Last week's college admissions scandal, in which a number of rich and famous persons were convicted of paying bribes for test scores and athletic recommendations, came as little surprise to informed commentators. For years, elite private universities have privileged the progeny of the 1 percent in admissions through so-called "legacy preferences" which give an assist to the children of alumni as an incentive for alumni donations. Such favoritism not only rewards a demographic that is much wealthier and whiter than the general college-aged population but encourages "pay-to-play" contributions, in which generous donations by alumni billionaires are rewarded in kind by a child's admission.
In the words of education scholar Richard Kahlenberg, legacy preferences are nothing more than "affirmative action for the rich." As a policy that rewards money over (even the pretense of) merit, legacy preferences are grossly unfair and unjust.
And yet, despite coming under attack from voices across the political spectrum, colleges have made clear that legacy preferences are unlikely to go away anytime soon. The reason is simple: many private colleges (with the exception of scientific research institutions, like MIT and Caltech) rely on alumni donations for long-term financial stability.
As long as private universities remain private, untethered from permanent public support (or accountability), they'll have every incentive to indulge in a form of admissions apartheid, that they perceive to fulfill their bottom line.
Therefore, ending legacy preferences, and other preferences for the wealthy elite in university admissions may ultimately may require a more far-reaching policy: nationalization of private universities by the federal government.
Under government control, universities would gain a reliable funding source that would obviate universities' donations-driven groveling at the whimsy of wealthy alumni. As public institutions, the universities would likely receive greater scrutiny for employing policies that reward an inheritance (linked with privilege) over merit or need.
Nationalizing private universities would also make it easier for the federal government to implement the tuition-free higher education policies that have become the darling of Democratic presidential candidates. Acquiring control over some of the wealthiest non-profit endowments on the planet could provide a steady funding stream to offset a reduction in tuition revenue. Furthermore, both the government and universities would not need to bear the (monetary and transaction) costs of hiring "middlemen" to administer a government-funded tuition program.
I propose a takeover of private universities by the federal government, rather than the states (which currently manage public higher education), because only the former could achieve such a feat in a one-off event. A state-by-state process would require the buy-in of 27 Republican governors, loath to undertake any policy that smacks of socialism. Moreover, a federal takeover would produce the first national public university system in the country's history, eliminating current geographic disparities in students' access to higher education. While some state colleges (e.g. the UC and UofM systems) have a status comparable to the Ivy League, many fall far below the elite universities in terms of educational quality and research opportunities. Since most state colleges only offer reduced tuition to students from within the state, access to affordable, quality education is currently a lottery based on one's residence. A national university system, with subsidized or free tuition, would do away with this arbitrary stratification.
Finally, and less tangibly, nationalized higher education would diminish any prestige dividends perceived from private college attendance. Wealthier parents in the know could have less incentive to use their money and networks to finagle their kids' entry into "Ivy League" or "Ivy Plus" schools,
Just as the United States is an outlier (among the industrial economies) when it comes to the cost of higher education, its an outlier in terms of its extensive private education structure (even foreign universities as prestigious as Oxford are public). Progress on the latter front can lead to progress on the former, while reducing class and race-based segregation.
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