Diversity, equity, inclusion course mandates cost taxpayers nearly $2 billion nationwide: study
A new report claims that state taxpayers and undergraduate students are being forced to subsidize diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) course mandates at public universities across the nation, costing nearly $2 billion.
The Goldwater Institute report stated students and state taxpayers are paying for DEI general education course mandates of $1.8 billion in tuition and state appropriations over each four-year period.
The report goes on to say that the undergraduate student population at public universities spent at least 40 million student hours satisfying DEI general education course requirements.
Many proponents of DEI argue that the effort corrects historical injustices and systemic inequities. However, conservatives say that it promotes division instead, and DEI initiatives have been under intense scrutiny over the past year and scaled back by several major companies.
Furthermore, the report cites examples of courses offered at universities that promote DEI or explore intersectionality and racial, gender, and sexual identity.
Per the Goldwater Institute, "With faculty governing bodies having abdicated their responsibility to promote intellectual inquiry free of ideological coercion—and university regents opting to ignore this development—state lawmakers now have an obligation to their taxpayers and students to intervene."
Fox News Digital previously reported on DEI being curbed at the University of Michigan after officials reviewed its impact on the campus community. The University of Michigan Board of Regents, which has a 6-2 Democratic majority, has also had discussions about the future of the bureaucracy associated with DEI initiatives at the university.
Several other public universities last year rolled back their DEI initiatives and requirements.