Beth Akers
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Articles by Beth Akers
Higher Education Archives
Post AEIdeas Federal Officials Should Get Tougher on Accreditors Post AEIdeas Do Elite Universities Really Need This Much Money?
A Primer on Private Student Lending in the Post–Grad PLUS Era
The elimination of Grad PLUS will have many graduate and professional students turning to the private loan market to finance the cost of their enrollment, but private lenders will generally not replace loans that were previously made to students with thin or poor credit history.
student loans Archives
Podcast American Enterprise Institute Should We Close the US Department of Education?
Graduate Education After Grad PLUS
The 2025 Working Families Tax Cuts Act eliminated the Grad PLUS loan program, which gave graduate and professional students essentially unlimited access to federal loans. This change will reshape graduate school finance and enrollment for years to come. During this event, higher education experts will examine how students, colleges, philanthropy, states, employers, and private credit markets are responding to this new policy regime.
Rethinking Predatory Student Lending
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act ended the Grad PLUS loan program for new borrowers and replaced it with annual and aggregate limits on federal borrowing that came into effect on July 1, 2026. Students who want to borrow beyond those limits will now have to turn to private lenders. That prospect is making a lot of people nervous.
Discussing Graduate School: Akers on Bloomberg Television’s ‘Wall Street Week’
VIDEO Senior Fellow Beth Akers discusses graduate school costs on Bloomberg Television’s ‘Wall Street Week.’
The Retreat on New Student Loan Limits Is Unfortunate, but Not Catastrophic
Last summer, Congress enacted H.R. 1, better known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which put new limits on graduate and professional student lending. One part of that bill eliminated the Grad PLUS regime, under which students could borrow up to the full cost of attendance. It was a policy that put many students into unaffordable debt and left taxpayers on the hook when borrowers could not repay.
A College President Weighs in on Higher Ed’s New Accountability Rule
Last summer, Congress put in place a new system of federal accountability for colleges that will force institutional leaders to grapple with the career outcomes their students face in a new way. Those who don’t meet the mark will lose access to federal student loans in as few as two years. Just yesterday evening, the Department of Education published a final rule that will guide implementation of this reform.
Will the Rash of College Closures Limit Access? I Think Not.
The announcement that Hampshire College will wind down operations after 2026 landed with a familiar mix of alarm and lament. Another small, distinctive college will soon disappear. For many observers, these moments feel like cultural losses, not just institutional ones. Colleges do more than just provide an education; they anchor communities and have unique traditions and identities. Their disappearance carries an emotional weight that exceeds the pure economic logic behind it.
Beyond “Do No Harm”: The Next Era of Value-Based Accountability Policy
Higher education policy has shifted toward “value” as the central organizing principle. After decades focused on access, affordability, and completion, policymakers are now asking whether college actually delivers meaningful economic returns to students—reflecting growing evidence that outcomes vary widely. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act marks a turning point by introducing universal, outcomes-based accountability.
Caps on Graduate Student Lending: How Did We Get Here?
For nearly two decades, federal policy treated graduate student lending with a simple rule: More is always better. More credit meant more opportunity. More borrowing meant more human capital. And more federal lending meant—at least at first—more revenue for the government. That consensus has now broken down. The new limits on graduate student borrowing enacted in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) mark a decisive shift away from the era of effectively unlimited federal lending.
Caps on Graduate Student Lending: How Did We Get Here?
For nearly two decades, federal policy treated graduate student lending with a simple rule: More is always better. More credit meant more opportunity. More borrowing meant more human capital. And more federal lending meant—at least at first—more revenue for the government. That consensus has now broken down. The new limits on graduate student borrowing enacted in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) mark a decisive shift away from the era of effectively unlimited federal lending.
Graduate Loan Caps Are Coming: Colleges Should Prepare Now
Financial aid offices have only months to prevent avoidable disruption to graduate enrollment. Last summer’s reconciliation legislation, often referred to as the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), reintroduced limits on federal lending for graduate and professional students. These caps will take effect for new graduate students during the 2026-2027 academic year. When they do, the financing structure that graduate programs have relied on for years will change immediately.
A Three-Year Bachelor’s Degree? Let’s Give It a Try.
A growing number of colleges are experimenting with a new model for undergraduate education: the three-year bachelor’s degree. Last month, the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education voted to allow some public institutions to offer bachelor’s programs requiring just 90 credits rather than the traditional 120. Massachusetts isn’t alone. The first accredited three-year bachelor’s programs launched in 2024 at Brigham Young University–Idaho and Ensign College in Utah.
Trump’s Higher Education Legacy May Be Accountability-Whether He Meant It or Not
If history judges Donald Trump’s impact on higher education by headlines alone, the story will center on conflict. His administration’s relationship with colleges and universities has been defined by public fights, funding threats, and direct negotiations aimed at eliminating DEI initiatives, elevating conservative voices on campus, and pushing institutions to align more closely with a particular political and cultural vision. Supporters see these moves as overdue corrections.
