During the 2024 campaign, candidate Donald Trump proposed establishing an American Academy to offer a tuition-free undergraduate education in competition with existing universities. Trump envisioned an online-only university that would be financed by the excise tax currently imposed upon the endowment earnings of existing colleges.
Since 2017, an excise tax of 1.4% on endowment income has been levied on universities that have at least 500 tuition-paying students and net assets of at least $500,000 per student. Since Cornell’s endowment per student is $385,000, it does not pay this tax, while about 56 other universities paid $380 million in 2023.
The “Big Beautiful Bill” reconciliation act would increase the excise tax rate by adding tiers at 7%, 14% and a top rate of 21% of endowment income. The Joint Committee on Tax estimates that if the new rates take effect in 2026, they would raise an additional $6.7 billion in revenue for Uncle Sam through fiscal 2034. However, this amendment would not earmark the excise tax to fund the American Academy.
When announcing the American Academy, then-candidate Trump said, “We will take the billions and billions of dollars that we will collect by taxing, fining, and suing excessively larger private university endowments, and we will then use that money to endow a new institution called the American Academy.”
Trump envisioned an online institution: “This institution will gather an entire universe of the highest quality educational content, covering the full spectrum of human knowledge and skills, and make that material available to every American citizen online for free.” Other than the campaign website, the Trump Administration has not released any details about this project.
Most colleges maintain accreditation in order to be eligible for federal assistance, including Pell Grants and student loans. The U.S. Department of Education licenses and monitors the accrediting agencies. Depending on the accreditation agency, online classes may require in-person supervised testing or a minimum amount of facilities or library resources. However, the American Academy proposal seems to include a set of mandates that make outside accreditation unnecessary. Instead, the American Academy would create its own internal standards for excellence and for educational effectiveness. Although there are a number of fully-accredited online undergraduate degree programs now, the American Academy could offer a better education, but with free tuition.
Multiple mainstream news sites, such as Forbes, have expressed doubt over Trump’s commitment to this idea. They have suggested that it may have been an empty promise at the time it was announced (November 2023), and is almost certainly out of the works now. This idea would mesh with the lack of communication regarding this subject from the administration.
However, there is still a possibility that this project will come to fruition. The American Academy would fundamentally challenge the value proposition offered by Ivy League universities, so The Cornell Review would like to hear from you as to what variations you would propose to this project to improve it based upon your own Ivy League experience:
Physical footprint. In order to deter fraud, the American Academy would need in-person offices for testing centers, counseling, and tutoring workshops. Given the amount of federal office space currently being found surplus by DOGE and GSA, space in every state could be repurposed for the American Academy.
In Person Semester. Given the bot fraud, where AI programs are passing themselves off as students, the American Academy should insist on at least one semester of in-person attendance. (This could be waived if a student passes a background check and has an existing career.) During this semester, a student can take any remedial classes needed to make up for deficiencies in high school preparation, attend classes in critical thinking, civics, and writing workshops. The American Academy can purchase a number of abandoned college campuses, including Wells College, for this purpose.
Instant Name Recognition Through Sports. The American Academy has the financial capacity to field the best coaches and players that money can buy, particularly in football and men’s basketball. Accordingly, the American Academy should join one of the power four conferences and also arrange with President Trump to compete for the “Commander-in-Chief Trophy” against the Air Force, West Point, and Naval academies. Receiving free tickets to the American Academy’s varsity games would be a great incentive to enroll. The American Academy could also offer a Sprint Football Team for smaller athletes.
ROTC. Although the American Academy will be spread out throughout the nation, the American Academy should make cross-enrollment arrangements with ROTC units in each state to allow its students to participate in ROTC locally, as an option.
Medical School. The number of medical school applicants far exceeds the number of seats in United States medical schools, and a large number of foreign medical graduates practice in the United States. To address this, Congress established the Uniform Services University of the Health Sciences, which provides a medical education for those who make a commitment to serve in the military or the Public Health Service. A second such tuition-free institution (for students committed to work in Veterans Administration hospitals) could be funded as a part of the American Academy.
Trade Schools. On Memorial Day, May 28, President Trump posted on Truth Social:
“I am considering taking Three Billion Dollars of Grant Money away from a very antisemitic Harvard, and giving it to TRADE SCHOOLS all across our land. What a great investment that would be for the USA, and so badly needed!!!”
While this comment was specific research grants already allocated to Harvard, both the American Academy proposal or a trade schools proposal would require additional legislation from Congress to implement. Both call into the question the fundamental business model of elite research universities such as Harvard.
What do you think? Please send your suggestions to this form.
