A STRATEGIC VISION for Higher Education

It's been noted that I am the first mother of school-age children to become U.S. Secretary of Education. Less well known is that one of my children will be going to college next year. That's right. I have just gone through the college application and selection process with my daughter. That may make me either your dream candidate for secretary or your worst nightmare-take your pick.

My experiences are not unique. Every year, millions of parents and students face the same choices and challenges. My own window into the process has taught me a few things you won't find in any manual. And that's the problem.

A Strategic Vision

"Where is the manual on American higher education in the 21st century? There is none. It is up to us to write it-to provide a strategic vision for higher education.

Webster's defines vision two ways: first, "unusual discernment, foresight, or imagination." And second, "the act or power of seeing." We must be adept at both. We must have the vision to see where higher education can take us in a future where both freedom and competition are on the move. At the same time, we must clearly see-with 20/20 sight and without rose-colored glasses-the conditions that lead to a well-educated citizenry. And we must hold ourselves accountable for providing them.

If we do those two things, we will fulfill the social compact developed over generations and passed down to ours. And we will help the next generation realize the long-held promise of higher education-a stake in the American experiment and a shot at the American dream. It is a major step toward what the president calls the "Ownership Society" and the "security, dignity, and independence" it would bring.

Roles in the Compact

So let's talk specifics. In this compact, what does the federal government owe parents, students, and the community? What should you, as higher education leaders, expect from us in government? And what should we expect of you?

What We Owe Parents and Students

Of course, we all owe it to parents and students to make college as affordable as possible. President Bush has said, "Higher education is the best investment one can make to succeed in life." But the newspaper headlines read, "Is college getting out of reach?"

The president believes a person's financial state should not be a barrier to access. So, while tuition continues to increase at rates well above inflation, so does student aid. Grants are up by 6 percent and federal loans are up by 13 percent over last year. Funding for Pell Grants has increased by nearly 50 percent over five years.

We're continuing our commitment. President Bush's proposed 2006 budget would provide an additional $19 billion over 10 years for Pell Grants, to fund more than 5 million recipients next year alone. It uses savings and efficiencies from student aid programs to increase the maximum award by $100 for each of the next five years, to a total of $4,550 annually. This is a significant change. The budget also would retire the $4.3 billion funding shortfall, which was an impediment in the past to raising the award. And grants would be made available year-round, so that students could learn on their own timetable, not someone else's.

This is truly a reform budget when it comes to student loans. It would direct a greater proportion of benefits toward students enrolled in school, and a smaller one toward borrowers no longer enrolled. It would increase loan limits for qualified students, which have remained essentially flat since the mid-1970s, even as costs have tripled. And a variable interest rate would be adopted for all student loans, with flexible extended repayment plans for borrowers. This will help students benefit from historically low interest rates. All in all, once Congress passes the president's 2006 budget, aid for postsecondary students and institutions will have risen by 38 percent on our watch, from $48 billion to $78 billion.

Just as important as financial aid is information. President Teddy Roosevelt knew this when he called on the federal government to provide citizens with "the fullest, most accurate, and . . . most helpful information" about the nation's best education systems.

A century later, how are we doing? As students search for the right college and parents navigate through the application process, are they getting information that's clear, accurate, timely, and relevant?

Well, we do not suffer from a lack of data. In fact, we at the Department of Education collect about 4,000 pieces of data about each education institution. They're logged into a database with the bureaucraticsounding name of Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, or IPEDS. IPEDS does some things well and some things not as well. For instance, we can tell you almost anything you want to know about first-time, full-time degree-seeking students who have never transferred. The trouble is, that's less than half of today's total student population.

We also can tell you what the tuition rates are at each institution. But we cannot pinpoint as easily the actual costs after student aid is considered. This is a problem because, as many college presidents know, families often overestimate costs. A 1999 survey found nearly half of all 11th- and 12th-graderswith college plans had not obtained accurate cost information, nor had their parents. There's no telling how many are discouraged from applying for aid-or admission.

Some good news is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, on our web site. It's eight pages and more than 100 questions long, not counting the six-page FAFSA "pre-application worksheet." There's a shortened form for low-income families called EZ-FAFSA. Unfortunately, fewer than 20 states accept it. I hope you'll work with us to bring the others on board.

While these systems are an improvement over the past, we are definitely working to make them more user-friendly. One of our biggest challenges is a lack of compatible and comprehensive measurements-the kind of information parents have come to expect from K-12 schools. Parents see a mosaic of fine higher education institutions, each with wonderful qualities, but find it difficult to piece the puzzle together. How do credit hours compare? Is the coursework aligned with the state's K-12 system? Are there work-study programs? How long does it take, on average, to graduate, and does that differ by major course of study? What if the student is African-American or Hispanic-what are their prospects? Is a student better off attending a less expensive state school over a five- or six-year period, or a more expensive private school that they may finish in four?

Publications like U.S. News & World Report's annual rankings are useful, but they do not tell the whole story. We need to encourage states and institutions to adopt common languages and metrics. That way, both traditional and nontraditional education consumers can make smart choices, based on information, not anecdote. Developing a compatible, connected, data-based system would offer a way to publicize your school's most attractive qualities.

