US Higher Education Delivers Huge Economic Benefits. Will Politics Endanger it?
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Navigating Washington: Insights for Business

US Higher Education Delivers Huge Economic Benefits. Will Politics Endanger it?

28 April 2025 / Brief

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On April 23, the President signed an executive order targeting the accreditation process for universities and colleges in the United States. This move comes after weeks of actions against a variety of institutions such as Harvard and Columbia University over campus protests, perceived antisemitism, and diversity, equity & inclusion programs. 

Why it matters: Institutions of higher education have long been the basis for significant research programs in the areas of medicine, physics, and applied sciences. In fact, many of the recent innovations benefiting millions of Americans such as mRNA vaccines originated in university and college labs.

In addition, US institutions of higher learning are a significant exporter of education to the rest of the world, attracting 1.1 million international students that have a combined economic impact of roughly

Author

Alexander Heil, PhD

Alexander Heil, PhD

Senior Economist

Read BioAlexander Heil, PhD

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