“Never has the endeavor to build a world-class education system mattered more to the vitality of our country, the prosperity of our states, and the ability of individual students to succeed. Never has the call to transform education meant more for our democracy. President Obama calls this the drive to “win the future.” The “North Star” of our education agenda is the President’s goal that, by 2020, America will once again have the most college graduates in the world. To achieve this goal, we must focus relentlessly on improving access, quality and completion throughout our education pipeline and we must strengthen all of the transitions to postsecondary education from early learning, K-12, adult education, workforce training and community-based programs. Doing so will enable more and more Americans to have the knowledge, skills, creativity, ethics and support to live, work, solve our most pressing problems, and contribute positively to society for generations to come.”
-Martha Kanter
The Under Secretary coordinates policies, programs, and activities related to postsecondary education, career-technical education, adult education, federal student aid and five White House Initiatives: the Center for Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Educational Excellence for Hispanics, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Tribal Colleges and Universities.
Office of the Under Secretary | |||
Office of Postsecondary Education | Overview | Home Page | |
Office of Vocational and Adult Education | Overview | Home Page | |
Federal Student Aid | Overview | Home Page | |
Center for Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships | Home Page | ||
White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders | Home Page | ||
White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics | Home Page | ||
White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities | Home Page | ||
White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities | Home Page |
DID YOU KNOW?
Hal Plotkin, OUS Senior Policy Advisor, works to help advance President Obama’s goal that the United States will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020, including by promoting the use of Open Educational Resources, which Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has noted “…can create high-quality education opportunities for students, veterans and returning workers, grow our economy, and help us out-educate, out-innovate and outcompete the rest of the world.”