States Are Taking the Reins on College Accountability
Last year’s budget reconciliation legislation, more commonly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), marked a turning point in federal higher education policy. For the first time, Congress attached real consequences to poor program performance by embedding an earnings-based “do no economic harm” standard into federal law.
Democrats, Student Debt Can’t Be Both the Problem and the Solution
Student debt cannot be both the crisis that demands sweeping forgiveness and a tool that must remain unlimited for future borrowers. Yet that contradiction sits at the center of the backlash to Congress’s recent overhaul of federal graduate student lending. Last year’s reconciliation legislation finally ended the era of unlimited federal lending for graduate and professional students, replacing the Grad PLUS system with clear borrowing caps.
Protecting Students and Taxpayers: Strengthening Accountability and Value in Higher Education
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I appreciate your leadership and your willingness to engage seriously with the hard questions surrounding higher education and workforce development in the United States. These issues touch nearly every American family and shape our nation’s economic future. I am an economist who has spent much of her career studying how federal higher education policy affects students, taxpayers, and institutions.
income share agreements Archives
Podcast American Enterprise Institute Beth Akers on Student Loan Forgiveness Post AEIdeas The Biden Administration Undermines Free Market Efforts to Make College More Affordable Post AEIdeas A New Way to Fund College? Post AEIdeas No, Income Share Agreements Are Not Indentured Servitude Post AEIdeas Thomas Sargent, Incentives, and Student Loan Forgiveness Post AEIdeas It’s Time for New Solutions to Old Higher Ed Problems
education spending Archives
Podcast American Enterprise Institute Did ESSER Work? (with Dan Goldhaber) Podcast American Enterprise Institute Mark Schneider on IES Podcast American Enterprise Institute Brian Jacob and Vladimir Kogan on School Board Elections Post AEIdeas New Report Sheds Light on Expansive Biden Student Loan Forgiveness Scheme Post AEIdeas Schooling Needs Honest Brokers. Does Anyone Want the Job?
A Bipartisan Step Toward Smarter College Accountability
Rarely do Washington policymakers find common ground on higher-education reform. Conservatives often call for discipline in how taxpayer dollars are spent. Progressives typically focus on protecting students from predatory institutions and crushing debt. Yet in the recent reconciliation legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill, both sides can find something to like.
Financial Responsibility in the Higher Education Compact
Financial Responsibility in the Higher Education Compact Editor’s Note: The Trump administration’s October 2025 Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education sparked an overdue conversation about the relationship between universities and the federal government. The administration identified issues that deserve to be addressed. But its approach provoked serious objections, even from sympathetic observers.
CERN Scholars Respond to Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education Archives
Report American Enterprise Institute Admissions Equality in the Higher Education Compact Report American Enterprise Institute Financial Responsibility in the Higher Education Compact Report American Enterprise Institute
Higher Education at a Crossroads: Durable Alternatives to the 2025 Compact
The Trump administration’s Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education sparked an overdue conversation about the relationship between universities and the federal government. The administration identified critical issues, but its prescriptions prompted concerns—even from sympathetic observers. The result has created an opening for more workable alternatives rooted in legislative authority. To that end, AEI’s Frederick M.
Our Wishlist for Higher Ed Reform
Now that Congress has resolved the government shutdown, attention is turning to what comes next. For Republicans, that likely means early planning for a second round of reconciliation—call it Reconciliation 2.0. We should first acknowledge how much lawmakers accomplished in the first reconciliation effort.
Success Sequence Archives
Press Discussing Ohio’s ‘Success Sequence’ bill: Rowe on WVXU’s ‘Cincinnati Edition’ Multimedia Are Men Turning Away From College? Op-Ed Don’t Believe the Doomsayers. The American Dream Is Still in Reach for Young People Podcast Angela Rachidi on Poverty Dynamics After Nonmarital Births Op-Ed What Is the Utah “Family Miracle”?
An Aspiring College Accreditor Aims to Shift Power in Higher Education
Key Points Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas have proposed a new accrediting body—the Commission for Public Higher Education (CPHE). CPHE aims to give states more say in setting quality accountability standards for public universities while limiting federal and ideological mandates, such as diversity, equity, and inclusion requirements.
Elizabeth Warren Archives
Article What Progressives Should Be Thinking About Social Security Reform Post Tax Exemptions and Presidential Fiat: The Sequel Op-Ed Harris Would Not Enact Price Controls Post Sen.
Is College Really Worth It? With Beth Akers
Is college still worth the cost? In this one-minute clip, AEI senior fellow Beth Akers tackles one of the most pressing questions for students and families. She explains how to think about the value of a degree, weighing costs, earnings, and the broader return on investment.
America’s Distorted Market for Higher Education
In the United States, K-12 education is mostly run as a government service. By contrast, higher education is supposed to operate more like a marketplace. In theory, that means competition should drive innovation, keep colleges responsive to students’ needs, and ensure tuition prices reflect the real value of a degree. But in practice, however, the market for higher education is hugely distorted.
America’s Distorted Market for Higher Education
In the United States, K-12 education is mostly run as a government service. By contrast, higher education is supposed to operate more like a marketplace. In theory, that means competition should drive innovation, keep colleges responsive to students’ needs, and ensure tuition prices reflect the real value of a degree. But in practice, however, the market for higher education is hugely distorted.
