There has rarely been a period in American history during which the federal government has undergone such dramatic change in so short a time as the period in which we currently live. We are now roughly four weeks into the second Trump administration, and the consequent top-down shakeup of the federal government has been nothing short of nightmarish.
Over the last month, Donald Trump has authorized his right-hand man, Elon Musk, to bulldoze his way through the federal government via his not-at-all-stupidly-named DOGE — or Department of Government Efficiency — purging any government agency that remotely stands in the way of their political agenda. The level of federal dismemberment that has taken place under the current administration, choreographed by the mercurial whims of an unelected billionaire, is truly unprecedented in American history.
So far, this partisan witch hunt (ring a bell?) has included terminating thousands of federal employees across all sections of the US government whose fireable offenses range from promoting DEI initiatives to conducting investigations of Trump prior to his second assumption of office. The United States Agency for International Aid (USAID), whose work consisted of providing humanitarian assistance to 160 countries, was gutted this last week. So was the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), responsible for regulating financial products and services. Now, Trump and Musk are turning to their next target of federal downsizing: the Department of Education (DOE).
Trump and Musk are currently moving to close the DOE, a government agency which the Republican party has increasingly accused of promoting “woke” ideology and inculcating liberal ideas in schoolchildren. Conservative politicians in America have long promised to shut down the Department of Education since its founding in 1979; however, the bureau has not faced such an existential threat as now.
Abolishing the DOE would have substantial ramifications for schools across the US, but would be particularly disastrous for higher education and the provision of financial aid. The responsibilities of the DOE include but are not limited to:
- Overseeing federal student loan programs.
- Administering Pell grants that are vital for the ability of low-income students to attend universities.
- Delegating federal work-study programmes for college students, which provide a crucial source of income to assist with tuition costs.
Millions of college students across the U.S., especially first-generation and low-income students, rely on this aid to be able to attend college.
For Duke in particular, the severance of this federal-sponsored financial aid would potentially upend student life if the university is not prepared for this incoming loss of funds. Student loans, Pell grants and federal work-study are all DOE-delegated forms of financial assistance that enable a significant amount of the Duke student body to be able to attend the school. 51% of Duke undergraduates receive some form of financial aid, a substantial portion of which is federally provided and is imperative to fulfilling Duke’s guarantee to meet 100% of demonstrated undergraduate financial need.
Duke students benefit from every type of DOE-administered aid. 22% of current first-year students are eligible to receive Pell grants, a figure which has doubled from the percentage of eligible first-years 2 years ago. Many students utilize Duke’s federal work-study program, which typically offers up to $2,200 in wages earnings to assist with tuition payments, 75% of which is covered by the federal government. The $5,000 loan that most Duke students receive in their aid offers is lent from the DOE.
An impending shutdown of the Department of Education would likely imperil all of the above types of financial aid offerings for Duke students, and would put a stop plug in this incoming source of aid. The question now becomes: Who is going to compensate for this?
Over the last couple of decades, we have seen a frustrating pattern of colleges footing the bill for expenses incurred onto students through tuition increases. If Duke incurs a massive loss of revenue resulting from a DOE shutdown, it’s possible that students will be looking at even greater increases in tuition to make up for it.
If the DOE were to be abolished and Duke is not adequately prepared, it would portend an untold degree of harm for vast swathes of the Duke student body. Low-income students would have far fewer options for affording tuition given a drying up of grants and loans under a DOE shutdown, which are vital for allowing them to attend Duke. But middle-class students may be burdened most of all. While Duke may be unlikely to increase tuition for low-income students, it may do so for the middle class ones, who frequently get the worst of both worlds when it comes to paying for college, receiving less financial aid while being unable to fully pay for the exorbitant cost of attending Duke.
An incoming severance of federal funds could also render further inequality among Duke’s student body if proper preparations are not taken. Duke already lags behind other sister institutions when it comes to socioeconomic diversity. A 2023 New York Times article found that Duke enrolls notably fewer low-income students than other prestigious universities, performing at a comparatively disappointing level.
To give credit where credit is due, since the release of the article, Duke has taken steps to enroll more low-income students, such as the Initiative for Students from the Carolinas and the aforementioned doubling in Pell grant eligibility. But this hard-earned progress could soon be erased if the DOE goes under.
Duke must take steps to prepare for a future without a DOE to ensure that its students are not forced to shoulder the financial burden of a federal fallout. We are extremely fortunate to have a wealth of resources and a bloated endowment of nearly $12 billion, and, therefore, there is no reason Duke students should suffer the consequences of Trump and Musk’s governmental malpractice. After all, what is the point of having such a large endowment if we don’t employ it in emergency situations like this?
Duke, and institutions of higher education across the country for that matter, may soon face a critical juncture of defining their future of financial provision and proving if they are capable of being economically self-sufficient. The incoming threat from the Trump administration is looming, and preparatory arrangements must be made now. We are potentially staring down the barrel of a world of post-government-support for higher education, leaving students and universities to fend for themselves. And this extends beyond just financial aid. I haven’t even mentioned, for example, Trump’s recent moves to gut research funding, which would cause unknown harm to Duke and the research triangle.
In the midst of this frightening uncertainty, Duke should be ready to stand firm in solidarity with its students and demonstrate that, in the face of adversity, it is willing and able to carry out the charge of providing education for which it is entrusted, and for which it is so well endowed. The future of our students, and institution, depends on it.
Leo Goldberg is a Trinity first-year. His pieces typically run on alternate Mondays.
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