Higher education has long been a major component in the formula for pursuing the American dream. In any of its many forms, obtaining a college degree enhances the opportunities for people of all ages, genders and races to build a career that brings them financial security and personal satisfaction.
Terre Haute has been fortunate to have higher education as one of its mighty community pillars. With four institutions of higher learning, a wide spectrum of academic and vocational pursuits are made available to aspiring students. Two of its colleges — Indiana State University and Ivy Tech Community College — are public institutions supported by tax dollars. The other two — Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College — are private schools.
Not only do these colleges offer a variety of academic and vocational degrees to students from near and far, they provide thousands of jobs and boundless economic, social, cultural and entertainment opportunities to surrounding areas.
Like most major institutions, challenges sometimes emerge in higher education that create disruptions and demand reforms. Declining enrollments for many colleges have created intense competition for students. And the cost of a college education has risen to the point where affordability has become a hindrance for many potential students.
In addition to those societal factors, political pressure — some would call it interference — is threatening traditional college culture and creating strain in the administration of academic institutions.
Most recently, President Trump signed an executive order that he hopes leads to abolishing the U.S. Department of Education. While higher education is largely the purview of the states or private organizations, the federal agency, created in 1980 as a cabinet-level department by President Jimmy Carter, sought to give more federal support to all levels of education with a primary objective to bring more equality of access and battle discrimination.
The department has always been controversial to varying degrees during its 45-year life. Yet presidents of both parties have recognized its positive impacts and expanded its scope. Meanwhile, it has played a crucial role in helping students access financial aid and in opening the doors of higher education to more people.
Eliminating the department, in addition to being wrong-headed, will be a tall task for today’s politicians, although current attacks on it can certainly curtail its mission. In its four-plus decades of existence, the agency has served the noble purpose of making higher education more affordable and accessible to everyone and more accurately assessing the performance of all educational institutions.
Even among those who support the department being eliminated, a reasonable case can be made that the attempt currently underway is both clumsy and chaotic. There seems to be no end goal in terms of constructively realigning the essential role of federal education policy.
Major universities, both private and public, are today’s targets. Some are fighting back, while others are succumbing to the pressure.
But every college, including those close to the Wabash Valley, will eventually feel the brunt of this campaign. There is no sign that resistance elsewhere is slowing the effort. A compliant Congress controlled by Trump allies can’t be counted on to check the reckless whims of this administration.
The Department of Education provides meaningful oversight and direction to the education establishment, including higher education. Without a clear and intelligent path forward, slashing its resources and curtailing its vital programs is unwise, not only for community colleges and universities nearby, but for educational institutions throughout the country.
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