Latest
Op-Ed
|
May 20, 2026
Who Governs Public Universities (and Who Should)?
America’s public colleges and universities have lost their way.
Statement
|
May 19, 2026
AFPI Applauds Department of Education’s Finalized Workforce Pell Rule
The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) commends the U.S. Department of Education for finalizing the Workforce Pell Grant rule yesterday, a landmark step toward restoring opportunity, dignity, and economic mobility for millions of American workers shut out of the traditional four-year college pipeline.
Expert Insights
|
May 18, 2026
Governing Public Universities: How States Can Reassert Authority and Restore Trust
Upon taking office in January 2025, President Trump embarked on an ambitious higher education reform campaign. The urgency of this task was punctuated by the recent wave of antisemitic protests at elite universities. Yet that obscene spectacle was just one manifestation of a larger sickness—a rot eating away at the heart of U.S. institutions of higher education (IHEs).
Statement
|
May 11, 2026
New Rules from Ed to Simplify Student Loan Payments & Lower College Costs
AFPI has released the following statement from Dr. Michael A. Shires, vice chair for Education Opportunity, on the U.S. Department of Education’s newly released rules which intend to lower college costs and simplify student loan repayments.
State Testimony
|
March 19, 2026
Strengthening Pennsylvania’s Workforce in the Skilled Trades
The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan research institute. Our guiding principles are liberty, free enterprise, foreign-policy engagement in the American interest, freedom of conscience, and the primacy of American workers, families, and communities. To this end, AFPI affirms and celebrates the American experiment and works to promulgate American values in our educational institutions, public policy, and culture. We are committed to policies that prioritize American workers, foster economic independence, and promote practical training pathways to high paying jobs.
Experts on Post Secondary Education
Erika Donalds
Chair, Education Opportunity
Jay Menees, Ph.D.
Senior Policy Analyst, Higher Education and Economy & Trade Policy
Christopher Schorr, Ph.D.
Director of the Higher Education Reform Initiative
Michael Shires, Ph.D.
Vice Chair of Education Opportunity, Higher Education, and Senior Policy Officer
Jovan Tripkovic
Policy Analyst, Higher Education Reform Initiative
Videos
Selected...
A New Era for College Sports: The Saving College Sports Proposal Outshines the SCORE and SAFE Acts
Selected...
How Mississippi Beat the Odds: Gov. Tate Reeves on Literacy Reform and the School Choice Revolution
Selected...
Secretary McMahon, AFPI, TPUSA, & Partners Launch New Civics Coalition
Selected...
America First Unfiltered: Criminals Deported, AI in Classrooms, & DEI Dismantled
Selected...
America First Unfiltered: Trump Protects Social Security, Lowers Drug Costs & Deports Criminals
Selected...
AFPI Welcomes Erika Donalds as Chair of the Center for Education Opportunity and Chair of the AFPI-Florida State Chapter
Selected...
Riley Gaines Joins America First’s Athletes Coalition as Vice Chair
Selected...
Foreign Influence in the Academy: How U.S. Adversaries are Reshaping Elite Universities
Selected...
Combating Fentanyl in Schools
Selected...
Combating Fentanyl - The America First Action Plan
Selected...