Home Tag "Department of Education"

More About the Third-Party Service Dear Colleague Letter

As more commentary surfaced about the recent Department of Education Dear Colleague letter about Third-Party Servicers, it was not surprising to read that the Department delayed the effective date of reporting under the expanded definition of a TPS to September 1, 2023.

EdTech consultant and blogger Phil Hill posted another article that eviscerates the Department’s expanded guidance and the advocacy groups “that inspired it.”

Department of Education Announces Latest Additions to College Scorecard Data

Yesterday, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced additions to the data available to consumers and researchers using the College Scorecard. Some of the changes announced include the average earnings two years after graduation based on field of study, the amount of Parent PLUS loans borrowed by parents of students to pay for their child to attend an institution, and the amount of loans borrowed at previous institutions attended for students who transfer.

Checklist for Change: Making American Higher Education a Sustainable Enterprise by Robert Zemsky

When I was a doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, Bob Zemsky constantly reminded my classmates and me of two important things to remember when writing research papers or dissertations. The first was to show the reader the evidence; making statements or conclusions based on flimsy evidence was not a pathway toward graduation or a means of building a successful academic career post graduation.

Grading the American Education System and Federal Education Policy

Last month, the Council on Foreign Relations’ (CFR) Renewing America initiative published a progress report and scorecard on federal education policy, providing striking comparisons between the US system and those found in other developed nations.  The report sheds light on the grimmest details of federal education policy and the shortcomings that led to the nation’s decline in worldwide educational rankings. 

Barriers to Adoption of Online Learning Systems in U.S. Higher Education

Ithaka S+R recently published a report funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and titled, “Barriers to Adoption of Online Learning Systems in U.S. Higher Education.”  I have written extensively on this blog about the economic constraints facing institutions of higher education, issues of student persistence and retention, and the litany of other issues daunting the American higher education system today. 

Higher Education at a Crossroads

This week, I had the opportunity to attend the American Council on Education’s (ACE) annual meeting in Washington, DC.  The theme of this year’s conference was Reaching Higher, but the underlying theme seemed to be “the winds of change are upon us.”

Sunday’s session for presidents and chancellors had the following topics:  Vision and Change at BYU-Idaho: A Model for America’s Colleges and Universities, Information Technology:  Seize the Day, and a luncheon at which Terry Hartle, SVP of Government and Public Affairs of ACE spoke about the pending Department of Education regulations regarding Credit Hours, State Regulation, Gainful Employment, Accreditation, and Misrepresentation. 

Student Attrition

America’s declining college graduation rates have been the subject of many a political speech or hearing lately.  President Obama set a long term goal for his administration to restore America’s prominence in the percentage of its citizens with college degrees.  When you examine the research literature regarding student attrition, persistence, or graduation rates, there are thousands of publications and numerous dissertations written about some aspect of those topics.