There has been no shortage of predictions about what to expect under the administration of President-elect Donald J. Trump. But any forecast of how a man with no experience in elected office, no demonstrated interest in the process of policy making, and a record of contradictory and dishonest pronouncements will govern should be read with caution.
Anticipating Mr. Trump on higher-education policy may be especially fruitless. An October speech in which he sketched out a few higher-ed ideas was greeted with surprise — he had been almost silent on the topic until that late stage of the campaign. Mr. Trump’s pick to lead the Education Department, the billionaire charter-school advocate Betsy DeVos, has no background in higher education. That’s not unusual for education secretaries, but it means that her selection provides little additional insight into where the administration might go on higher ed.
