President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon is sending shockwaves through the ivory towers of American higher education. For years, university presidents and chancellors have enjoyed a largely unchecked reign, overseeing bloated bureaucracies, skyrocketing tuition, and ideological indoctrination masquerading as scholarship.
McMahon's appointment and President-Elect Trump’s comments about reforming higher education signals the arrival of long-overdue accountability that I and many others in higher academia have been praying for.
McMahon is the former head of the Small Business Administration. What is particularly enjoyable about this is that academia has long had a disdain for business, especially small business. Plus, the fact that McMahon co-founded World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is quickly turning the academic smirking class into the crying class. The head of the WWE will be in charge of every academic elite across the country? Could this be more beautiful? As Elon Musk has often said, the most ironic outcome is the most likely.
A Broken System Exposed
Over the past several decades, American higher education has become a paradox: outrageously expensive yet increasingly ineffective. Tuition rates have risen at nearly five times the rate of inflation, saddling students with a collective $1.8 trillion in debt.
At the same time, employers are increasingly skeptical of the value of a college degree, as many graduates lack the basic skills necessary to succeed in the workforce. Universities, flush with government funding and subsidized student loans, have shifted their focus away from education toward administrative expansion, luxury amenities, and ideological conformity.
McMahon’s nomination threatens this lucrative yet unsustainable model. She is reportedly committed to addressing what she and many conservatives view as “educational malpractice” in higher education. Her focus on outcomes, accountability, and transparency has higher education leaders bracing for a reckoning.
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Accountability at Last
One of McMahon’s key goals is to hold colleges and universities accountable for the outcomes they produce. Under her leadership, the Department of Education is expected to push for reforms that tie federal funding to measurable outcomes, such as graduation rates, post-graduation employment, and student loan repayment rates. This is a stark departure from the current system, in which universities receive billions in taxpayer dollars with little to no oversight regarding how effectively they educate students or prepare them for the workforce.
Challenging Ideological Monopolies
Perhaps more alarming to university leaders than McMahon’s focus on fiscal accountability is her apparent willingness to challenge the ideological monopolies that dominate American higher education. In recent years, campuses have become hotbeds of progressive activism, often at the expense of intellectual diversity and free speech. Conservative students and faculty members frequently report feeling marginalized or silenced, while administrators appear more interested in catering to activist demands than fostering robust debate.
McMahon’s track record suggests she will not shy away from addressing this issue. As someone who has succeeded in industries traditionally dominated by strong personalities and entrenched interests, she is well-equipped to take on the ideological conformity of academia. Higher education leaders are right to worry that McMahon will push for policies that protect free speech on campus, ensure equal treatment for conservative viewpoints, and end the use of taxpayer dollars to fund politically motivated programs and initiatives.
Restoring the Value of a College Degree
For too long, higher education has operated as a self-perpetuating bubble, disconnected from the needs of students and the realities of the workforce. McMahon’s focus on accountability has the potential to burst that bubble. By tying funding to measurable outcomes and emphasizing the importance of workforce readiness, she could force universities to reassess their priorities.
This could lead to a renewed emphasis on rigorous academics, particularly in fields that are critical to the nation’s economic and strategic interests, such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). It could also encourage universities to scale back their administrative bloat and focus their resources on teaching and research.
From One College Closure A Month To 10
USA Today recently reported that one college has closed per week in America with Bloomberg expecting this to accelerate in 2025. With McMahon in charge, this will likely increase to 10 closures a month. How many school and college closures will it take until academics learn their lesson and change their ways? A lot.
The elitism and arrogance are that high. The only solution is for the academic elites to cave and to finally start teaching in demand skills and business skills. Imagine schools and colleges only receiving public funding if their students get hired into careers that use their degrees after graduating. Innovation and progress in America would explode.
McMahon’s focus on accountability, efficiency, and outcomes is likely to expose the inefficiencies and excesses of higher education, forcing universities to confront their own shortcomings.
For students, taxpayers, and the nation as a whole, this is a welcome development.
For university leaders, it is a nightmare scenario.
While university leaders may resist these changes, their opposition only underscores the need for reform. When they push back, McMahon and her team must push harder.
For those entrenched in the failing status quo, it is a cause for fear—and rightly so. Change is coming in academia, finally.
Dr. Isaiah Hankel is a 3X Best-Selling Author and CEO of Cheeky Scientist.
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