The final polishes have likely been put on President Obama’s State of the Union address for tonight, but if his speechwriters still have time might I suggest an addition: we need a national conversation again about the purpose of our higher-education system.

The president has used the national stage before to focus on higher education, including last year’s State of the Union when he putContinue Reading »

What should be on the new administration’s “to-do list” under the heading of education? That was the question posed to a panel of education experts Education Sector brought together this week at the event “Should There Be an Undersecretary of MOOCs? A Waiver Watchdog? And Other Questions for the Next Four Years.” The experts, all members of Education Sector’s K20 Task Force, took onContinue Reading »

Like so many of us living in Wonk’s World, I’ve been checking out the seemingly endless (but fascinating!) series of edu innovation conferences to which Jeff referred in his last post. The other day at an AEI confab I was struck by two things. First, the normally clean-cut Michael Horn, executive director of the education arm of the Innosight Institute, has grown a pretty awesome seventies ‘staContinue Reading »

The past four years have been busy ones for the Department of Education as it’s broadened its reach into higher education. But with all that activity, what have we learned, where are the gaps, and what should the administration’s agenda be for its second term?  No doubt, the administration has and will receive many suggestions (most uninvited), so I will keep it simple and focus on three areas—Continue Reading »

Election night is over and most pundits agree that federal educational policy is unlikely to change dramatically in the next four years. In Washington, DC, this week at the Excellence in Action National Summit, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan promised to “stay the course,” emphasizing early childhood education, holding teachers to higher standards, recruiting more qualified teachers, improviContinue Reading »

It has been a long time since there was a clarion call for higher education. The GI Bill was likely the last national call of symbolism and significance. The country, drawn out of a depression from the war, was reluctant once again to risk high unemployment as hundreds of thousands of GIs returned home. A bold and untested idea was put into action, making it possible for the returning soldiers Continue Reading »

The question of whether higher education is moving too slowly to position itself for a rapidly changing world has been front and center throughout 2012. Not a week seems to go by where there is not another conference to discuss the future of higher education. The topic is anxiety-filled for many college leaders, who feel adrift as they attempt to position their institutions for a sustainable fuContinue Reading »