Access, affordability, and free speech will continue to make headlines in higher education.
Efforts by the Biden administration to pass a rule on student loan forgiveness was a major story from 2023 that will again be front and center in the new year.
Dr. Robert Kelchen, professor and head of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, says the administration will likely reintroduce the rule in 2024 using a negotiated rulemaking process.
“That rule will likely, immediately get challenged in court,” says Kelchen. “Meanwhile, the Biden administration is implementing a much more generous income-driven repayment system for federal student loans that could be much larger than what the Supreme Court struck down. That, too, could end up in court.”
Other issues in the news will include diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). With the U.S. Supreme Court decision rejecting race conscious admissions at colleges and universities, institutions will try to find ways to provide access for underserved populations while accommodating the current parameters. Also, many private colleges will continue to try to financially rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Complex issues
Dr. Valerie Kinloch, president of Johnson C. Smith University — an HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) in North Carolina — concurs that student debt and loan forgiveness will be big stories. She adds that HBCU institutions have long dealt with being underfunded. Financial issues, along with enrollment, retention and graduation, will be newsworthy also.
