More Resources Photos

Thank you. The last time I saw Ohio State students, they were playing football and handing my Texas Longhorns their only loss of the season. I almost reconsidered the invitation to come today, but we Texans keep our commitments. And I'm happy to be here.

I want to thank Senator Glenn for that kind introduction. I can't think of a better name for a school committed to public service than the John Glenn School. Senator Glenn has dedicated his entire life to serving his country. And I'm honored to be here with Senator and Mrs. Glenn today.

I want to thank Provost Snyder and Larry Libby for inviting me today. Although she couldn't be here, I also want to thank President Holbrook for all her leadership. Next month, she and I will be traveling to Asia with a delegation of college presidents to discuss the common challenges we face. Let me also thank Rich Rosen and everyone from Battelle for organizing this lecture series and for their commitment to math and science education.

Those of you my age remember growing up under the shadow of the Cold War. In 1957, the year I was born, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik and set off the space race. Senator Glenn and many others risked their lives to secure America's leadership on this new frontier.

And in doing so, they helped inspire our nation and its universities to make an historic investment in math and science education. Within a decade, our country tripled the number of science and engineering PhDs awarded every year. More importantly, our universities pioneered new research and developments that improved the quality of life for our citizens and countless others worldwide.

Today, we have no symbol as obvious as a Russian satellite streaking through the sky to galvanize our nation to action, but there are many smaller signs fast approaching on the horizon. The world is changing faster than ever, and we must act to make sure our system of higher education remains the best in the world, providing wider opportunity for more Americans.

For generations, a college education has meant the difference between a life lived on the edge of promise and one lived in the full embrace of the American Dream. And we must ensure this path remains open to all Americans who choose to pursue it.

Higher education has long been one of the undeniable strengths of our nation. In quality, diversity, and character, it's the envy of the world. American universities have been the incubators of great ideas, the birthplaces of great inventions, and the testing grounds of great individuals.

But times have changed, and we can't rest on our laurels. Where we once were leaders, now other nations educate more of their young adults to more advanced levels than we do. Meanwhile, higher education is more important than ever. Ninety percent of the fastest-growing jobs require postsecondary education. And 60 percent of Americans have no postsecondary credentials at all.

The problem begins in our high schools where one million students drop out of school every year. And those who do graduate often aren't prepared for college. Less than half of high school students graduate ready for college-level math and science. As a result, colleges and taxpayers spend over a billion dollars a year on remedial education just to teach students the basic skills they should have learned in high school.

Another issue is affordability. This is an issue that affects all of us here today—whether you're a student taking out loans or a graduate trying to pay them off or a parent wondering if you'll be able to pay for your child's education and save for your retirement at the same time.

The reality is no matter the costs—the wealthy can pay. But for low-income, mostly minority students, college is becoming more and more difficult to attain. Over the last 25 years, college tuition has outpaced inflation, family income, even doubling the cost of health care. And in the past five years alone, tuition at four-year colleges has skyrocketed by 40 percent. As a mother of a college sophomore, I want to know why, and I know other parents do too!

We can't answer these questions without better information on where our money's going and what we're getting in return. In almost every area of our government, we expect transparency and accountability for our tax dollars. But over the years, we've basically invested tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer money in higher education and just hoped for the best. As a result, we don't have a very good picture of how the system works today and what can work better.

The absence of information also means we can't answer basic questions families have during the college selection process. For example, how long will it take to get a degree? And how much is this education really going to cost? When my daughter applied to college two years ago, I found it challenging to get the answers I needed. And I'm the Secretary of Education!

You can find plenty of rankings and college guides, but you're out of luck if you want to find an answer to the question that matters most: How much are students learning? It sometimes seems like we care more about how many books there are in a college library than whether students can actually understand them. And if we're going to keep our edge in the 21st century, that must change. At stake is nothing short of America's ability to compete in a world where what you know means far more than where you live.

Last year, I formed a bipartisan Commission on the Future of Higher Education. Some of America's best and brightest came together across many sectors to launch a national dialogue on higher education. And last month, I announced my plans to address the issues of accessibility, affordability, and accountability raised by the commission.

First: To expand access to higher education, we must better prepare our students—starting with high standards and accountability in our public schools. These principles are the pillars of No Child Left Behind. We've made great progress in the early grades toward our goal of every child reading and doing math at grade level by 2014. And now we must extend the benefits of this law to our high schools where we've made almost no progress in 30 years.

We'll also continue efforts to align high school standards with college coursework and to encourage students to take more rigorous classes in critical subjects like math and science. Ohio State and Battelle have been on the cutting edge of this important work. The new Battelle Center for Mathematics and Science Education Policy has helped bring business, higher education, and K-12 leaders together to encourage more students to pursue these subjects. And you've partnered with school officials to open the new Metro High School to help prepare students here in Franklin Country for college level coursework in math, science, and other subjects.

Second, we must make sure college is affordable. As the Commission noted, the entire financial aid system is in urgent need of reform. At the federal level, it's a maze of 60 websites, dozens of toll-free numbers, and 17 different programs. I'm directing my department to streamline the process, cut the application time in half, and notify students of their aid eligibility earlier than spring of their senior year to help students and families plan.

We also must increase need-based aid, and I'm glad to see Ohio moving forward with a bold plan to double the amount of money it spends in this critical area. At the federal level, we've worked with Congress to strengthen financial aid, and we've made progress. This includes making available four and a half billion dollars in scholarships for low-income students who take challenging courses in high school and study fields such as math and science. And I look forward to teaming up with Congress again to improve the financial aid process and help the students who need it most.

Third, accountability. We must improve the way we collect data on higher education, so we can give policymakers, administrators, and families the information they need to make good decisions. We live in the "Information Age." If you want to buy a new car, you go online and compare a full range of models, makes, and pricing options. And when you're done, you'll know everything from how well each car holds its value down to wheel size and number of cup-holders. The same transparency and ease should be the case when students and families shop for colleges.

That's why I want to work with colleges and universities to pull together privacy-protected student-level data to create a higher education information system. This information would be closely protected and would not identify individual students.

Using this data, we can re-design my department's existing college search website called COOL and make it much more useful. Families will be able to visit the site and compare different options for college: in-state versus out of state, public versus private, community college versus four-year.

Better information will also help policymakers and college administrators do a better job managing the system and serving our most important clients—students. My plan calls for matching funds for colleges, universities, and states that collect and publicly report student-learning outcomes. This information will give us a better picture of how well the system is working and what we need to improve.

To meet the challenges I've outlined today, we all must work together. The federal government can't do this work alone. Just as the commission reflected a cross-section of higher education stakeholders, finding the right solutions will take a similar partnership. We need your help and leadership. And I'm glad to see higher education leaders here in Ohio answering that call.

This spring, I'll convene a summit to discuss the full slate of recommendations, our progress, and specific responsibilities going forward, and I want the leaders of our nation's universities to be front and center as we continue this national dialogue on higher education. I want to be clear: At the end of this process, we neither envision, nor want, a national system of higher education. Our aim is simply to ensure that in a new era of global competition, higher education remains the path to the American dream.

Time and time again, on new frontiers from outer space to the World Wide Web, America has led the way. And together, we will ensure America continues to lead on the frontiers of the future.

Thank you. And now I'd be happy to answer your questions.

####