Yesterday, as we all now have heard, the Supreme Court rendered a preliminary ruling on the President's travel ban. SCOTUS said that travelers from the targeted Muslim countries could enter the US if they have ties here. One such tie is student or faculty status at an American University.
This decision, which probably prefigures how the Court will come down when it hears the case on its merits in October, was a sound business decision. Higher education is one of the few remaining industries in which the US ranks number one in the world. Despite stiff competition from Europe and Australia, international students still prefer an American educational experience by a wide majority. A travel ban that disrupts this flow of students (and dollars) into the US might be called dumb.
But, then, t"dumb" has been Uncle Sam's --- and many states' --- approach to higher education during the past two decades or more. Having created a world-beating higher-education industry in the US, our political leaders seem to have been bent on doing all they can to starve it of funds, regulate it half to death, and in general see just how much stress it can take before it implodes.
Even 20 years ago, colleagues of mine from public university systems around the nation were complaining that, "We used to be state supported. Then we were only state affiliated. And now we are merely state located." Thankfully the funding drought seems to be lifting in many states, although some --- such as Illinois --- continue to leave their public systems panting for fiscal relief.
Meanwhile, back in DC, the Obama Administration orchestrated a regulatory ramp-up that strained the resources of many small and medium sized colleges and universities.
Mr. Trump and his team of billionaires and generals aims to provide regulatory relief across the economy. And, in fact, news out of the DeVos Department of Ed in recent days indicates implementation of just such an intent. Unfortunately --- as I have predicted --- so far all the regulatory relief has gone to the for-profit sector of higher education.
Meanwhile, although Trump's travel ban ostensibly affected only a half dozen countries, its chilling effect on international students worldwide seems undeniable. That's why I say it might be called a dumb business decision.
But perhaps "dumb" is the wrong word. Anyone who thinks Donald Trump is dumb is being pretty naive. So if it's not dumb, what is it? In 1924 Calvin Coolidge said, "The chief business of the American people is business." There's the answer. Harking back to those halcyon days before the Great Depression, the Trump Administration has brought to Washington the same philosophy. That's why the Prez sees nothing wrong with profiting from the international business being drawn into the Trump Hotel. It's why Betsy DeVos sees nothing wrong with shelving the "gainful employment" regs intended to ensure that students investing federal-loan dollars in for-profit education companies are coming away with valuable skill sets.
Let me suggest that Trump and Company in Washington, like such governors as Walker of Wisconsin, disdain the not-for-profit sector, including public and non-profit universities. The idea that an industry not organized to maximize its profits could be one of the top economic drivers runs contrary to their fundamental beliefs. I believe that the rich live with themselves in a world that is mostly poor by persuading one another that they have earned and deserve every dollar they have hoarded. They cling tenaciously to the notion that market forces must rule, regardless of who gets crushed. They vociferously and endlessly assert that the profit motive is the best incentive for every sector... including health care, the penal system, policing, and yes, education. And, if they happen to enhance their own fortunes along the way, well, all the better.
That the public and non-profit realms might be best at delivering universal healthcare and universal education is anathema to that mind set.
The travel ban's potential impact on international-student attendance at US universities was just one small indicator of this blind spot. Thankfully, SCOTUS seems to be more savvy.
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