Cutting costs and cultivating free speech will put higher education on the right path

As a 25-year affiliate professor of surgery, as well as a former member of a liberal arts college’s Board of Trustees, higher education has been a long-term concern of mine. The critical task of preparing the next generation of Americans to become leaders is one of the utmost importance. Now, as the ranking member of the House Education Committee Higher Education and Workforce Investment Subcommittee, I am honored to lead on initiatives that improve American colleges and universities.

It is the overwhelming consensus that the cost of college tuition is far too high. At the end of the 4th quarter in 2020, federal student loan borrowers owed $1.57 trillion. This tremendous burden is second only to outstanding mortgage debt. More troubling, the rising cost of tuition in America has far outpaced the rise in the price of other consumer goods in the past 30 years. There are several reasons for this.

Salaries for compliance officers, diversity coaches, and all kind of other administrative staff — which I more appropriately term “administrative bloat” — have soared in recent decades. Between 1993 and 2007, these costs jumped by 61.2 percent compared to an increase of only 39.3 percent in academic instructional costs. Although most students may not use many of the unnecessary amenities offered at colleges and universities, they still foot the bill for it. Cutting these costs would save students money. There are also many new majors that offer little, if any, chance of future employment. While classes in those disciplines may be beneficial for a broad education, they do not need to be majors. Higher education has lost their way on how to spend students’ monies responsibly. This reckless spending spree needs to cease.

Congress must also pass legislation allowing for short-term Pell grants. Such initiatives would enable students eligible for a federal Pell grant to choose a shorter-term program that aligns with workforce needs. Not everyone has the need, time or desire to complete a degree program, so we ought to create programs that allow one to gain the skills they need to enter, reenter or advance in the workforce. Such purposeful action would dramatically cut the time and expense of postsecondary education for individuals who choose this route and provide them with employable skills.

Competency Based Education (CBE) is another model Congress should consider supporting to cut costs of higher learning. Rather than wasting time and money in classes that duplicate knowledge students already possess, CBE allows students to progress through courses at their own pace by demonstrating mastery of course content. This has the potential to make college cheaper, faster and more personalized.

Finally, the attack on free speech on college campuses has never been greater. Of all places, college campuses should be the No. 1 safe harbor for the free and respectful exchange of ideas and beliefs. Institutions of higher learning are the arenas where competing ideas should be tested and debated. Unfortunately it has now become commonplace for some left-leaning college administrators, faculties and students to “cancel” anyone who does not share their Marxist ideologies and beliefs. Throughout the 20th century, communists rightly demanded free speech rights on college campuses. While in direct opposition to their beliefs, conservatives actually defended those rights. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for modern campus leftist radicals who feverishly attempt to shut down anyone who refutes their progressive political religion.

In an effort to secure freedom of speech on college campuses, I introduced the Campus Free Speech Restoration Act last Congress, with plans to reintroduce in the 117th Congress. Among other things, this legislation would prohibit public institutions that participate in the federal student aid programs from violating students’ free speech rights.

These initiatives would be a step in the right direction for higher education in America. Cutting the cost of education and creating a more intellectually inclusive learning environment should be initiatives that everyone can get behind. It is my hope we can make some progress on these vital issues during this term.

Murphy represents the 3rd District of North Carolina and is the ranking member of the Education and Labor’s Higher Education and Workforce Investment Subcommittee.