Degrees of Deception
Why dismantling the Department of Education puts students at risk
Of the many election postmortems I have read over the past week, my favorite was by David Brooks, who argued that Democrats have alienated many voters by promoting higher education as the only viable path to success in the United States. The importance of this point cannot be overstated. College has morphed into something it was never intended to be—a baseline requirement for anyone seeking professional and financial stability—which poses significant problems not only for politics but also for the future of socioeconomic mobility in this country.
When college becomes the only path to success, people are left vulnerable to exploitative “education” institutions. One need not look that far back in their memory to recall the exemplar: Trump University. Trump University preyed on people’s anxieties, selling a path to knowledge and wealth, but was quickly exposed as a sham. The story of Trump University reveals that we need a watchdog over education. So it’s concerning that Trump University’s founder now wants to dismantle the Department of Education—the very body responsible for protecting the public from deceptive educational enterprises.
Much of the recent political discourse around the DOE has (reasonably) focused on issues of trans rights, diversity, and curriculum content. But it’s remarkable how conversations have excluded what is perhaps the DOE’s most fundamental role, which is setting and enforcing standards for higher education that help people distinguish real opportunities from fraud. The DOE ensures that schools meet rigorous criteria and decides which programs are worth a student’s time and money. Without it, the market will be flooded with unregulated institutions posing as reputable schools, and students will be at risk of wasting years and thousands of dollars on degrees that will do nothing for them.
The DOE is central to preserving people’s trust in legitimate educational pathways. Without it, we risk transforming higher education into a breeding ground of disenfranchisement.
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It’s the “haha” at 2:17 that really makes this performance for me!
The students who are going to be hurt most by the gutting of the Department of Education are the ones who need higher education most for social mobility. It's the students who need the financial aid, for whom higher education and FAFSA can afford them access and opportunities, who will be hurt the most---go figure. These are terrifying times!
I completely agree with the need for a more expansive view of success beyond college. David Brooks nails it by pointing out how the single-minded promotion of higher ed is alienating and limiting. College has become less of an aspirational choice and more of a pressured expectation, which doesn’t fit everyone and often funnels people into massive debt or exploitative "universities."
And yes, the DOE’s role in safeguarding educational standards is essential. Without it, we’re opening the door for scams that prey on those who want to make a better life but might not be able to distinguish genuine opportunities from fraud. Imagine a world where higher ed becomes the Wild West—everyone would pay the price, especially those seeking new career paths outside of traditional university models.
Broadening our definition of success to include paths beyond college could empower people and protect them from predatory institutions. This has to be part of the policy conversation.