As an immigrant to this great nation and a citizen by choice, I am reminded of those last six words in the Pledge of Allegiance that I recited at my naturalization ceremony: “with liberty and justice for all.” These six words resonate with me today as clear and compelling as they did in 1998. Especially…

My financial aid for my last year of college was drastically different than my first couple of years. For the first time, I owed the institution money. This change in aid hit me hard.  I made the decision to live off campus, instead of on-campus with a full meal plan like I had done previously.…

We are eleven years overdue for reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Many groups, from consumer advocates, to civil rights groups, to higher ed organizations, have called for a reauthorization that centers access, affordability and accountability. The question then becomes, how should this be done? As awareness of the $1.6 trillion student ...

After Michael Bloomberg released his higher education plan, Julie Peller, executive director of Higher Learning Advocates, commented on the plan’s recognition “that the demographics and needs of learners today have changed,” and commended it for including a focus on completion and earning outcomes for low-income students. Read the...

Last March, the Seattle Times ran a powerful joint opinion editorial cowritten by Microsoft’s president and chief legal officer, Brad Smith. Joining him were University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce and then-Vice Chairman of the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, Wayne Martin.  Their position: Let’s lift up W...

There is no shortage of reports on the future of work in a digital economy and others documenting the skills gap. PwC’s Talent Trends 2019 reports a steep increase in concerns among CEOs—to nearly three quarters—about the availability of skills and half reported that this gap is limiting innovation. Despite a dramatic increase in the…

Jose Thompson arrived at Miami Dade College in 2005, ready to pursue an associate degree. On a student visa from the Bahamas, his longtime dream was to go to pharmacy school in the US and return to the Bahamas to open his own pharmacy. But after the celebration for earning his associate degree quieted down,…

Here I lay on my pyre, contemplating change and my eventual rise. My rise was not certain because I was dying a slow death of isolation, shame, and the contempt that surrounded me.  Higher education saved my life. Access to higher education counteracts these circumstances and this is not an exaggeration. I challenge the reader…

As the presidential campaign of 2020 kicks into high gear, the stagnation of worker earnings in recent decades has drawn much attention and comment from the candidates. Yet, outside of advocating for a few trendy proposals like free college, the candidates have said little to date on how to improve education and skills, especially those…

Last year, JP Morgan Chase announced it would end its decades-long practice of on-campus recruiting. The news came at a time when many large companies like Apple, Google, and Netflix were announcing they would loosen or altogether scrap degree requirements for employees, and the investment bank’s announcement appeared to be yet another sign of fr...

Remember when your math teacher in grade school required you to “show your work,” so that they could see the steps you took to solve a problem?  Whether your answer was correct or incorrect, they could see the extent to which you had mastered the problem solving technique and identify areas where additional practice was…

The image of today’s students no longer fits the image from decades ago. Today’s students aren’t just fresh-faced 18-year-old teenagers who recently graduated from high school. In fact, 37 percent of today’s students are older than 25. Many adult students have different responsibilities—including work and family—on their path to a degre...