As Inside Higher Ed reports, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos recently outlined her priorities for reforming the nation's higher education system. While principally focused on accreditation and the need for flexibility, DeVos also touched on issues like how to improve the transfer credit process and ways for institutions to engage with employers prior to starting new graduate programs.
The meeting foreshadowed a framework from the Department of Education that will shape a rule-making process that starts next month. In coordination with the meeting, the Department released two white papers on Rethinking Higher Education: Principles for Reform and on Higher Education Accreditation Reform.
On reforming higher education, the Department addresses a wide variety of topics. It starts by noting that "a significant portion of the current available jobs require more than a high school diploma but less than a four-year degree. The paper then asserts that "academic degrees may have little relevance to the demands of the workplace," and urges programs to give students academic credit for things they do in the workforce or military. The white paper also claims that licensing requirements have "reduced the number and diversity of career pathways that can lead to employment." The growing outstanding federal student loan debt is also cited as an area of concern.
Regarding accreditation reform, one of the Department's proposals is to "increase academic and career mobility for students by eliminating artificial boundaries between institutions due to the credential levels an institution offers." The Department cites problems with regional institutions being reluctant to accept transfer credits from nationally accredited institutions. The proposal also seeks to give institutions greater flexibility to meet local and national workforce needs, saying current accreditation rules sometimes discourage innovation.
ACTE will continue to engage with federal policymakers in the executive branch and Congress on higher education issues, particularly as reauthorization of the Higher Education Act is considered in the 116th Congress. You can find ACTE's HEA reauthorization priorities here.
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