In September 2005, Department of Education Secretary Margaret Spellings created the Commission on the Futrue of Higher Education (PDF) to “deveop a comprehensive strategy for postsecondary education that would better serve Americans and address the economic and workforce needs for our nation’s future.” She wished to see three key areas addressed: accessibility, affordability and this presidency’s favorite keyword, accountability.
Through No Child Left Behind, the Department of Education has successfully hindered the progress many schools were making toward greater proficiency. As an article on Law.com states, “the statute’s actual effects on public schools seem to be detrimental with the potential to become devastating.” So we are going to extend these same principles to high school, and to colleges and universities which have long been viewed as the best in the world.
In her remarks at the National Press Club, Spellings rightly points out the historic strengths of our largely private university system. The best isn’t quite good enough, however. And a changing job market along with improvements other nations are making in their university systems is enough to warrant the oversight of the central government. Spellings lists three key problems which she feels the universities are not addressing on their own:
1. The cost of tuition has outpaced inflation, family income and even doubled the cost of health care.
Interestingly, Cato Institute education policy analyst Neal McCluskey points out that the source of this problem is the current, abundant financial aid available to students which is driving up the costs.
2. Only half of our students graduate on time.
This is an issue that I really have not understood since the beginning of these discussions surrounding higher ed. There are multiple reasons for not graduating “on time” or at all, few of which have anything to do with the colleges themselves. Some work and go to school part time, some find their jobs begin earning them enough that furthering their education seems pointless, some find they aren’t ready for college-level work and sometimes “life” just gets in the way and the schedule needs to be adjusted.
3. Students graduate saddled with debt.
This is a real problem, but whose responsibility is it? I began saving for college my sophomore year, worked through college and applied for every scholarship I was eligible for. My parents paid for the first year and I paid the rest with no loans, no financial aid and no debt. The financial decisions of private individuals are the right and responsibility of those private individuals, whether they choose to save, hold off on college or take out a loan.
Also remember the influence of the current, abundant financial aid available to students on this problem.
The reforms advocated by the Commission’s final report and reiterated by Spellings are sweeping and invasive:
Action One: Bring No Child Left Behind to high schools and aligning their standards with college work.
Action Two: Streamline the federal aid process. Depending on what is meant, streamlining could be good. But increasing any kind of aid will likely raise the costs of tuition as well. It also increases the involvement of the central government and adds more leverage to the third and most disconcerting of the plans laid out.
Action Three: The Department “will work to pull together the same kind of privacy-protected student-level data we already have for K through 12 students. And use that data to create a higher education information system.” These are not the generic student data that the Department of Education currently receives from universities to compile thier statistics. This is a “unit” database, collecting sensitive information about each individual student, including name, race, gender, social security number, grade information from high school, course and grade information from college, transfers, graduation, and even job offers and wages after leaving college. It is this information to be collected after the student graduates that is to be used to hold colleges “accountable.” It is irrelevant to me how “secure” this database is. While potential security breaches are a concern, I am more concerned about the state having this kind of detailed information on virtually every citizen in the United States. Once it is in the possession of the central government, it has already “fallen into the wrong hands.”
Action Four: Matching funds to those institutions which collect and report student information. This is just to make sure that Action Three happens, despite the fact that many have expressed concern over privacy issues.
Action Five: Convene members of the accrediting community to move toward measures to improve learning.
It is interesting that the precipitating factors for this reform deal largely with perceived threats about a changing job market and concerns about how the private decisions of private individuals will affect the future economy. It is more interesting that the clearest and most precise plan in response is a measure to track every citizen from the time they enter school, through high school and college and into the workforce.
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Nigel Watt
Sep 28, 2006
If this gets any worse, I can guarantee that my generation of college students will not be a silent one.
Dana
Sep 28, 2006
Why wait until it gets worse? By then, it will be harder to change. Right now, several states are already on the verge of rejecting NCLB and universities are not yet dependent on these promised funds. Right now would be the most productive time to object.
