More Resources Secretary's Plan for Higher Education

Washington, D.C. — To help keep America competitive and provide students and families with more information and more affordable access to higher education, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today announced her plans to improve the U.S. higher education system, based on the recommendations in the final report of her Commission on the Future of Higher Education. Secretary Spellings made the announcement during remarks at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

"There is an urgent need for change in America's higher education system," said Secretary Spellings. "We know higher education is the key to our children's future and the American dream yet it is becoming more unaffordable and less attainable."

"While our universities are known as the best in the world, 90-percent of the fastest-growing jobs require post-secondary education and only one-third of Americans have a degree," said Secretary Spellings. "Over the years, we've invested tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer money and just hoped for the best—we deserve better. To remain competitive in the 21st Century global economy, we must act now and continue the national dialogue and work together to find the right solutions."

Secretary Spellings created the Commission on the Future of Higher Education in Sept. 2005 to develop a comprehensive strategy for postsecondary education that would better serve Americans and address the economic and workforce needs for our nation's future. Over the past year, the Commission held public meetings and hearings across the country and engaged students and families, policymakers, business leaders and the academic community in a national dialogue about all key aspects of higher education. As part of today's announcement, Secretary Spellings plans to continue to strengthen K-12 education, align high school standards with college expectations and increase access to college-prep classes such as Advanced Placement. The Secretary will work with Congress to expand the successful principles of the No Child Left Behind Act to high schools and hold these schools accountable for results.

To help make a higher education more affordable and a reality for every American who chooses to pursue it, Secretary Spellings also announced plans to increase need-based aid, simplify the financial aid process and hold costs in line. The U.S. Department of Education will work to simplify the process of applying for federal student aid by cutting the application time in half and notifying students of their aid eligibility earlier than Spring of their senior year to help families plan. Secretary Spellings also intends to streamline the process by partnering with states to use existing income and tax data to help students complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

In addition, Secretary Spellings has called for a privacy-protected student-level data system—similar to what currently exists for K-12 students—that would create a higher education information system and provide transparency and ease when students and families shop for colleges. Armed with this information, the Department's existing college search website can be redesigned and made more useful to answer such basic questions as how much a school is really going to cost and how long it will take to get a degree. In recent years, the number of non-traditional students has increased as more Americans of all ages seek additional degrees mid-career or attend college for the first time. Secretary Spelling's plan would facilitate their access to information on colleges, financial aid and provide data on affordability.

"Believe it or not, we can't answer the most critical and basic questions about student performance and learning at colleges and that's unacceptable," says Secretary Spellings. "Information will not only help with decision-making—it will also hold schools accountable for quality. We want to work with Congress, states and institutions to build a system that is more useful and widely available to every student. The information would be closely protected and would not identify individual students, nor be tied to personal information. I challenge states and universities to provide the information to make this system a reality."

In an effort to increase transparency and accountability, Secretary Spellings plans to provide matching funds to colleges, universities and states that collect and publicly report student learning outcomes. She will also convene members of the accrediting community this November to move toward measures that place more emphasis on learning and less on inputs. These proposals will improve higher education's performance and the ability to measure that performance.

This Spring, Secretary Spellings will convene a Summit with representatives from the higher education and business communities and student, parent and policy maker groups to address the challenges families face when planning for college and the need for more graduates in the workforce.

The Commission presented its final report with findings and recommendations to Secretary Spellings on Sept. 19.

A fact sheet on today's announcement and the full text of Secretary Spellings' prepared remarks are available.

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