Less Faith, More Access: State Policy Narratives and the Shifting Value of Higher Education

Public and political discourse in the United States increasingly questions the value of higher education. Yet, in apparent contradiction, more than 30 states have adopted tuition-free college programs aimed at expanding access to postsecondary education. This study investigates how state legislators discursively construct the value of higher education in legislative proceedings, particularly regarding promise program design and adoption. In two contrasting cases, New Mexico’s Opportunity Scholarship and West Virginia’s WV Invests, we apply critical discourse analysis to analyze how legislators define what college is, what purposes it should serve, what forms are worthy of investment, and for whom it should be accessible. Drawing on transcripts from 23 legislative deliberations spanning 2018–2024, our findings demonstrate how legislators in both states frame promise programs as “transformational” responses to economic challenges and broader social issues (e.g., poverty, crime, addiction), positioning these programs largely as tools of state economic development. Moreover, higher education is deemed “worthy” primarily when it yields measurable economic returns, thereby legitimating aspects that prioritize workforce-aligned credentials while devaluing fields perceived as less economically instrumental. Together, these findings illuminate how legislative discourse shapes postsecondary pathways by delimiting higher education’s purposes through the language of public investment.