Policy and Legal Affairs

“This is not an anomaly: Free speech in higher education is getting worse,” said Laura Beltz, director of policy reform at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.

National interest in revitalizing a domestic manufacturing industry related to microchip technology and AI has created an opportunity for higher education to strengthen its value proposition at the two-year, four-year and postgraduate level.

While 20 states this year are in the middle of their biennial cycle, the remaining will fight to pass favorable budgets that can alleviate the challenges present among colleges and universities today.

Completion-goals funding will push public higher education and state policymakers to address the region's labor market needs together, in turn boosting graduates' return on investment and improving the economy, according to Complete College America.

"I've talked to literally thousands of people in group and individual settings, and I'm getting the same message: This is government overreach, this is the weaponization of a department that has an opinion that isn't shared by anybody else," GCU President Brian Mueller said.

Some policy pushes have enjoyed bipartisan support, such as addressing hazing on college campuses. Others, however, have been more aligned across political lines, like dismantling DEI.