The “Mandate for Leadership 2025” was developed under the Project 2025 initiative led by The Heritage Foundation. It was created as a roadmap for a future conservative presidential administration. After the U.S. 2024 presidential election, this document is being discussed and it has created news and debates. It aims to guide governance across federal agencies, including a focus on education and higher education policy which I want to present here with special focus on higher education.

The document is a collective effort from over 400 contributors affiliated with conservative organizations, presenting recommendations for federal governance starting in 2025. The education-related sections focus on reversing perceived overreach of the federal government, emphasizing local control, parental rights, and accountability.

For K-12, it focuses on parental rights and curriculum transparency. It emphasizes parents as primary educators. It advocates for parental access to curricula and materials used in public schools. It opposes the teaching of critical race theory (CRT) and gender ideology in public schools, calling for federal restrictions on funding for such programs. Another area of focus relates to school choice. The document strongly supports universal school choice policies to allow federal education funding to follow students, including for charter, private, and homeschooling options. It also proposes the expansion of tax-credit scholarships and education savings accounts. As far as the federal role in education, the document argues for reducing the role of the Department of Education (DOE) by delegating more authority to state and local governments. It also seeks to enforce accountability for federally funded programs while limiting federal intrusion into local education systems. Finally, it calls for removal of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives from federal education funding mandates, and suggests a revision of federal policies to avoid prioritizing progressive social values in school programs.

I want to focus more on the higher education side and summarize the key areas from the document with the understanding that that the “Mandate for Leadership 2025” outlines a conservative vision for reforming post-secondary education in the U.S. It emphasizes increasing affordability, the enhancement of accountability, the promotion of academic freedom, fostering workforce readiness, the reduction of federal overreach, and the alignment with national priorities. Here is a summary delving deeper into the document’s recommendations and key strategic policies and proposals for higher education.

Affordability and Student Loan Reform

1. Reforming Federal Student Loans:
• Advocates limiting the expansion of federal student loans, citing concerns over rising tuition costs driven by the availability of federal aid.
• Proposes restructuring repayment terms to focus on borrower responsibility, including income-driven repayment options that incentivize timely repayment.
2. Restricting Loan Forgiveness:
• Opposes widespread student loan forgiveness programs, arguing they are inequitable to taxpayers and fail to address underlying issues such as institutional inefficiency and inflated tuition.
3. Encouraging Alternative Financing Models:
• Recommends promoting innovative funding mechanisms such as income-share agreements (ISAs), where students repay a percentage of their income post-graduation.
• Supports private-sector solutions to reduce reliance on federal loans and grants.

Accountability in Higher Education

1. Performance-Based Funding:
• Suggests tying federal funding to measurable outcomes such as job placement rates, graduation rates, and alignment with workforce needs.
• Advocates increased transparency from institutions regarding tuition costs, degree completion rates, and graduate earnings.
2. Oversight of Title IV Funding:
• Recommends stricter oversight of institutions participating in Title IV federal aid programs to ensure funds are being used effectively.
• Calls for disqualification of institutions failing to demonstrate value to students and taxpayers.
3. Encouraging Innovation and Efficiency:
• Supports initiatives to streamline degree pathways, reduce time-to-degree, and integrate work-based learning opportunities to improve student outcomes.
• Promotes competency-based education models that allow students to progress based on mastery rather than time spent in class.

Academic Freedom and Campus Climate

1. Protecting Free Speech and Intellectual Diversity:
• Prioritizes enforcing policies that protect free speech and combat “cancel culture” on college campuses.
• Proposes denying federal funding to institutions that suppress dissenting viewpoints or fail to uphold academic freedom.
2. Combating DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) Mandates:
• Calls for removing DEI requirements in federal funding, arguing these policies often stifle free thought and promote ideological conformity.
• Suggests revising federal grant and research guidelines to exclude DEI-focused criteria.
3. Reforming Accreditation:
• Proposes revising the higher education accreditation process to focus on institutional performance and accountability rather than adherence to progressive social mandates.
• Encourages alternative accreditation pathways to foster competition and innovation in higher education.

Workforce Development and Alignment

1. Focusing on Workforce Outcomes:
• Recommends aligning higher education funding and curricula with national workforce needs, particularly in STEM fields, manufacturing, and skilled trades.
• Supports expanded partnerships between colleges and employers to provide students with hands-on training and clear career pathways.
2. Promoting Technical and Community Colleges:
• Encourages investment in community colleges and technical programs that provide cost-effective education and meet local and national labor demands.
• Suggests reallocating resources from underperforming four-year institutions to vocational and technical education.

Research Priorities

1. Federal Research Funding:
• Supports maintaining strong federal investment in research and development but prioritizes areas aligned with national interests such as defense, technology, and energy.
• Recommends eliminating funding for research deemed politically motivated or not directly beneficial to public welfare.
2. Promoting Innovation:
• Advocates fostering university partnerships with private industry to accelerate the translation of research into practical applications and economic growth.
• Encourages STEM-focused research programs to maintain U.S. competitiveness on the global stage.

Cultural and Institutional Reforms

1. Reinforcing American Values:
• Proposes federal initiatives to promote civics education and strengthen students’ understanding of American history, constitutional principles, and free-market economics.
• Suggests creating incentives for programs that cultivate a strong national identity and civic responsibility.
2. Reducing Bureaucracy:
• Calls for reducing administrative overhead in higher education, arguing that bloated bureaucracy contributes to rising costs and detracts from academic priorities.
• Encourages streamlining federal reporting requirements to allow institutions to focus more on student outcomes.
3. Reevaluating Federal Oversight:
• Supports reducing the federal government’s influence over higher education to empower states and local entities to set policies tailored to their populations.

By focusing on these priorities, the report envisions a restructured higher education system that serves students effectively, supports national interests, and reflects core conservative values. According to the authors, this approach emphasizes returning to foundational principles of accountability, freedom, and efficiency in federal higher education policy.