New Secretary of Education outlines Vision for Higher Education.
If you are a college student, I would encourage you to read this material and reach your own conclusions. Actually, I would encourage you to discuss issues that interest you (e.g., flat tuition fee) with your instuctors who may understand why institutions often take a different approach. Among other issues, the “vision” encourages a greater commitment to data based comparisons.
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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 non-traditional education consumers can make smart choices, based on information, not anecdote.
