With victories in several key Senate races last night, Republicans will take control of both chambers of Congress heading into the final two years of the Obama presidency -- a balance of power that sets up a much-changed dynamic for federal higher education policy-making in the coming months.
The change will likely be something of a double-edged sword for colleges and universities, higher education advocates said. On the one hand, colleges will find more help from Republicans in their longstanding efforts to roll back federal requirements they view as burdensome. At the same time, higher education may face tougher battles over federal funding for academic research and student aid programs, as GOP majorities embrace more austere budget caps.
Republican leadership of the Senate is also likely to complicate the Obama administration's agenda for executive action, namely its regulations clamping down on the for-profit college industry as well as its desire to put into effect its full proposal for a college ratings system.
Policy priorities led by Senate Democrats that affect higher education are also expected to take a back seat under Republican leadership. Some of those proposals, such as allowing existing student loan borrowers to lower their interest rates, were featured prominently in Democratic campaign ads this year. Senate Democrats had also pushed new policies that sought to hold colleges more accountable for loan defaults and clamp down further on for-profit institutions.
The shift in power is likely to result in continued deadlock on higher education and other issues, especially since Republicans will not enjoy veto-proof margins in either chamber. As a result, they'll be unlikely to enact into law policies that the administration would reject (such as blocking of gainful employment).
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/11/04/what-republican-led-congress-means-higher-education-policy