Education leaders reacted positively to some of the principles outlined by the White House as Congress works toward reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, but questioned the possible direction of other aspects based on details yet to emerge.
Accountability and transparency were key themes observed in the five-page “Proposal to Reform the Higher Education Act” issued this week by the U.S. Department of Education.
“I think it’s very good,” said Dr. Anthony P. Carnevale, director of the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University. “It reflects broad consensus among a lot of people from Elizabeth Warren to Orrin Hatch and what is becoming a bipartisan consensus on these issues. And that is that we need transparency and accountability in higher education, and we need it at the program level. That’s what really distinguishes this. They are calling for institutional-level accountability on things like graduation rates and costs. But what is powerful but subtle in this proposal, and a number of proposals on the Hill, is that transparency and accountability are shifting to the program level and below the institutional level.”