Ideological Think Tanks and the Politics of College Affordability in the States

Americans are increasingly divided in their views on higher education, often in alignment with their political affiliations. This study examines how perspectives on one of the most pressing issues in higher education, college affordability, differ across political ideologies. For our analysis, we exploit an original dataset of text appearing on conservative and progressive think tanks’ official websites. Using these text data, we examine how progressive and conservative think tanks frame the issue of college affordability and how their views are similar and distinct across these ideological coalitions. Our findings reveal differences across coalitions with respect to who is responsible for the lack of college affordability (e.g., governments or higher education institutions) and regarding some proposed policy solutions. The greatest areas of convergence are on stated reasons why college affordability is a problem (i.e., the economic imperative) and on two proposed solutions: increasing financial aid and promoting community college enrollment. In light of emerging evidence of contrasting views on higher education across the ideological spectrum, this study illuminates not only differences but also areas of convergence on the issue of college affordability across coalitions. Thus, findings suggest possible avenues for ideologically neutral approaches to addressing the lack of college affordability.