An Insider’s Look at Postsecondary Education in Louisiana

Kim Hunter Reed

A Q&A with Dr. Kim Hunter Reed, Commissioner, Louisiana Commission of Higher Education   Today’s students are more diverse, older and juggling multiple demands on their time while pursuing postsecondary education. The complex lives of today’s students often contribute to challenges in their ability to persist through their program of study and complete a credential. If…

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Seeing the Forest Beyond the Trees: Connections in Negotiated Rulemaking

Tree lined forest path

The US Department of Education’s (ED) proposals for new regulations presented to the negotiating team in the current negotiated rulemaking (aka “neg reg”) are being thoroughly analyzed by a number of constituents. These thought leaders are dissecting the issue, the history of the issue, reasons for change from status quo and, at times, the risks…

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State and Federal Cooperation Can Improve Higher Education Quality

Texas State building ceiling

A truth that many of us are taught from a young age is the ability to work well with others is a critical component to success. One consistent life lesson is to develop and nurture a skill set and internal compass that allow us to collectively assemble multiple parts and skills for the benefit of…

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Accreditors Must Do More to “Be” About Student Success

Image from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"

Kernels of wisdom from some of Michale McComis’ favorite 1980s movies From the Karate Kid’s lessons on persistence to Ferris Bueller’s cautionary tale about student choices and the Princess Bride’s rollicking tale of love and rebellion, the 1980’s represent a marquee period of movie classics. Many offer axioms that can offer surprisingly useful guides for…

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Reimagining the Triad: What Role for Business in Higher Education Quality Assurance?

Hand holding pen above a blueprint layout

Debates surrounding quality in higher education have been building steady momentum since the formation, deliberation, and recommendations delivered by the Spellings Commission a decade ago. In its wake, Republican and Democratic policymakers alike— in D.C. and in state capitals—have started to challenge the accreditor definition of quality, introducing stricter accountability rules and new performance metrics…

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Accreditation, Innovation and Higher Education’s Employment Imperative

Time-lapsed photo of highway traffic heading to and from the city skyline

 America’s system of higher education is currently in the throes of two distinct, but intertwined crises: one generally understood, the other less so. The crisis everyone understands is affordability and unsustainable levels of student loan debt. The other crisis is employability. Nearly half of all college graduates are underemployed in their first job. And we…

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Necessity to Invention: Beyond the “Toggle Switch” Approach to Accreditation

As the curtain raised, the theater went pitch black with only the light from the stage casting dimly into the audience. Patrons found themselves fumbling in the darkness trying to read their playbills and the latecomers interrupted the mood, unable to find their seats. In 1896, Granville Woods invented the “Safety Dimmer” so theater patrons—himself included—would…

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Value, Accreditation, Accountability: A Dispatch from the Field

The prospect – some say threat –  of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA) has animated many lively discussions regarding the value of higher education, the integrity of the accreditation process, and the effectiveness of the existing accountability framework. With the possibility of a vote on reauthorization this summer, here is one perspective…

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May News & Updates

Empty journal with glass and pen on top, next to laptop

Issue Update: Accreditation Reform Armed with Better Data, Will Accreditors Finally Have to Act? In the midst of key conversations happening at last week’s NACIQI meeting, Policy & Advocacy Director Emily Bouck co-authored a blog post with Michael Itzkowitz from Third Way and Clare McCann from New America, discussing the new comprehensive completion data added…

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