Sep 28, 2006
Spellings plan for higher ed: Track every college student at Student Education Resources and Information
Dana
Sep 28, 2006
Perhaps. I think this kind of thing happens because most don’t care enough to think about it much in the first place. And they won’t care much later. It took years for parents to realize that NCLB included a measure requiring schools to turn over information on their children to military recruiters. Even though it was printed in the little newsletter sent home at the beginning of the school year. People don’t care enough to read the fine print and really think through how it affects them.
Nigel Watt
Sep 28, 2006
Because even if a few of us realize how bad this is, most don’t. When it actually goes into effect, or if the proposals get more egregious, it’ll be time.
Danielle Kilchenstei
Sep 28, 2006
First, the cost of tuition is increasing, but limiting financial aid will only make it more difficult to attend an institution of higher education. Policies are continually restricing attendance to college, for instance the “hard waiver” that requires students to have health insurance is another cost associated with college now.
Second, I am a student that is an example of not graduating on time because of the university. I will not go into detail, lets just say that there are many students who do not graduate on time due to institutional restraints or holdbacks.
Lastly, students do graduate with debt. However, they are expected to be able to find a good job with that college degree to pay those loans. This is becoming difficult. I say help students become educated as much as possible and aim at increasing jobs availability and salary. Maybe even apply education and job opportunity equally among all, or am I just being an idealist?! California allows free college tuition to all of its residents. Get on board people!!!!
George Petrie
Sep 28, 2006
Hello Nigel,
Two points for discussion:
1. “Evil reigns when godly men stay silent.” As the Germans stood silent, the Jews were marched to the extermination camps. Is this extreme? No, it began with population tracking.
2. Which government program once installed has ever been recinded?
Nigel, your apathy is deadly. Unfortunately your generation will count the cost.
George Petrie
Sep 28, 2006
Idealist no, Socialist YES
Q. If tutition is free where does the funding for universities come from?
A. Taxpayers!
Q. Who pays taxes?
A. Those in the workforce!
Discussion Point One:
So if taxpayers pay taxes and those taxes fund higher education, for freeloaders, can you morally justify recieving that education?
It isn’t free, someone is paying!
Discussion Point Two:
While demanding government involvement in university education, the government then mandates you must have health insurance to attend college.
Your complaint is?
Discussion Point Three:
You increase government intrusion in the workforce through higher taxes, crippling private business and the job/wage market.
You wonder why jobs are difficult to come by?
Solution:
You can get a government job where an ever increasingly burdened private sector, is robbed of it’s justly earned income, to pay your excessive wages and benefits. You shouldn’t have to fill out an application since the government has all your information already. I am sure they will have just the position to force you into.
Conclusion:
Personal responsibility has long left California and is spreading across this nation so explain:
If you choose to go into debt it is a personal choice. Geez, I have heard that before from some large taxpayer funded death instituition but no one complains about that personal cholce.
And do not hold California up as a beacon of light. The depravity from within that state is a cancer to this nation.
Matthew
Sep 29, 2006
Danielle, you make it sound as if everyone is capable of getting a college education. The truth is, that while 80% of high school seniors think they will get a college degree, only 30% actually do. A large portion of people are not helped by college; they can’t handle the workload.
I have people in my high school classes that struggle to keep up, should we make it possible for them to get a college education, even if it means making college easier? And if they can’t keep up with college, does that mean they should have to pay taxes that support other people to get a degree? That hardly seems fair to them.
It is possible for anyone to pay for college, even those in low tax brackets.
1. Many private universities are instituting need based financial aid to all students.
2. They can work while they are in college.
3. They can work when they get out of college.
I personally know a psychiatrist who worked his way through a doctorate in psychology. Personal freedom does not always mean being free; it also means having personal responsibility
Jason
Sep 29, 2006
The futrue is now!
( Nitpick @ Dana
)
Oct 04, 2006
President Bush forming conference on school violence - Homeland Stupidity