Higher Education Reform Initiative
Develop and advance higher education policy reforms at the state and national levels.
Policy Priorities
Reform America’s Dysfunctional Higher Education Accreditation System
Rethink Public Financing of Postsecondary Study to Encourage Competition and Accountability
Open New Pathways to Family-Sustaining Careers
Combat the Politicization of Higher Education and Encourage Viewpoint Diversity on U.S. Campuses
Protect Students’ and Professors’ First Amendment Rights
Universities are among the most important institutions in American society—responsible for advancing science, fostering economic growth, transmitting a cultural inheritance to the next generation, and preparing young people for citizenship and family-sustaining careers. Unfortunately, although U.S. universities are lavishly funded by state and federal taxpayers, many of them are failing to live up to their important public responsibilities.
The America First Policy Institute’s Higher Education Reform Initiative works to develop and advance policy reforms at the state and national levels. We envision a competitive higher education marketplace that does a better job of graduating students with in-demand skills and credentials at a reasonable cost to families and taxpayers. Universities should also prepare graduates for citizenship and lifelong learning through rigorous academic programs delivered in an environment that fosters free inquiry and a wide range of viewpoints.
Team
Latest
Op-Ed
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July 20, 2026
10 Years Ago, I Traded Honesty for a Degree
It was the morning after President Trump’s surprise victory in the 2016 election. Just before 8:00 a.m., I walked into the Brewster Building at East Carolina University to make copies for an exam I would be proctoring later that day. I was in my second year of graduate studies in American history, and after the previous night’s dramatic election results, I was curious to see how the campus was taking the news.
Commentary
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July 15, 2026
DEI has Devastated America’s Colleges and Universities
Just a few days ago, we celebrated America’s 250th birthday, and the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. This proclamation launched America on a path to freedom, opportunity, and prosperity unrivaled in human history. The central premise of the Declaration of Independence is the notion that all men are created equal, and the pursuit of this ideal has fueled American success since the nation’s inception.
State Model Policy
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June 18, 2026
Modernizing Employment Data Act
The unemployment insurance (UI) system, established under the Social Security Act of 1935, operates as a federal-state partnership in which federal law mandates the payroll tax while states administer their own programs. As part of this framework, states collect quarterly wage data from employers.
Op-Ed
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June 16, 2026
The Civil Rights Standard Turning Race-Based Employment On Its Head.
What began as a tool to combat intentional discrimination now enables race-based liability against employers.
Expert Insights
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June 12, 2026
The New Accreditation Rules Explained
U.S. higher education is broken. College costs are out of control, rising at more than twice the rate of inflation. Students, parents, and taxpayers are strapped with nearly $2 trillion (about $6,200 per person in the US) dollars in debt for degrees that often do not generate earnings sufficient to repay the loans that funded them. Experts expect one-fourth of the colleges in the United States to close in the decades ahead.
Topics
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Supporting the Emerging Civil Rights State
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Detransition Awareness Day
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