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Kansas City, Mo.-- U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today opened the first of five regional higher education summits by calling on Congress to enact a comprehensive Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorization bill to improve college access, affordability and accountability for all Americans.

The regional summits, "A Test of Leadership: Committing to Advance Postsecondary Education for all Americans," continue the national dialogue on higher education Secretary Spellings began shortly upon taking office. In 2005, she created the Commission on the Future of Higher Education to engage students and families, policymakers, business leaders and the academic community on all key aspects of higher education, find ways to meet the needs of America's diverse population and address the economic and workforce needs of the country's future. The Commission's findings were the basis for the Secretary's action plan to improve America's higher education system and provide students and families with more information and more affordable access to higher education.

The Secretary announced her action plan in a speech to the National Press Club in September 2006. A key component of that plan was to convene a summit to bring stakeholders and policy makers together to discuss the Commission's recommendations, progress and specific responsibilities and action for the future. The five regional summits build on the national summit held in Washington, D.C., in March 2007 and focus on five key recommendations from the Commission's report. These action items include:

• Aligning K-12 and higher education expectations;
• Increasing need-based aid for access and success;
• Using accreditation to support and emphasize student learning outcomes;
• Serving adults and other non-traditional students;
• And enhancing affordability, decreasing costs, and promoting productivity.

Another priority was streamlining the free federal student aid application system. In March 2007, the Secretary unveiled the new FAFSA4caster, an online tool to help students calculate earlier potential eligibility for student aid and to make that process simpler and easier.

In August 2006, in the absence of congressional action to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, Secretary Spellings initiated a federal negotiated rulemaking process to jumpstart other reforms and address issues such as preferred lender lists and lender inducements. At that time, members of Congress urged the Secretary to delay until Congress could act. However, in the absence of completed congressional legislation, the Secretary moved forward and convened representatives from student groups, institutions and the lending community and asked them to look at ways to make the system more transparent and easier to use for millions of American students and their families.

When the committee on student loans failed to reach consensus, Secretary Spellings assembled an internal task force to work on key lender issues. On May 31, the Secretary sent to the Federal Register proposed regulations that will inject more choice, transparency and competition into federal student aid that protect a borrower's right to choose a lender and limit deceptive lending practices, among other measures. The public will have an opportunity to comment and final regulations should take effect next summer.

Secretary Spellings looks forward to continuing to work with Congress to enact a comprehensive HEA reauthorization bill that addresses the concerns of American students and their families.

For more information on the Secretary's Commission on the Future of Higher Education, please visit http://www.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/hiedfuture/plan/index.html.

Following are the Secretary's prepared remarks at today's regional higher education summit in Kansas City, Missouri:

Thank you for that warm welcome. Higher education is one of the undeniable strengths of our nation.

America's colleges and universities have given generations of citizens the ability to pursue the American Dream and have long been the envy of the world. But recent data shows we're in danger of losing that position.

The U.S. Census projects that by 2012, we will have 3 million more jobs requiring a bachelor's degree and we won't have the college graduates to fill them.

Only about 17 percent of our high school freshmen are getting bachelor's degrees within ten years - and when you disaggregate the data, it's much worse.

For example, only 10 percent of Latinos earn bachelor's degrees by age 29.

Only 9 percent of low-income kids earn degrees by age 24.

Let me share with you a quote I came across recently: "We have entered an age in which education is not just a luxury...it has become a necessity, without which a person is defenseless." My fellow Texan and President Lyndon Johnson said these words more than 50 years ago yet his observation is emblematic of where we are today.

Our competitive economy is making new and greater demands. Ninety percent of the fastest-growing jobs require postsecondary education or training. Sixty percent of Americans have no postsecondary credentials at all. At a time when more Americans need a degree, it's becoming more difficult to get one - particularly for low-income and minority students.

That's why I've made higher education reform a priority. At the beginning, I felt like the skunk at the picnic. There was little appetite for a discussion on how to improve a system many thought was "just fine, thank you".

Today, it's a different story. We're engaged in a robust dialogue. Many states and institutions are working pro-actively to address the challenges around access, affordability, and accountability.

Momentum is building. And since my Higher Education Commission released its' report last September, our Department has made tremendous progress to address the issues that fall within our sphere of responsibility:

We've called for increased high school rigor as part of NCLB reauthorization.

Proposed the largest Pell increase in 30 years.

Launched a new FAFSA Forecaster tool to give high school juniors early notification of their potential financial aid eligibility.

Convened the accrediting community to work to ensure that student learning is the main criteria for accreditation.

And we're finalizing regulations to address the student loan issues around preferred lender lists and inducements - a process we began last summer.

We've been hard at work, but some of the hardest work is ahead. Congress must act to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. HEA has been up for renewal since 2003. In the absence of new legislation my Department can only go so far to fix what's broken.

We're working on our proposals with Congress. And, I'd like to talk for a few minutes about what changes we hope to see in the new HEA. The current law is focused mainly on money - and how to spend it.

At a minimum, the new bill should be more comprehensive - addressing access and accountability, as well as affordability.

Let's start with access. Too many of our high schools are failing to prepare students for college and the workforce. In addition to an epidemic dropout rate, less than half of those who do graduate are ready for college-level math and science.

