Accreditors Must Do More to “Be” About Student Success
Kernels of wisdom from some of Michale McComis’ favorite 1980s movies From the Karate Kid’s lessons on persistence to Ferris Bueller’s cautionary tale about student choices and the Princess Bride’s rollicking tale of love and rebellion, the 1980’s represent a marquee period of movie classics. Many offer axioms that can offer surprisingly useful guides for…
Read MoreOur Growing Network of Champions
The world of higher education and workforce is changing. But is federal policy keeping up? Across the country policymakers, practitioners and employers are working together toward the 21st-century system of higher learning today’s students deserve. Their expertise, knowledge, and insights are critical to informing federal policy changes. That’s why earlier this year, Higher Learning Advocates…
Read MoreIt’s Time to Change the Model for Regulating Educational Innovations
Change is inevitable. In the world of technologies, innovations come faster than we are able to follow. Think about what we can do now that we could not do ten years ago: smartphones are the norm (but they are really used more as cameras or computers than telephones), and high-speed internet is available for free…
Read MoreStudent Perspectives on Quality and Accountability
Washington D.C. policy experts, government officials, groups representing thousands of colleges nationwide, and dozens of other stakeholders have been debating how to evaluate and ensure the quality of educational programs and the government’s role in doing so for years. However, despite the high levels of time and money students invest in our postsecondary education system,…
Read MoreCollaboration in the Midst of Decentralization
In spite of having one of the country’s most decentralized higher education systems, New Mexico is not halting its progress towards improving higher education. The New Mexico Higher Education Department (NMHED) oversees the state’s 31 public higher education institutions (institutions), registers and licenses all of the approximately 70 private postsecondary institutions operating in the state…
Read MoreWhy Higher Education Needs a Quality Assurance Revolution
This year, U.S. student debt hit $1.5 trillion. Through federal student loans and grants, taxpayers underwrite the nation’s investment in higher education to the tune of $150 billion annually. But just one in three college students are confident they will graduate with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in a workplace, and a…
Read MoreReimagining the Triad: What Role for Business in Higher Education Quality Assurance?
Debates surrounding quality in higher education have been building steady momentum since the formation, deliberation, and recommendations delivered by the Spellings Commission a decade ago. In its wake, Republican and Democratic policymakers alike— in D.C. and in state capitals—have started to challenge the accreditor definition of quality, introducing stricter accountability rules and new performance metrics…
Read MoreSquaring the Circle for Adult Learners: How to Connect Prior Learning with the Liberal Arts
With the increase of adult learners in today’s higher education landscape, currently 27% of the undergraduate population, it is essential that colleges and universities meet both the unique educational needs of adult learners and maintain curricular quality. Fortunately, these two goals are neither mutually exclusive, nor are they incongruent with pathways we now see from…
Read MoreRenewing the Higher Education Accountability Coalition
Accountability is easy in the abstract. That’s true at the national level, it’s true at the state-level and it’s true at every college and university. When we keep it vague, the accountability coalition is a big tent. Everyone in public life favors ambitious goals and sensible reforms. But when you get down to the hard…
Read MoreHigher Education Act Reauthorization at 10: More Innovations Since 2008
What a difference ten years makes. Over ten years ago, on August 14, 2008, President George W. Bush signed into law the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act, the last comprehensive reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA). The world has changed a lot since then. In 2008, Facebook hadn’t rolled out its “Like” button, Netflix…
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