: "The fee for a semester is 2,000 bucks".

      The Government: "Here's the money to cover the student."

      University: "$2000? Did I say that? I meant $10,000."

      And thus the price keeps increasing and increasing. I mean, just look at books at the local college book store and how they jack up the price. You can go on Ebay or Amazon and get the same books sometimes for 1/10th the price.

      Maddening!

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    3. tla

      Paid masters and phD programs are a scourge on society. Very hard get rid of at this point. Not only are they embedded as cash cows within schools, but all the graduates of these programs go into the real world feeling like they need to justify their own degree by hiring people with degrees. Getting rid of government backed student loans is a first step, but it's not enough.

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    CynthiaW

    "... all these policies seem geared to serving the Americans with the best financial prospects. It’s an odd sort of progressivism."

    "Progressivism" has been an ideology for the best-off for quite a long time.

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  6. Joe1776

    Great article thank you so much for pulling this information together.

    I am glad you raise the issue that money may come with strings. I would note that our mostly public funded k-12 education does not do so well compared to the rest of the world.

    https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/02/15/u-s-students-internationally-math-science/

    But note our largely market run college/university programs are always dominating any list of top colleges in the world. Look at any list you want here are a few:
    https://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/choosing-university/worlds-top-100-universities
    https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/rankings
    https://thebestschools.org/rankings/best-universities-world-today/

    Students still have to pay considerable amounts for public colleges that is why I say it is largely a free market system. So why change it to be like the failing system? Because other countries in the world give free college? Well those other countries don't come close to the US as far as having the best colleges.

    It should be obvious that things like school choice should be used to make our k-12 more like our college system not the other way around.



    "So what to make of all this? First, as far as the costs: The website “Student Loan Planner” estimates the cost of the Biden free college and student loan plans at $2.9 trillion over the next decade. That excludes Biden’s promises for historically black colleges and universities, campus facilities, broadband, and more."

    In a prior article I think the dispatch suggested a much lower figure. I think this analysis is better because obviously more people will enroll in state college if it is free. Suggesting a 10% increase is really modest IMO. Lots of people who are over college age would start taking classes if it is now free.

    Finally I think the most important point on this is college students are *adults.* They are no longer children so they should be making their own decisions on whether college is worth it and not just telling their neighbors they have to pay for college for them. This is a fundamental fairness and freedom issue. I am fine with paying for children to get an education but I should not be required to pay for an adult to get a worse than useless "education" in some of these majors (Hell I was a philosophy poli sci double major but as an adult I had to make arrangements to pay for it - and BTW I find my education in philosophy extremely valuable) Adults need to make their own choices and not expect their neighbors to foot the bill.

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    1. Daniel Rabiner

      "It should be obvious that things like school choice should be used to make our k-12 more like our college system not the other way around."

      We have school choice in the United States already. It's called private schools and if you can't pay that, you get the free base education.

      Also we may have the best colleges in the world. But we also have some of the worst colleges in the world when it comes to the for-profit colleges supported by the current Administration.

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      1. Joe1776

        That is not what school choice means. Choice means letting people use their tax dollars to support schools they prefer. Those non-state schools take students and lift the tax burden on others so it is fair to everyone. Why do dems fear any real competition from non-state schools? Is there a legitimate reason, or is it all because of the teachers unions paying off dem politicians?

        https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/contrib.php?cycle=2020&ind=L1300

        As far as your claim about the worst colleges maybe offer some evidence for your claim.

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        1. Daniel Rabiner

          You aren't obligated to go to public school, that's choice in my book. If economics makes it impossible for you to access choice, that's your problem. That's how it works with healthcare which seems to be just fine by conservatives. Should homeschooling net you a cool 10k from the state? no thanks. Lastly, school funding by pupil is a state issue, not federal, and teacher unions aren't strong in all 50 states and I haven't seen any state implement such a plan, so there must be a legitimate reason beyond "teacher unions paying off dem politicians".

          For-profit colleges wouldn't have been caught for fraud and have such atrocious hiring rates for graduates if they were so good.

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          1. Joe1776

            "Should homeschooling net you a cool 10k from the state? no thanks."

            In my state we pay over 13k per student so the state would pocket 3k for nothing even if they gave the family 10k.
            https://www.illinoispolicy.org/illinois-spends-the-most-per-student-of-any-state-in-the-midwest/

            But most private schools don't cost so much so even if they just allowed them to apply those tax dollars to the private school it would be win win.

            Teachers unions are plenty strong. Tax payers pay union dues which goes to fund political campaigns. Of course those politicians want more money going to those unions so they force the tax payers to pay more and they get to use that additional money to promote their campaign. Corruption.

            Health insurance is completely different than education. If you make over a certain amount of money you will not get free health insurance from the state. So private health insurance does not need to compete with free state insurance. Billionaires can get a free education for their kids so at every level schools have to compete with free. You are making stuff up to defend the indefensible.