Beth Akers on Federal Student Loan Repayments
AEI senior fellow Beth Akers gives insight into the recent decision by the Trump administration to resume federal student loan repayments. VIDEO
Beth Akers on Closing the Department of Education
AEI senior fellow Beth Akers weighs in on proposals to close the US Department of Education. In this one-minute clip, she explains what such a move would mean for federal education policy, higher education accountability, and the role of states in shaping education.
Accountability in Higher Education
AEI senior fellow Beth Akers outlines her vision for stronger accountability in higher education. She explains why today’s system often fails to align institutional incentives with student success and taxpayer value, and offers ideas for reform that would reward colleges for outcomes rather than inputs.
Quality assurance in higher education Archives
Report How Technology Can Transform the Higher Education Accreditation Process and Drive Continuous Improvement at Colleges and Universities Report Commonsense Bipartisan Accreditation Reform: Improving Quality and Accountability in Higher Education Multimedia Higher Education Reform Part II | Cincinnatus Series Report American Enterprise Institute States Should Drop Accreditation Requirements for New Colleges Post Is a Master’s Degree Worth It?
The rising cost and fading promise of college in America Original
Your browser does not support the audio element. There was a time - not so long ago - when the value of a college degree was self-evident. It was the surest path to opportunity, the assumed next step after high school, a marker of merit and ambition. Parents planned for it. High schools funneled students toward it. And as a society, we treated college not just as a financial investment, but as a rite of passage, a symbol of upward mobility, and a cornerstone of civic life.
How to move past the college-at-any-cost paradigm
Few decisions young Americans make will have as large an impact on their financial lives as whether - and where - to go to college. Yet far too often, those decisions are made with less rigor than we'd use for similarly impactful transactions, like buying a car or taking out a mortgage. We assume college is "worth it" simply because it always has been. But the modern higher education landscape is far more complex than the familiar slogans would have us believe.
How to Move past the College-at-Any-Cost Paradigm
Few decisions young Americans make will have as large an impact on their financial lives as whether — and where — to go to college. Yet far too often, those decisions are made with less rigor than we’d use for similarly impactful transactions, like buying a car or taking out a mortgage. We assume college is “worth it” simply because it always has been. But the modern higher education landscape is far more complex than the familiar slogans would have us believe.
The Big Beautiful Fix for Graduate School Borrowing
When policymakers and the public talk about student debt, they usually picture undergraduates: young people taking their first steps into higher education and making some of their first consequential financial decisions. That’s where most of the attention and reform energy has gone.
Secretary of Education Archives
Op-Ed Education Secretary Rachel Maddow Embraces the Trump Doctrine Op-Ed Can Linda McMahon Help Fulfill the Promise of Charter Schools? Op-Ed The Department of Ed Meets Office Space Post Trump Appointees to the US Department of Education Come With Wealth of Knowledge and Experience Op-Ed So, You Want to Be US Secretary of Education?
Are Layoffs The Beginning Of The Education Department’s End?
On this episode of “The Federalist Radio Hour,” Beth Akers joins Federalist Senior Elections Correspondent Matt Kittle to discuss the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision weighing in on the Trump administration’s plans to gut the Department of Education. Akers and Kittle also analyze what it would take to fully dismantle or at least check the taxpayer-funded education arm of the federal bureaucracy.
Holding Colleges Accountable: From Graduation to Gainful Employment
Recent legislative proposals in the House and Senate signal heightened interest in making colleges financially responsible for students’ outcomes. The House’s version of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” contains a “risk-sharing” provision requiring colleges to repay a portion of the federal student debt that their graduates fail to repay.
The Economic Case for Emergency Student Aid
This brief is a part of a series on emergency aid. For the rest of the briefs, click here.
college outcomes Archives
Post The Senate’s Higher Education Reforms Are Strong (But Could Be Stronger) Report A Template for Considering New University Accreditors Post Ten Things College Trustees Should Remember Post Six Ways College Trustees Can Improve Their Students’ ROI Post State Governments Could Do More to Hire for Skills, Not Degrees Post Congress’s Unique Opportunity to Fix Federal Student Loans Testimony High Costs, Uneven Value: Repairing the Federal Role in Postsecondary Education Report How State...
Student outcomes Archives
Event What’s Next for K–12 School Reform? Report A Template for Considering New University Accreditors Post To Improve Student Outcomes, Focus On Classroom Practice, Not Policy Post How Many Administrators Do Colleges Have?
Education reform Archives
Op-Ed Stop Telling Kids the World Is a Terrible Place One Pager Reforming Higher Education Accountability Report American Enterprise Institute Course Correction: Rebuilding the Federal Student Loan System After Biden’s Mismanagement Op-Ed The Voices We Don’t Hear: Teachers Who Gave Up Report A Template for Considering New University Accreditors Post To Improve Student Outcomes, Focus On Classroom Practice, Not Policy Event “The Child Is Not the Mere Creature of the State”: Pierce v.
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