College Consensus is offering Part 2 of an ongoing series on how higher education is changing, and what led to the current state of affairs. Read Part 1: What’s Happening to College?
Changes in Higher Ed Under the New Administration
With all of the issues affecting higher education, many Americans got mad. Pundits argue about whether colleges really contribute to the economy. Conservatives complain that colleges are too focused on DEI initiatives, political indoctrination, and super-niche research. Progressives complain that higher education is just training workers for a corrupt capitalist system.
Higher education was not one of the bigger issues in the 2024 presidential election – the cost of eggs far overshadowed that. But many of the big issues of the day directly impact higher education:
- Federal budget cuts
- Restructuring government agencies
- Attacks on DEI
- Immigration crackdowns
- Redefining Title IX and discrimination
What’s Happening with the Money?
Conservatives politics have long pushed to defund public education and redistribute funding into private entities. Many saw the existence of a federal Department of Education as a problem, believing that education should be controlled by the states and local communities.
The new administration has taken the biggest steps in history to undo the Department of Education as it has existed since 1980.
In March, 2025, the Senate confirmed Linda McMahon as the Secretary of Education in the Trump Cabinet. McMahon is the former president and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, and previously head of the Small Business Administration.
From the beginning of her tenure, McMahon made it clear that she would act as a transition leader. Her role would be to oversee the dismantling of the Department of Education – what she calls “one final, unforgettable public service to future generations of students.”
While President Trump cannot actually close the Department of Education without Congressional approval, McMahon can redistribute certain duties to other agencies and lay off workers – half of the department’s 4,100 employees, so far.
That decision alone will cause mass disruptions that will be felt throughout the public education system, from primary schools to public research universities.
Anyone paying attention to higher ed news saw what damage the FAFSA fiasco had last year. A change to the application system caused delays and mass confusion, as students and colleges wondered whether they would receive their federal funding. That was a minor hiccup compared to what would happen if grants and loans were actually frozen.
To put it in perspective:
- 87% of undergraduate students receive some sort of federal financial aid
- 56% receive federal grants
- 38% receive federal loans
- 9% participate in work-study
In other words, higher education in America runs on federal money. The impact of closing the Department of Education is hard to predict, but it will change the higher education system at a fundamental level.
What’s Happening With Civil Rights?
Several other key issues in the 2024 election impact higher education:
- Attacks on DEI initiatives
- Redefining Title IX rights (particularly women and LGBTQ+ people)
- Immigration crackdowns
The End of DEI
One of the first executive orders of the Trump administration is titled Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing. As an effort to stop so-called Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, the very broadly-worded order technically only applies to the federal government. It terminates all “mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities” related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
However, as the federal government goes, so goes every organization, agency, group, and business that depends on the federal government. The order has already had a cooling effect on research. A New York Times team, looking over government memos, put together a list of nearly 200 words that would trigger a review of federal grant proposals. The words included “diversity,” “LGBTQ,” and even “women.”
LGBTQ Protections at Risk
The federal government is also redefining the rights named in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. In the last half-century, Title IX has prevented any institution that receives federal funding from discriminating on the basis of sex. In recent years, that understanding has expanded to include sexuality and gender identity, essentially banning discrimination against LGBTQ people in educational settings.
Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” has altered the previous understanding of Title IX by explicitly defining gender by biological sex. Under the EO, the federal government recognizes only male and female as determined at birth.
While this EO is fought out in the courts, institutions are unsure about how to protect gay and transgender students from discrimination, harassment, and mistreatment without risking their federal funding.
Immigration Crackdowns
One of the biggest issues in the 2024 election, of course, was immigration. Many of the Trump’s executive orders involve immigration, including ending “sensitive location” protections. In the Biden administration, ICE officials were barred from areas like churches, hospitals, and schools.
In previous years, a green card or student visa gave international students assurance that they would be able to stay in the US and complete their studies. Undocumented students, such as those covered by the DREAM Act, could be confident that they would be safe on campus.
The administration has already made aggressive steps to arrest and deport student activists. Recently, college administrators have reported that international students are afraid of losing their visas, even if they’ve done nothing wrong and their papers are in order.
