DeVos Says Her Higher-Ed Views Are ‘Very Aligned’ With Trump’s

February 17, 2017 by Adam Harris

Betsy DeVos, the recently confirmed secretary of education, said her views on higher-education policy are “very aligned” with those of President Trump, in an interview with Axios published on Friday.

It is not unusual for an education secretary’s views to align closely with those of the person who nominated her, as The Chronicle has noted, and this administration is no exception. In the interview, Ms. DeVos said both she and President Trump believe that four-year degrees are not doing a good job of serving students, and that vocational training may better prepare many for work.

Ms. DeVos also hopes to trim the federal education budget. “There’s clearly an opportunity to slim down the department in some ways,” Ms. DeVos said, adding that doing so may “help incentivize states in other ways.”

On the federal government’s involvement in education, Ms. DeVos said there had been “important inflection points,” such as the desegregation of schools, but when asked whether there were any current issues requiring government intervention, Ms. DeVos replied, “I can’t think of any now.”