Taking rigorous classes in high school is the best way to increase college access and success. So, it's shocking only 4 percent of low-income students complete a college prep curriculum.

Through NCLB reauthorization, we're working to increase rigor and better align high school coursework with college and workforce expectations. We've called for expanded access to AP programs.

And, we're also investing more money in our AC/SMART grants that are rewarding thousands of Pell-eligible students who complete a rigorous high school curriculum.

We must build on these efforts by making sure college prep and student support programs, such as Gear Up and TRIO, are also aligned to these more rigorous standards.

And when we talk about access, we need to make sure we're talking about the adults and non-traditional students that now make up more than half of our higher education population.

The new HEA must better address their needs. For example, we've proposed that Pell Grants be made available year round to help accelerate college completion for adults balancing work and family responsibilities.

Next, affordability. We need to simplify the financial aid system. Qualified students should not be locked out of pursuing an education because of cost. The current system is redundant... confusing...Byzantine...and broken!

As we've seen with the recent news concerning student loan abuses, it's often more difficult for students to get aid than it is for bad actors to game the system.

This week, my Department is issuing proposed regulations aimed at restoring trust and integrity in our student loan system.

Congress is also debating legislation that will impact these areas. In doing so, it's vital that the system continue to support competition in the industry - such as the Direct Lending and FFEL programs provide.

Just as competition in the marketplace provides better products, students are best served when they have more options.

However, we must not limit our focus to lending practices. If we do so then we're simply treating the symptoms, instead of finding a cure. Instead, we can use the opportunity of HEA reauthorization to improve the entire financial aid system.

The cure begins with directing federal funds to those who need it most. So, I'm calling on Congress to enact President Bush's request for the biggest Pell Grant increase in more than 30 years. An increase that would raise the grant to $4600 next year and $5,400 over the next five years.

Additionally, I'm also recommending that any savings generated as part of HEA be focused on increasing Pell and helping current students meet their education expenses.

The new HEA should also better target campus-based aid and loan programs that help only a few. It should build on the President's budget recommendations and direct those funds into the Pell Grant and AC/SMART grants, which are far more effective in helping low-income families.

Students and families also need a more user-friendly system. At the federal level, it's a maze of 60 websites...dozens of toll-free numbers...17 different programs. As you can see from the chart behind me, we can make this simpler, we can put this on a bigger sheet of paper, but we can't make this work better without starting over. We have to find a better way to serve the families who depend on this aid.

Finally, accountability. We must inject more transparency into the system. We've invested hundreds of billions in taxpayer money and hoped for the best. Students and parents need information about cost, graduation rates, and learning outcomes in order to make more informed decisions.

To that end, I'm calling on Congress to act on the President's call for a $25 million pilot program to help states collect and analyze college student data and measure results.

Second, we need to address the major problems with transfer of credit. It's one of the most persistent barriers students face in obtaining a degree. We've attempted to address this issue to the extent of our current authority. For those who challenge whether or not we should be acting at all, the facts speak for themselves.

Every year, millions of students who attempt to transfer are forced to spend more money and time repeating coursework. According to some estimates, billions of dollars are wasted by students and institutions because of this issue.

The most costly education is one not begun...or the one you have to pay for twice!

About 60 percent of all students transfer at least once before graduating. These students lose an average of one semester of courses due to denial of credit transfer. In addition, of the 42 percent of community college students who intend to transfer to four-year institutions, only a quarter of them succeed. Their inability to transfer credits is too high a hurdle for most.

To help solve this, we're proposing to create a demonstration program that will bring together states, system-heads, and institutions to partner on effective solutions to this critical issue.

Third, we must reform the current system of accreditation to better emphasize student learning and achievement. Accreditation is an important tool to encourage improvements and ensure quality, but not as the system currently stands.

As it is now, it acts more often as an impediment to innovation and competition. We'd like to see a system that promotes transparency and accountability to the institutions and public it serves.

This is just a small sample of issues we're engaging with Congress on as we work to strengthen higher education and provide these opportunities to more Americans.

However, we also want to engage with the public. We're holding these regional summits around the country because improving higher education is not just a federal issue.

Whether you're a business leader who needs talented workers, a state who needs an educated workforce, a parent who needs to figure out how the heck you're going to pay for college, or a student who needs an education ... each and every one of you has a role to play in maintaining the strength of our colleges and universities.

I'm reminded of a quote by a famous Missourian, Walt Disney: "The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing." This summit marks a great opportunity to begin doing.

We've outlined specific actions that you can take today and we stand ready to assist you. Higher education is not a "one-size-fits-all" enterprise. What works here in Missouri may not work in North Dakota or California. This is a chance to learn from others and adapt their ideas to meet the needs of your communities.

This is urgent work. Too many Americans are being left behind at a time when it has never been more important. Education is the key to our continued prosperity and essential to our democracy. Helping more Americans pursue higher education reinforces our economic standing. It also reinforces what our country stands for.

It's our responsibility and privilege to ensure that higher education remains a well-traveled path to the American Dream. I'm honored to share this responsibility with you and encouraged that together we can make the dream a reality for more Americans.

Thank you, and I'd be happy to take your questions.

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