DeVos pushes alternative credentials, flexibility in speech to business leaders – Education Dive
The education secretary contended that high school students have been pushed to attend traditional colleges at the expense of the workforce.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Wednesday extolled the potential benefits of microcredentials and other alternatives to traditional degrees, calling on the higher education sector to innovate and look to inexpensive programs for college students.
Speaking to corporate leaders at an event run by The Conference Board, a public policy and economic think tank, DeVos touted the department’s moves to give more flexibility to institutions by loosening federal policies on accreditation and federal student aid.
The session was moderated by Scott Pulsipher, president of the nonprofit online giant Western Governors University. The Ed Department reversed a hefty fine levied against Western Governors earlier this year after the Office of Inspector General (OIG), the agency’s internal watchdog, found in an audit that it had not met certain federal requirements for online programs. The OIG said the university would have to pay back $713 million in Title IV funding, but the department declined to enforce the recommendation, and OIG signed off on the decision.