89Received 31.01.2024. Revised 13.03.2024. Accepted 01.04.2024.
Abstract. The article examines a complex of different types of problems that the Joe Biden administration faced when pursuing a course in the field of education, identifies painful points in its system, shows the ratio of successes and failures in educational policy and the extent to which the White House has taken into account changes in the demand for graduates in the labor market USA and in the perception of young Americans about the value of a university. Higher education in this country is considered a source of pride and the key to unlocking the American Dream. American universities rank nineteenth out of the top thirty in the world’s university rankings, and nine of the most successful universities are located in this country. However, behind this facade lies the accumulation of financial, personnel, social and racial problems in educational institutions. An analysis is given of the decline in the attractiveness of college in the eyes of the younger generation of Americans, caused by some devaluation of the diploma on the labor market, the rising cost of education and the increase in student debt on loans. In turn, the factors for the high cost of education are: the cycle of supply and demand, inflation, bloated administrative, teaching staff and university staff, whose work is ultimately paid for out of the pockets of students and their parents. An alternative to college and university that offers a faster and much cheaper route to a career in the form of short-term online courses and technical education schools is becoming popular among a significant portion of the younger generation. A special section is devoted to the analysis of the political and intellectual movement called Critical Race Theory, which has penetrated the curriculum of schools and colleges in many American states and identified another line of division in American society.
Keywords: cost of education, student debt, short courses of education, jobs without a degree, culture wars
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