What a Kamala Harris presidency could mean for college students, higher education

Vice President Kamala Harris is now the official nominee for the Democratic Party as the 2024 presidential election fast approaches.

Given President Joe Biden's late exit from the presidential race, her rise as a candidate has been rapid, and more details about her official policy positions will likely come to light in the coming weeks and months.

Still, with six years as California's attorney general, four years as a U.S. senator, and nearly four years as the vice president, Harris already has a track record on important issues impacting current, future, and former college students.

BestColleges reports on where Harris stands on key higher education policies ahead of the Democratic National Convention in mid-August.

A History of Backing Tuition-Free College

Harris was one of five original co-sponsors of the College for All Act of 2017.

The bill, proposed by independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, would have made all four-year public colleges and universities tuition-free for anybody making less than $125,000 per year. It would also have made public community college tuition-free for people of all incomes.

The College for All Act failed during that congressional session.

Still, Harris has continued to push for the proposal. She outlined an identical plan to Sanders' during the 2020 vice presidential debate.

The Biden-Harris administration has repeatedly introduced free community college proposals since entering the White House in 2021. Biden's 2024 budget proposal included two potential plans for free community college: one costing $90 billion and the other $500 million. Both have stalled.

Support for Student Loan Debt Forgiveness

The Biden-Harris administration has forgiven $168.5 billion in federal student loans since taking office in January 2021.

While President Biden has been the figurehead of loan forgiveness, reports suggest Harris may have played a significant role behind the scenes. A May 2022 report from Politico stated that the vice president was at odds with Biden because Harris wanted to forgive more loans than Biden was originally willing to concede.

"Privately, Harris has advocated for additional loan forgiveness," Politico reported.

"One White House source said her office seemed initially eager to participate in the administration's public dialogue around student loans. But conscious of progressives pushing Biden to unilaterally cancel tens of thousands of dollars in student debt and that Biden is resisting such lobbying, the vice president has been increasingly wary of becoming part of the public face of the administration's response."

Biden ultimately settled on a plan to forgive $10,000 for borrowers making less than $125,000 per year and $20,000 if the borrower received a Pell Grant while in college. The U.S. Supreme Court eventually blocked this from taking effect.

The Department of Education (ED) also credited Harris' work as the former attorney general of California when it erased $5.8 billion in loans for former students of Corinthians Colleges. Harris sued Corinthians in 2013 for deceptive advertising.

Crackdown of For-Profit Colleges, Universities

Harris seems poised to continue Biden's crackdown on "predatory" for-profit colleges and universities.

Biden has wiped nearly $29 billion in federal student loan debt for former students of many for-profit institutions. Sometimes these cancellations came through borrower defense to repayment claims, but not always.

Harris entered the White House with a track record of prosecuting for-profit colleges and universities.

In her lawsuit against Corinthians Colleges in 2013, Harris claimed the owning company engaged in "false and predatory advertising, intentional misrepresentations to students, securities fraud, and unlawful use of military seals in advertisements." She added that the company targeted low-income Californians through its "predatory scheme."

Harris' office obtained a $1.1 billion judgment in the case in March 2016.

"As attorney general of California, I took on one of our country's largest for-profit colleges and put it out of business," Harris said in a July 22 speech. "Donald Trump ran a for-profit college, Trump University, that was forced to pay $25 million to the students it scammed."

Harris also investigated Bridgepoint Education, the operator of Ashford University, in 2013.

Jason Altmire, president and CEO of Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU), said Harris' track record could bring the for-profit industry into the limelight during the election. While the industry typically isn't a hot-button election issue, 2024 could be different.

"She may raise the visibility of the issue," Altmire told BestColleges.

CECU represents and advocates on behalf of many for-profit colleges and universities.

Title IX Changes on the Horizon?

Harris was not a fan of Title IX changes instituted during former President Donald Trump's administration in 2019.

Then-Sen. Harris co-signed a letter urging ED to rescind its proposed rule. The rule required colleges and universities to hold hearings to decide sexual harassment claims, among other changes to the student reporting process.

"We urge you to listen to students, schools, and survivors across this country, abandon this harmful proposal, and start over in order to draft a rule consistent with the requirements in Title IX that truly addresses the scourge of sexual assault in our classrooms, on our campuses, and wherever our students live and learn," senators wrote at the time.

The Biden-Harris administration has already instituted new rules reversing many of the Trump-era Title IX policies.

However, those changes were made through negotiated rulemaking, a process that allows agencies like ED to modify regulations based on laws passed by Congress. The Supreme Court's recent overturning of the Chevron doctrine puts many regulatory changes in doubt, including the new Title IX rule.

A Harris presidency may, therefore, prioritize enshrining its Title IX policy through legislation.

Advocacy for HBCUs

The president of Delaware State University and president emerita of Tennessee State University — two historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) — made their thoughts on the administration's prioritization of HBCUs clear in a July 22 letter to Biden and Harris.

"While many have suggested that they comprehend the importance of America's HBCUs, no administration, and we do mean NO administration — in the history of our republic — has done more for HBCUs than the Biden-Harris administration," Tony Allen and Glenda Glover wrote.

The letter added that the federal government has invested $17 billion into HBCUs since the start of 2021.

Harris, herself an HBCU alum of Howard University, has been a leading figure in those investments. In a May statement, she touted the administration's track record thus far.

"This historic investment is transformative — from helping to fund cutting-edge research and making long-overdue renovations, to providing mental health resources and ensuring students have access to every opportunity to thrive," she said.

"As a proud graduate of Howard University, I know firsthand that our HBCUs are centers of academic excellence."

A Harris presidency will likely see her continue these investments, if not build on them.