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    Victor Clairmont

    So, these proposals are so bad after a crushing Covid crisis that has put so many small businesses under, I have to think that the Biden campaign and the people running the policy ship are so silly that they are in fact monkeys banging out policy words on a typewriter while throwing feces at one another.

    You want to use how much tax payer money for student loans, free state college, and rewrite the ethics code? Why not just toss in a free home, a car and some candy corn? Does any thing on this list seem possible with over 20 trillion in debt and millions of people unemployed? What, does Trump or Biden have unbeknownst to us a unicorn that farts rainbows and poops gold?

    So how much taxes are you going to raise and what from entitlements and the military are you going to cut to achieve this?

    And also, if you think I want anyone to go back to rape accusations having more merit on college campuses than actual evidence in a court of law with title IX, you’re crazy and those monkey should be flinging their feces in your face.

    These numbers are ludicrous. The plan is unreal. No, I am not interested in aspirational planning.

    Redo it.

    Now.

    *puts head in hands and sighs*

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    1. Joe1776

      Do you think socialists care if the taxes will put even more small businesses out of business?

      That is the goal! They are socialists *not* capitalists.

      https://www.hoover.org/research/how-socialist-bernie-sanders

      Eliminate the kulak middle man and have everyone work directly for the state. More people will then vote to grow the state. Once all college employees are paid by the federal government they will all be very unlikely to vote against bigger federal government.

      Depressions and poverty are a great way to promote government solutions. Yes we will all be poorer but (other than the politicians) we will all be equally poor. Equal outcome is the most important thing for them.

      I do not think Biden thinks that way. But I do think he signed a unity agreement with socialists and they definitely think this way. They are socialists and whatever that means it is not capitalists.

      The only question is whether Biden will have the mental stamina to resist this craziness. I hope and pray he does but I am not seeing much evidence of that.

      What in the democratic platform would help small businesses? Anything? He had some small business owners speak at his convention but you know what was missing? None of them mentioned a single actual policy that would help them as compared to Trump. Not one. I listened closely because I really wanted to know. For small business owners every time Biden differs from Trump it will make matters worse. The socialists in the democratic party are not against this they are happy about it.

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        Victor Clairmont

        Well, most of the voting democrats are not socialist. But some of the people in power? And the crazy left? Yes I will agree that their principle's are socialist, by virtue of all that they want.

        It just...it boogles my mind that people don't know what balancing a budget is, or that we have infinite money or something. Or that, there are real world consequences for policies that drain the wealth of citizens because of high taxes that destroys the middle class and in essence the riches of a country.

        Even the Welfare states in Europe have high individual taxes, but very low business tax because the money has to generate from somewhere.

        But too many people believe politics is all about what can I get out of it, without thinking there is any consequence to policy. I just wish, American voters and leaders across the board, where far more wiser.

        Like Reagan said, and honestly he said it to democrats but really I think it applies to more than that so let me change a word, "“It isn't so much that people (liberals) are ignorant. It's just that they know so many things that aren't so.”

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        1. Joe1776

          "It just...it boogles my mind that people don't know what balancing a budget is, or that we have infinite money or something."

          I know what you mean. One of the reasons I came here to the dispatch is I wanted to find some sane democrats. The more I read the more discouraged I get.

          I really think many younger people and some middle aged people think America is invincible. That somehow no matter how irresponsible we are with spending everything will be fine. It really won't be a problem for me as I am older.

          I feel bad that I am going to take advantage of all this outrageous spending but it is future generations that will pay the price. But the youth are the ones voting for their own doom against the advice of older generations.

          I just can't help feeling we spectacularly failed in educating the younger generations. I am just bewildered at what could have gone so wrong.

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            David Chen

            I give a lot of crap to my generation (I'm 30) but this mountain of debt wasn't made by us and neither is the dysfunction of American politics. Based on polling, we will probably deserve a lot of blame for making things worse in the upcoming few decades - assuming the nation is even still around. People tend to forget how insanely fortunate it is to live in a time and place where they don't have to worry about famine or a Mongol horde invading. For everything wrong with 21st century America, its still one of the best places and best times to be alive. Its just too bad neither the politicians in power nor the young people waiting in the wings seem interested in preserving it.

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      Victor Clairmont

      Thanks for reporting on this Mr. Hess, I am sure you had a lot of head scratching moments while looking at Biden’s policy.

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    Shawn Gallagher

    If $125,000 is the cut off for free college; all families with college age children will make less than that...

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    Jesse Blankenship

    I am left with a choice between a pistol and cyanide.

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  10. tla

    There's always a balance. There's no question the importance of helping both those cannot afford but would be bettered by access higher education. The GI bill is one of the great successes of the last century. However, we're mostly way past that point. There is however two different problems.

    1) community colleges - I'm actually quite supportive of making them free if possible, but then we actually need to more rigorous about screening. Too many students enter college but neither need it or really want it. There should be other options.
    2) Paid master degrees and loans associated with them. "Industry" has outsourced their hiring and training to educational institutions subsidized by government loans. There is very little reason for us to have but handful of terminal master degree programs. Companies used to hire and train people up - that is no longer common practice. It should be again.

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