by Susan Van Gelder

In Florida colleges biology is now destiny

Florida handed its 28 public community colleges a new whitewashed required curriculum for introductory sociology and has issued a heavily-edited version of the standard textbook. It demands that “the courses do not ‘include a curriculum that teaches identity politics’ or one that ‘is based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, and economic inequities.’”

‘CENSORING INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL’

Robert Cassanello, an associate professor of history at the University of Central Florida and president of the United Faculty of Florida union, stated that sociology professors so far have received only verbal instructions on using the curriculum, which he believes shows the state is trying to avoid a lawsuit. Union members view the curriculum and text book as censored instructional material.

Among the nine prohibited discussion topics, one supports Boy Wonder Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s goal to keep women out of combat because he says they are less capable than men. Sociology courses may not discuss whether differences between men and women are learned behaviors. Others prohibit discussions of institutional sexism and racism, intentional or unintentional.

The state could have saved a lot of time and money. Instead of issuing a bleached curriculum, they could have simply assigned elementary-school readers like Fun With Dick and Jane and television sit-coms aired before “All in the Family” broke racial barriers and stereotypes.

Essential but ‘non-professional’ students devalued

The Federal Student Loan Program has capped the amount that students may borrow: $200,000 for professional education and $100,000 for training programs considered non-professional. Launched on Feb. 10, the Alliance for Healthcare Access and Workforce Development is composed of a variety of professional associations, colleges and universities, health systems and patient advocacy groups. Their goal is to head off a loan-limit policy that could have disastrous implications for the medical field.

“Federal student loan policy should strengthen, not weaken, the education pipeline into essential health-care professions,” said Katie Jordan, CEO of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), the group that spearheaded the alliance.

Only eleven degree programs are considered professional. The legislation also ended the Grad PLUS program, which allowed students to borrow up to the cost of attendance.

Abe Saffer, Legislative Representative for the Coalition, cited the University of Oklahoma’s doctor of occupational therapy program. “The tuition itself is $21,000 or $22,000 a year… But the University of Oklahoma specifically has an estimated cost of attendance based on full-time attendance: students in this field cannot work and go to school at the same time. Realistically, to earn this degree, $22,000 tuition turns into roughly $60,000 of cost.”

Saffer explained that with costs higher and fewer students, ultimately many programs will close, “And the students that do graduate are going to have far higher debt and far higher loan payments” and will seek positions that pay better, increasing a severe shortage in a field with high burnout rates.

The new federal definition of “professional education” also affects education degrees. Loan caps disrespect educators, and the National Education Association (NEA) is resisting the non-professional designation for training teachers and specialists like counselors, speech therapists and nurses. The Department of Education denied that nurses were considered non-professional, but claimed in December 2025 that the rules were not yet finalized.

Colleges to value academic disciplines by grad earnings

The earnings test known as Do No Harm in Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” cuts off federal loans for students in college programs whose graduates earn less than the average salary for a high school graduate, $35,000 in Indiana.

Besides the loss of federal loans for these students, Indiana’s Senate Bill 199 would end such programs entirely at public universities and Ivy Tech Community College. Furthermore, associate programs must produce specified minimum numbers of students over three years in order to remain viable. Bills filed in Nebraska and New Hampshire would similarly expand the penalty for failing the federal test.

“This is a form of academic Stalinism,” said Rep. Ed DeLaney, a member of Indiana’s House Education Committee. “… the bill would end programs entirely, even for people who know the risks [of borrowing for college] or have enough money to not care. They’re going to command us to do that which is best for us. It is command and control over our universities.”

The programs projected to fail include Ball State University’s bachelor’s degree in dance, Indiana University at Bloomington’s bachelor’s in music, Ivy Tech Community College’s associate degree in library and archives assisting, IU Northwest and Purdue University Northwest’s bachelor’s degrees in English language and literature, Purdue Northwest’s bachelor’s in computer software and media applications, the University of Southern Indiana’s master’s degree in mental and social health services and allied professions, and Ivy Tech’s associate in teacher education and professional development.

GOVERNMENT NOW DECIDES WHAT STUDENTS STUDY

Several Indiana universities have planned to eliminate or consolidate more than 400 programs—roughly one-fifth of their degree offerings statewide, including K–12 teacher training programs, foreign languages, Africana, religious and women’s and gender studies degrees, and electrical, mechanical and computer engineering.

Noor O’Neill, president of the Indiana Conference of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and a tenured anthropology professor at Purdue–Fort Wayne, called the bill dismaying. “It goes against AAUP’s values that give faculty primary control over curriculum and trusts faculty to know what’s best for students and institutions in terms of curriculum.” O’Neil stressed that she was speaking for herself and the AAUP conference, not Purdue, and added that lawmakers “want to use numbers to determine” the future of “three-dimensional students.” She also blamed lawmakers for the low pay coming out of some of the programs on the chopping block, such as education.

State Representative DeLaney said the bill is a state power grab, a way for Republicans to attack universities without saying they’re doing so openly. He added that universities have willingly acquiesced.