I emphasize information because it has worked so well for us in improving K-12 education. Even though we federally fund less than one-tenth of it-compared to about one-third for higher education-we've leveraged our investment through the No Child Left Behind Act. In just three years, we've managed to put a real dent in the achievement gap. The vast majority of states credit No Child Left Behind with improving academic performance. And I believe states and postsecondary institutions should view it as a model as you work to close your own achievement gap.

What We Owe Colleges and Universities

"Which brings me to the next part of the compact. What does the federal government owe colleges and universities?

I believe the single best thing we can do is to send you students who are ready and able to learn from day one. Preparing students for success in college does not begin with freshman orientation week. It begins much earlier. And we are a long way from where we need to be.

A study by the Manhattan Institute found that only 32 percent of students who exit high school are prepared for college. I use the word "exit" because not all high school diplomas are created equal. Though there are many, many fine public high schools, your skyrocketing remedial education costs attest to the fact that many need help. The equation is as simple as it is brutal: While about 80 percent of the fastest-growing jobs will require at least two years of college, only 26 out of 100 of today's entering ninth-graders will still be in college their sophomore year. For Hispanic and African-American students, the rate is about half that. That's simply unacceptable. This is not a future-or an America-we should be satisfied with.

As ACE President David Ward has said, higher education must pay more attention to K-12 schools and not just wait for schools to provide them with appropriate students. President Bush agrees. And he has taken up the charge.

His budget expands the promise and principles of the No Child Left Behind Act to our high schools. Under the president's high school initiative, student performance in reading/language arts and math would be measured in at least two more high school grades than it is currently, so teachers can identify those at risk of falling behind or dropping out.

His budget also contains $1.24 billion for high school intervention. This is for highly targeted instruction-individual performance plans, dropout prevention efforts, demanding vocational and technical courses, college awareness, and more. The goal is to ensure that a high school diploma is a ticket to success, whether a graduate chooses higher education or the workforce.

Research shows that rigorous coursework is a great predictor of success in higher education and the workplace-on par with or better than GPA or SAT and ACT scores. Currently, however, 40 percent of high schools offer no Advanced Placement courses; fewer than half the states require at least three years of math or science to graduate.

I believe we've done a better job of selling students on the dream of a college degree than on ensuring they have the skills to attain it. This is especially true-and hurtful-when it comes to aspiring first-generation college graduates.

We must encourage a realistic vision of success. The president's budget provides $52 million-a $22 million increase-to expand AP and International Baccalaureate programs in schools with large numbers of disadvantaged students. The funds would help defray costs such as exam fees and also would train teachers to instruct those courses. And the budget creates a new Presidential Math-Science Scholars Program, a public-private partnership to award up to $5,000 each to low-income students engaged in those vital studies. The budget also offers $12 million to increase the number of states participating in the State Scholars program, which seeks a rigorous, college-ready curriculum in every high school. Complementing that is $33 million for Enhanced Pell Grants for State Scholars, which accompany those students as they enter college. This would add up to an additional $1000 for the first two years of study.

I assure you that programs showing real results will be supported by states and schools, and will survive and thrive.

Finally, let me discuss community colleges. For many Americans, they're the bridge between a diploma and a degree; for others, they're a means to refresh their skills for a changing economy. The president's budget establishes a new Community College Access Grants Fund to support dual-enrollment credit transfers for high school students taking college-level courses. Dual enrollment plays an important role in encouraging students, particularly those with disadvantages, to go on to college. We'll encourage states and colleges to develop more transparent and flexible credit transfer systems.

And the president's budget contains $250 million for Community-Based Job Training Grants to help community colleges train 100,000 new workers for the skilled, high-growth jobs in demand by local employers-the "community" in community college.

Where Do We Go from Here?

All of this depends on qualified teachers. We will set up a $500 million Teacher Incentive Fund to reward teachers who make outstanding progress in high-need areas. And we will increase loan forgiveness for highly qualified math and science teachers serving low-income communities. The ceiling, which has risen from $5,000 to $17,500, will be made permanent.

I hope you'll make the quality of teacher preparation programs one of your highest priorities. Remember, you produce the teachers who produce the students who make up your freshman classes.

We're at a crossroads. We still have the finest system of higher education in the world. But the world is catching up. China graduates six times as many engineering majors as the United States; South Korea and Japan graduate four times as many. In 2001, India graduated nearly 1 million more students from college than the United States, including 100,000 more in the sciences.

Meanwhile, our young students lose ground as they age. Our fourth- and eighth-graders score above the international average in math and science, but our 15-year-olds lag below it.

In the 21st century, change is the only constant-changing technology, changing competition, a changing workforce. It happens whether we're ready for it or not. The president has said, "This changed world can be a time of great opportunity for all Americans "-but only if they gain the skills to adapt.

Americans deserve more than improved communication from us. They deserve improved performance. They deserve better information to make better decisions, students prepared to learn from day one, and the skills to succeed in a fast-changing century.

Together, we can show Americans a future in which knowledge powers our economy and empowers our citizenry. If we can see it, we can achieve it-together.

MARGARET SPELLINGS is the U.S. secretary of Education. This article is adapted from her remarks delivered at ACE's 87th Annual Meeting, held in February 2005.

Copyright American Council on Education Spring 2005
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