Higher Education

With some American colleges charging $100,000 a year, families are right to ask a basic question: What are we actually getting for that price? A college degree can be tremendously valuable, but a prestigious name and an astronomical price tag do not guarantee a strong education, a meaningful career, or a successful future. Parents and students should look beyond rankings and historic reputation and ask about graduation rates, career outcomes, debt, and return on investment. The goal is not simply to get a degree. The goal is to be prepared to succeed. For too long, America has treated a four-year college degree as the default next step after high school. It shouldn’t be. Some students will thrive at a four-year Read More ›

Keri D. Ingraham appeared on Newsmax on Monday, September 14, to explain why more families are considering alternatives to a four-year college degree for their kids. Dr. Ingraham also discussed the Trump Administration’s efforts to cut out DEI programs from the U.S. Department of Education and to improve learning outcomes nationwide. “Students need to be rewarded for their merit, for academic excellence, not based on their skin color,” said Ingraham.

Nearly 60 years after Congress outlawed housing discrimination, the federal government has had to remind America’s colleges and universities that racial segregation is still illegal. That fact alone should alarm every American. This summer, Craig Trainor, assistant secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), issued a Dear Colleague letter reminding colleges and universities of an important legal and moral principle. In the letter, Trainor wrote: “The law is clear: When educational institutions permit the existence of racially segregated student housing — or openly encourage separation on the basis of race, color, or national origin, advertise a discriminatory preference, or have policies that discourage students from one race, ethnicity, or nationality Read More ›

For decades, the Department of Education has operated the federal student loan system on autopilot, continually expanding its size, complexity, and cost. The result is a $1.7 trillion portfolio — nearly twice the size of all university endowments combined and larger than JPMorgan Chase’s loan portfolio, the nation’s largest bank — yet it operates without the financial expertise, transparency, or accountability a system of this scale requires. The Department of Education reports that fewer than 40 percent of borrowers are in repayment, and nearly a quarter of borrowers are in default. While not designed to function as a bank, the Department of Education has been managing what is effectively the fifth-largest financial institution in the United States. A course correction Read More ›

Last week, the White House convened an education roundtable with U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon titled, “Biased Professors, Woke Administrators, and the End of Free Inquiry on U.S. Campuses.” Secretary McMahon opened the event by stating, “It was an honor to be at the White House today with this dedicated coalition of students, faculty, institutional leaders, and policy advocates to highlight the issue of woke ideology and the capture of our institutions of higher education. DEI policies have turned universities from free marketplaces of ideas to purveyors of manufactured ideological conformity, chilling free speech and undermining academic rigor.” She explained, “We are committed to working with higher education leaders to reverse course from these decades of decline.” The Secretary Read More ›

Marking her sixth invitation to the White House this year, Discovery Institute Senior Fellow and American Center for Transforming Education Director Keri D. Ingraham attended an education roundtable on December 3. The roundtable discussion, led by U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, was titled “Biased Professors, Woke Administrators, and the End of Free Inquiry on U.S. Campuses.” This was the second of a three-part higher education roundtable series. The first roundtable discussion, held in November, was titled “Administrative Bloat and Low-Value Programs: How U.S. Universities are Failing American Families and How They Can Reform.” Secretary McMahon opened her remarks by stating: “It is an honor to be here today at the White House with this dedicated coalition of students, faculty, Read More ›

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will soon sign a bill that will empower the appointed governing boards of Texas public universities with greater oversight of the institutions under their charge. This comes at a time when an increasing number of people recognize the need for higher education accountability and reform. The bill directs the governing board of the university to review the “general education” curriculum at least once every five years. The specific purpose is to ensure that four critical qualities are met for the courses. First, the courses are “foundational and fundamental to a sound postsecondary education.” Second, courses are necessary for preparing students for their “civic and professional life.” Third, they equip students for “participation in the workforce and in the Read More ›

The Texas legislature has passed a bill giving the governing boards of Texas public universities more oversight responsibilities. Keri D. Ingraham defends this move on NTD Newsroom as a good step toward ensuring that higher education, funded with taxpayer money, is preparing students for the future.

Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from the essay, “Making Admissions to Elite Colleges Fair.” The full essay can be accessed here. If by some quirk of fate I should have complete control over how admissions at an elite school get decided, what would I do? It’s the old hypothetical of if I were king or dictator or grand poobah. Hypotheticals like this often have no traction with reality. But bear with my proposal for running admissions at an elite school. Once the proposal is on the table, we can turn to its practicability — whether it stands any chance of actually being implemented.  My goal in changing admissions at elite schools is to make them fair. Right now they Read More ›

Keri D. Ingraham appeared on NTD News Today on Tuesday, April 22, to discuss the U.S. Department of Education’s announcement that collections of defaulted federal student loans would resume on May 5. Ingraham outlined the Biden administration’s unlawful actions to cancel student loans and defended the Trump administration’s return to enforcing repayment of student loans. “The goal is to help people be free from debt while not pushing that onto those who chose not to go to college,” said Ingraham.