Biden’s policies leave a “complicated legacy” for higher education in the US

Outgoing US President Joe Biden left office, with the lingering effect of his student debt forgiveness scheme leaving a “complicated legacy” for higher education in the US.

Despite repeated challenges and blocks by the courts, Biden succeeded in cancelling around $183 billion (£150 billion) in student debt. In his ultimate week of presidency, he forgave an additional 150,000 student loans, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to approximately 5 million.

Progress on other key education policies, however, was less evident. Biden’s efforts to expand Title IX protections against sexual discrimination to include LGBTQIA+ students faced significant backlash, including the loss of votes in the 2024 presidential election. Earlier, Title IX was halted in 26 states by Republican opposition and later terminated nationwide after a federal judge ruled it exceeded presidential authority.

“President Biden is likely to have a complicated legacy on higher education that is interpreted differently across the political spectrum.”

Robert Kelchen, professor of educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Tennessee

According to experts, Biden’s higher education policies are likely to be received along partisan lines. While Republicans have largely criticized Biden’s actions as “illegal” due to the scale of debt forgiveness, Democrats claim that he failed to achieve enough.

Robert Kelchen, professor of educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, told Times Higher Education: “President Biden is likely to have a complicated legacy on higher education that is interpreted differently across the political spectrum.”

John Thelin, emeritus university research professor at the University of Kentucky, highlighted the political implications of Biden’s student loan forgiveness programs. “The balance sheet is [that] Biden gains a substantial amount of goodwill and sighs of relief, but not a seismic shift in political party affiliation and voting,” he said.

According to Thelin, Biden’s policies may help the Democrats retain younger voters and prevent defections to the Republicans. However, he adds, it is still unlikely that forgiving a vast amount of student debt will gain the Democratic Party a lot of new voters.