What Trump’s Victory Means for Higher Ed
Liam Knox
November 6, 2024
Donald Trump’s first term shined a political spotlight on higher ed that has only grown more glaring since. A second could bring more sweeping changes.
After a divisive and historic election, Donald J. Trump emerged Wednesday with enough electoral votes to return to the White House in January. He’ll be the country’s second-ever president to serve two nonconsecutive terms.
A second Trump administration will likely ramp up scrutiny of colleges and universities and empower advocates for sweeping reform of the sector during a historically unstable time for American higher education. As enrollments flounder and public disillusionment with college cost grows—and after a year of negative public attention over campus protesters and federal policy blunders on student debt and financial aid—that shift could have transformative implications for higher ed.