New Research: Rebuilding American Higher Education

Senior Fellow Marshall Steinbaum and Senior Editor Andrew Elrod have published a paper on higher education in the US, laying out a bold proposal for shifting away from a tuition model of education finance:

In this paper, we propose a major reform to the entire system. Instead of being funded by tuition, backstopped by unrepayable student loans, we propose direct funding of institutions to the level that they can provide one free undergraduate degree or technical qualification. We would unify academic labor in a single stream with four job titles, all with collectively-bargained labor standards. We would replace plutocracy on campus with accountable and democratic governance. And we would found a new federal university system to ensure the promise of an affordable, high-quality education is available to all.

View the paper; find more on Steinbaum’s website.