As new datasets on student results become available, the Lumina Foundation taps group of regulators and experts for new approach to assuring quality in higher education, with focus on equity and colleges’ financial health.
Better and more specific data is becoming available about what works in higher education, and what doesn’t.
As a result, accreditors and federal and state policy makers face new choices about which measures of student success and value to include in their oversight of the industry, as well as how to assess the financial stability of institutions in an increasingly volatile market.
Amid this backdrop, the Lumina Foundation pulled together a group of regulators, college leaders and workforce experts to develop a starting point for a new model for advancing quality and equity in postsecondary education. The task force, which released a report on their conceptual model today, hopes it will start a broad conversation across higher education, with implications for lawmakers and regulators.
“Profound changes in the economy, in society, and in educational systems and institutions require equally profound changes in the way we regulate the sector and assess the quality of college degrees and other credentials earned after high school,” the report said.