Dive Brief:
- The federal government has played a vital role in developing colleges and universities with initiatives like the GI Bill, Title IV and Title IX.
- Proposals for free college tuition at state institutions could be more expensive than maintaining, or increasing student aid for disbursement at any college.
- Colleges must engage candidates on the needs of institutions while aligning them with the candidates' individual policy goals and objectives.
Dive Insight:
While the election may have far-reaching impact on the view of higher education nationwide, the real federal view on higher education will come with how existing programs are implemented by congressional approval. The party that wins the White House is most likely to lose Congress during mid-term elections, and thereby shapes the ideology around funding for Pell grants, allocations for historically black and Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and research funding for all schools.
Ultimately, the strategy for higher education leaders is to engage their state representatives in advocating for their industrial and social value to their respective states. Few institutions have national influence, but most institutions have invaluable impact on the cities and states in which they are stationed. College leaders have to demonstrate how their futures are intimately connected to communities and the future of productivity on localized levels.