How Much Can An Education Secretary Influence Higher Ed? Turns Out A Lot

Main Library at Universtiy of Illinois-Urbana
Main Library at Universtiy of Illinois-Urbana Wikimedia Commons
Main Library at Universtiy of Illinois-Urbana
Main Library at Universtiy of Illinois-Urbana Wikimedia Commons

How Much Can An Education Secretary Influence Higher Ed? Turns Out A Lot

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The hearings for philanthropist and school choice advocate Betsy DeVos to become the nation’s next Secretary of Education focused largely on K-12 education. That makes sense considering she’s spent many years advocating for charter schools and school vouchers and has little-to-no experience in the world of public education. What did not get discussed as much was higher education, an arena where DeVos will have broad latitude to influence everything from student debt and the cost of college to Title IX and the regulation of for-profit universities.

Morning Shift talks to Washington Post higher education reporter Danielle Douglas-Gabriel about how much influence the Secretary of Education has on higher education and what we know about the priorities of the Trump administration and Betsy DeVos in that arena.

EXPLORE MORE: How Will Betsy DeVos Influence Higher Education? (Washington Post)