Government Relations Archive

On Tuesday, September 26, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings spoke at the National Press Club about the recommendations put forth by the Commission on the Future of Higher Education.

Spellings listed five specific actions she plans to take immediately:

-Expand the No Child Left Behind "effective principles" to high schools. Congress has failed to carry this out in two budget cycles. Secretary Spellings believes the Commission's work can demonstrate the large number of high school graduates who are unprepared for college level work and push Congress to action.

-Seek federal funds to test a prototype unit record database that is currently being developed by the Department of Education's research division. The prototype would use student identification numbers instead of Social Security numbers to link students with their information.

-Streamline the financial aid process by cutting the application time in half and notifying students of their aid eligibility earlier than the spring of their senior year so that families are better able to plan.

-Propose that Congress provide matching funds to institutions of higher education that collect and publicly report data on student learning outcomes.

-Convene accreditors and other higher education policymakers in November to push the nation's accreditation system away from the "emphasis on inputs toward measures that place more emphasis on learning.

The Department is holding regional public hearings across the country (which began last month) to discuss how the Commission's recommendations can be adopted administratively. The Department will then use the negotiated rulemaking process and federal legislation to carry out the Commission's recommendations.

Read AGB's (Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges) response to the Spellings report:

http://www.agb.org/user-assets/newsletters/2006/alerts/spellings.html

Read NAICU's (The National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities) response to Spellings' speech:

http://www.naicu.edu/news/releases/9-26-06SpellingsSpeechStatement.shtm

The Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions also weighed in. In a letter dated September 26, the Council's Chair writes "regional accreditors have been much more innovative and supportive of institutional innovations than the report acknowledges. The regional accreditors also believe their work has had more public input than the report acknowledges."

The response goes on to say that "regional accreditation standards must retain flexibility in order to implement the critical public policy agendas set by legislators for diversity, innovation, and international competitiveness within the context of the diverse types of institutions we accredit."

Last week, the House of Representatives approved an extension of the Higher Education Act by voice vote. The bill temporarily extends the programs under the HEA through June 30, 2007. This action makes it highly unlikely that the HEA will be reauthorized this year.