For years, the federal government has been pushing colleges and universities further and further into the fever swamps of the left. Suddenly, with the second Trump administration, the tide has changed. Going deeper into the swamp will get schools in trouble; moving back toward educational integrity will be rewarded.

In today’s Martin Center article, Rick Hess of AEI offers some advice for college presidents.

Hess writes:

. . . Change-minded leaders have an extraordinary opportunity. Those fighting for free inquiry, merit, and heterodoxy in higher education have grown accustomed to rowing against the tide. Well, the might of the federal government has just switched sides, and it will be demanding change rather than fortifying the status quo. Here are five suggestions for making the most of this opportunity.

All five are good. Schools should insist on an environment of free inquiry. They should abandon admission preferences. They should cut out needless administrators. They should focus on student outcomes. And, my favorite: get students back to work. Regarding that point, Hess states, “Campus leaders should beat the Trump administration to the punch and seize on this as a long-overdue opportunity to elevate workload expectations, ramp up course requirements, strengthen grading policies, and boost the amount of time faculty actually devote to teaching and mentoring their charges.”

Indeed so.