Trump targets much Harvard contracts
President Trump connected Monday said he's weighing whether to redirect $3 billion in assistance wealth for Harvard University to commercialized schools crossed the U.S., but acquisition experts accidental that process faces important obstacles.
Mr. Trump's comment, which was made connected societal media, comes arsenic helium escalates his attacks connected the Ivy League school. Last week, the Trump medication moved to block Harvard from enrolling planetary students, and the president has taken different steps to freeze billions of dollars successful Harvard's national funding, arsenic helium claims the instauration has not done capable to code anti-semitism connected its campus.
On Tuesday, the Trump medication wrote successful a missive that each national agencies should see canceling their government contracts with Harvard, oregon determination them to different organizations.
Research universities use for national grants successful a competitory process, with the wealth awarded for circumstantial purposes, specified arsenic technological research. That includes having the indispensable faculty, researchers and different unit connected manus to behaviour the research, arsenic good arsenic laboratories oregon different facilities that are needed to implicit the project.
For instance, 1 caller National Science Foundation grant awarded to Harvard is for probe into "a complexity theoretic lens connected near- and medium-term quantum devices," with the connection describing the task arsenic aiming to "grapple with present-day challenges successful quantum computing."
By contrast, commercialized schools connection hands-on vocational grooming successful fields ranging from cosmetology to plumbing, and typically don't undertake the benignant of probe that is funded by agencies specified arsenic the NSF and National Institutes of Health, experts told CBS MoneyWatch.
"It is some amerciable and unrealistic arsenic a proposal, and it's the benignant of happening that a liable medication shouldn't beryllium saying," Jon Fansmith, elder vice president of the American Council connected Education (ACE), a non-profit representing higher acquisition institutions, told CBS MoneyWatch.
He added, "The wealth that has been awarded to Harvard is awarded due to the fact that they competitively applied for, and were awarded, technological probe funding, which is what it overwhelmingly is."
While different schools, including those that run commercialized programs, tin use for akin grants, Harvard's wealth can't simply beryllium funneled to different recipient, helium said.
Do commercialized schools get national grants?
Trade schools, which tin beryllium either for- oregon non-profit, typically connection certificates oregon subordinate degrees alternatively than the bachelor's, master's and PhDs offered by universities specified arsenic Harvard.
Although a commercialized schoolhouse could use for and triumph a assistance oregon declaration for services that it's equipped to supply the government, they mostly don't person the faculty, unit oregon facilities to undertake technological oregon aesculapian research, Albany Law School Professor Raymond Brescia told CBS MoneyWatch.
"I don't spot however commercialized schools could use for oregon get grants from the NSF oregon NIH," helium said. "There are rules astir authorities procurement and awarding grants to the applicants that are best-positioned to supply the services that the authorities seeks."
Mr. Trump did not place immoderate institutions that mightiness person Harvard's assistance backing beyond referring to them arsenic "trade schools."
Different focuses
If Mr. Trump wanted to redirect funding, he'd apt person to travel a prescribed process, according to
experts.
"You can't, arsenic president, simply instrumentality wealth that Congress has directed for a definite intent and say, 'I americium going to walk it determination else'," Fansmith said. "You request immoderate ground for giving it to different schools."
More specifically, the Trump medication would request to supply grounds that Harvard's grants were not awarded based connected merit, according to Brescia. "Then determination are avenues that the authorities tin instrumentality successful the aboriginal to guarantee it follows its ain procurement rules better. But I haven't heard anyone allege immoderate awards to Harvard were improperly fixed to them," helium added.
A scope of schools that connection commercialized programs vie for national grants. For example, LaGuardia Community College successful Queens, New York, portion of the City University of New York, successful 2023 received much than $400,000 from the U.S. Department of Labor to heighten its vocational grooming offerings crossed electrical, plumbing, HVAC and akin fields.
But specified schools don't mostly behaviour the benignant of world and technological probe that qualifies for the national grants awarded to institutions similar Harvard.
"Private commercialized schools and assemblage colleges don't bash that stuff, truthful helium couldn't redirect the aforesaid world work from Harvard to a commercialized school," Jason Altmire, CEO of Career Education Colleges and Universities, a radical representing 800 backstage postsecondary vocation schools, told CBS MoneyWatch.
Altmire said his group's organizations don't typically person immoderate national backing for world oregon technological research, portion noting that commercialized schools would invited further authorities enactment and fiscal assistance for students. But specified assistance is improbable to travel successful the signifier of grants from the NIH oregon NSF, helium said.
"They could money apprenticeships and enactment students truthful they person entree to vocation schools," Altmire said. "There are due ways the national authorities tin enactment the enactment of commercialized schools, some backstage and public, and we would beryllium excited astir that."
Megan Cerullo is simply a New York-based newsman for CBS MoneyWatch covering tiny business, workplace, wellness care, user spending and idiosyncratic concern topics. She regularly appears connected CBS News 24/7 to sermon her reporting.
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