Higher education is an industry like any other–many institutions becoming “not-for-profit” in name only–with a laser-like focus on currying favor with the federal government.
Practically, that means an army of lobbyists. Only the pharmaceutical and electronics industries have more lobbyists than the 1,020 of them employed by higher education institutions, according to The Wall Street Journal.
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While that can ensure federal funding, it threatens to corporatize higher education, silence concerns of students and faculty, and prevent agenda-setting from any group outside college administrators.
That dominance and overall representation means that it can be difficult for elected officials to go against the grain of the status quo. Higher education policies that college administrators want have powerful advocates around Washington.
In practice, that has made it difficult to pass legislation or rules for more accountability. As ProPublica noted, an aversion to accountability has led to an alliance between traditional institutions and for-profit colleges.
When $150 billion is at stake annually for higher education, hiring a lobbyist can be seen as a prudent move for the long-term solvency of a university.
Nor has this lobbying been unknown. As far back as a decade ago, Inside Higher Ed reported on the $95 million higher education funneled into lobbying activities. That effort has paid off, as federal spending has surpassed state spending in funding higher education, thanks to Pell Grants, student loans, and other funding sources.
Higher education has been on a long shift from a focus on students or faculty to one focused on the whims of administrators. That has caused and exacerbated various problems, from students picking majors without an eye toward future income to universities being more concerned with their prestige than their quality of graduates.
With the dominance of lobbyists for higher education, any push to improve a school for students or faculty has to fight odds that verge on the insurmountable. If administrators fear more accountability, or, for instance, responsibility for student loan defaults, a cadre of folks are available to fight new rules or legislation.
To be sure, lobbying isn’t an unmitigated evil. The greatest danger from lobbying in higher education is the perpetuation of a broken system. Input from higher education lobbyists can pick out some legitimately harmful actions from the federal government. The costs, however, of the approach, and the overall strength of their lobbyists, give cause for concern to anyone outside the higher education norm.
