A Memo to Reform-Minded Campus Leaders
We’re past the furious early salvos of Trump vs. Higher Ed. Fifteen months into Trump 2.0, the early clashes have settled into a Cool War punctuated by more modest skirmishes…
Articles by Frederick M. Hess
The Marketplace of Ideas in the Higher Education Compact
Colleges and universities constitute a crucial thread in America’s civic fabric. Higher education institutions train young minds and produce the research and knowledge that sustain and enrich our society. That…
Oklahoma’s Teacher Test: Right Problem, Wrong Answer
This summer, Oklahoma’s then-superintendent Ryan Walters announced a new test for would-be teachers from New York and California, promising that it would keep out “woke indoctrinators” from those states (and…
The Truman Foundation Must Embrace Civic Seriousness
Last spring, I coauthored an AEI report examining the taxpayer-subsidized Truman Scholarship program, founded in 1975 to identify “aspiring leaders” during their college years and encourage “their commitments to careers…
A Memo to College Presidents
The higher-education landscape has been radically transformed in recent months. Yet, for all the excited headlines and frenetic chatter, I’m not sure that college presidents, trustees, and alumni groups fully…
Let’s Open the Black Box of Selective College Admissions
The aftermath of the 2023 Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA) has put a spotlight on the capriciousness of admissions practices at selective colleges. In…
Don’t Trust Colleges on Race-Based Admission
This week marks the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and UNC, the twin rulings striking down…
Finally, a Chance to Start Getting Higher Ed Right
“Finally.” It’s a word those who’ve spent years sounding the alarm about the plight of higher education have been saying a lot lately. Finally, the thought-policing and groupthink have become…
Biden’s Even Worse Version of “Free College”
The Biden administration has abolished the federal student-loan program, at least if a “student-loan program” is one in which students borrow money and then eventually repay it. What’s being erected…
How to Control College Costs in 2023 and Beyond
TRY WORKING HARDER The college-costs question invites a raft of sensible responses. But I’m a simple guy, and I’ll offer a simple place to start: Students, teachers, and staff should…