Donald Trump plans to create a tuition-free, online university. The “American Academy” would be funded by taxing the endowments of wealthy private universities and aims to provide degrees recognized by the federal government.
As a part of Trump’s campaign manifesto, Agenda 47, the American Academy will provide education free of political or ideological content. In a statement, recorded in late 2023, he described the initiative as a response to campuses being “dominated by wokeness and jihadism”. Using study groups, mentors, and partnerships with industries, the Academy would offer a wide range of courses, from ancient history to skilled trades. It is intended to help the estimated 40 million Americans who have some college credits but no degree by allowing them to transfer past coursework and complete their education quickly and at no cost.
“This will be a truly top-tier education option for the people”, says the president-elect.
Funding for the Academy would come from taxing private university endowments, which Trump has criticized as excessively large and underutilized for public benefit. This builds on the 1.4 % tax on wealthy endowments introduced during his first term. Some Republican lawmakers have proposed increasing this rate or broadening its application to more institutions.
Republican lawmakers have expressed support to eliminate the Department of Education. The Department funds public schools and colleges, with approximately 14% of public school revenue coming from federal programs targeting low-income and special education students. Colleges, in particular, rely heavily on federal grants and loans to support tuition costs. In contrast to Biden’s attempt at a mass student loan forgiveness, the 2025 Transitional Presidential Project, suggests getting rid of forgiveness programs because “borrowers should be expected to repay their loans”.
Proponents of these measures argue that reducing federal involvement would decrease ideological influences in education. Trump suggests the use of civil rights enforcement and fines on universities to discourage media censorship and diversity initiatives, which he describes as “explicit unlawful discrimination under the guise of equity”. Trump has repeatedly said that on his first day in office he will cut money to “any school pushing critical race theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content on our children”.
“If I was the president of a selective private college, or even a big blue-state public university, I would be very concerned, especially if I was a woman or person of color, because that’s who was disproportionately brought in for [Congressional] hearings”, says Dr. Robert Kelchen, professor at the University of Tennessee.
Furthermore, Trump’s American Academy would be freed from “Marxist” and “anti-American” ideologies, explicitly targeting pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses. Such activities have been framed by Trump as antisemitic and supportive of terrorism. These measures build on Trump’s 2019 executive order expanding the definition of antisemitism to include criticism of Israel.
The plan also includes potential changes to the college accreditation process, which Trump has referred to as a “secret weapon” to prevent certain interest groups from exerting what he views as undue influence over accreditation standards. Currently the accreditation process is managed by non-governmental organizations approved by the federal government, but Trump suggests allowing states to accredit institutions directly or creating new accrediting agencies that align with conservative educational priorities.
