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.
Statement
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July 14, 2026
AFPI Applauds Common-Sense Policies that Put Students Ahead of Bureaucracy
Today, the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) released the following statement from Michael Shires, Ph.D., vice chair of Education Opportunity at AFPI, regarding policies that would return education to the states:
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.
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.
Experts on Post Secondary Education
Erika Donalds
Chair, Education Opportunity
Jay Menees, Ph.D.
Senior Policy Analyst, Higher Education and Economy & Trade Policy
Christopher Schorr, Ph.D.
Director, Higher Education Policy
Michael Shires, Ph.D.
Vice Chair of Education Opportunity Policy, Higher Education Policy, and Senior Policy Officer
Jovan Tripkovic
Analyst, Higher Education Policy
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