The 2024 U.S. elections are arriving quickly, and both major political parties have offered perspectives about higher education issues as part of their platforms.
Below, you can find a side-by-side comparison of the parties’ platforms on important higher education issues—quoted directly from platform documents. Any changes, which are demarcated in brackets, are intended to ensure clarity.
AGB will update this information as needed, including the Democratic National Committee’s platform when it is finalized.
This information is intended to inform college and university board members about the intent of the two major political parties on higher education. It should not be construed as an endorsement of any candidate.
Department of Education
“We are going to close the Department of Education in Washington, D.C. and send [Education] back to the States, where it belongs, and let the States run our educational system as it should be run.”
No stated position in the party platform
Criminal Justice and Education
No stated position in the party platform
“[The Administration] is working to end the school-to-prison pipeline by reissuing guidance from the Departments of Education and Justice to prevent disparate discipline of children of color and with disabilities and incentivizing states to develop community-based alternatives to prison for young people.”
“We will support rehabilitation and education, including college programs, for inmates in prison and after their release.”
Investments in Minority-Serving Institutions
No stated position in the party platform
“We’ll keep investing in partnerships with HBCUs, MSIs, and Tribal Colleges and Universities to strengthen and diversify the teacher pipeline, so students of every background can see themselves at the head of the classroom.”
“We’re also boosting investment in STEM education and workforce training programs for women and at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other Minority Serving Institutions, to make sure the clean energy and manufacturing jobs of tomorrow are open and accessible to communities that have been too often left out in the past”
Data Privacy and AI
“We will repeal Joe Biden’s dangerous Executive Order that hinders AI Innovation, and imposes Radical Leftwing ideas on the development of this technology. In its place, Republicans support AI Development rooted in Free Speech and Human Flourishing”
“We must do more and update and pass the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, protect student data privacy by ensuring what is collected in schools is only used for education, and update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act to protect personal electronic information and safeguard location information.”
“President Biden issued a landmark Executive Order directing federal agencies to establish new high standards for AI safety and security, protect Americans’ privacy, advance equity and civil rights, stand up for workers and consumers, promote competitive markets for AI development and use, and more”
Antisemitism on College Campuses
“DEPORT PRO-HAMAS RADICALS AND MAKE OUR COLLEGE CAMPUSES SAFE AND PATRIOTIC AGAIN”
“…pursue Civil Rights cases against Schools that discriminate.”
“President Biden continues to take bold action to combat antisemitism on college campuses.”
Title IX
“…we will work with schools to implement and enforce Title IX and end sexual harassment and assault in our nation’s schools. We will eliminate the rape kit backlog. And, we will strengthen legal protections for and support survivors of deepfake image-based sexual abuse building on the federal civil cause of action established under the president’s reauthorization of [the Violence Against Women Act] in 2022.”
“[President Biden] expanded funding for campus sexual assault prevention and is keeping students safe on campus by restoring and strengthening protections under Title IX.”
Affordability and Loan Forgiveness
“To reduce the cost of Higher Education, Republicans will support the creation of additional, drastically more affordable alternatives to a traditional four-year College degree.”
“…drive down Tuition costs…”
“To help more low-income students afford college in the first place, the Administration has also increased the maximum Pell Grant by $900, and will double it in the future. We’re expanding access to free community college; providing subsidized tuition for children from families earning less than $125,000 a year who attend HBCUs, TCUs, Hispanic- and Minority Serving Institutions. The Administration has made historic investments in those schools, as well as in registered apprenticeships, to train Americans everywhere for the careers of the future.”
“Although Republican appointees on the Supreme Court blocked the President’s initial student debt relief plan for 40 million borrowers, he has not stopped using every available tool to provide relief to middle-class borrowers, President Biden has delivered bold action to slash the crushing burden of student debt as well. His Administration already approved the cancellation of $167 billion in loans for nearly 5 million borrowers, including nearly a million public servants like teachers, nurses, and police; and it has outlined plans to deliver relief to 30 million borrowers in all. Meanwhile, its new SAVE plan is the most affordable student-loan repayment plan in history, helping 8 million Americans– including more than 4.5 million who now have a $0 monthly payment. These savings will transform lives, freeing people to buy a house, to start a family, or to launch a business with new hope.”
“…we’ve already secured the largest increase in Pell Grants in a decade, and we’ll further expand these grants to 7 million more students, and double the maximum award by 2029. We’ve invested a record $16 billion in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); and we’re working to subsidize tuition.”
“Democrats are also working to make college more affordable, and to relieve the crippling burden of student debt, which disproportionately falls on students of color. Black students take on 85 percent more debt than white peers, and both Black and Latino borrowers are more likely to hold debt many years longer after graduation, deferring their dreams to buy a home, build a family, or start a business. That’s why the President’s action to cancel $167 billion in student loans for nearly five million Americans, and to ease repayment for millions of others is such an important step in leveling the playing field for everyone.”
“A quality, secondary education used to be a ticket to the middle class, but the cost that many folks face for higher education today is crippling families, futures, and our entire economy. It has become a barrier to opportunity. Democrats will make quality, affordable, secondary education a path forward again.”
Career and Technical Education
“Republicans will emphasize Education to prepare students for great jobs and careers, supporting project-based learning and schools that offer meaningful work experience. We will expose politicized education models and fund proven career training programs.”
“Four year college is not the only pathway to a good career, so Democrats are investing in other forms of education as well, including career and technical education. The Administration is expanding job training partnerships that connect high schools, local businesses, and labor unions to prepare students for good jobs in high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand industries. It’ll make trade school and community college free for every American. And it’s making record investments in registered apprenticeships…”
“The American Rescue Plan supported more than 4,300 state- and local-government workforce development programs; while our Investing in American agenda is expanding job-training partnerships between high schools, community colleges, and employers. We have a million trainees enrolled in registered apprenticeships today. Apprenticeships have long provided a reliable path to the middle class, empowering workers to earn while they learn, not only in traditional trades, but also in new cutting-edge industries.”
Accreditation
No stated position in the party platform
