Spellings report triggers discussion of accountability and privacy
In late-September U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings released a much leaked report summing up the thinking of her Commission on the Future of Higher Education, which offered a variety of irrefutable recommendations. However, there has been controversy over how best to achieve the accountability that all parties, including higher education institutions, want to advance. On this front, it appears the Secretary is inclined to focus on creating a new national computer database to track students. Given the valid concerns that students and families have about privacy, suggestions have been made about how this can be pursued by other means. This discussion of how best to achieve the goal of increasing accountability in higher education is spilling out into the general media.
While very critical of the performance of U.S. institutions of higher education, the Spellings report fails to provide a much needed blueprint for national policy to keep our national higher education enterprises competitive for the next decade. The report does not address the real needs of students and their families, critically important workforce needs, the need for a comprehensive strategy for national investment in basic research and a national strategy for rebuilding our knowledge of other cultures and languages. The report also fails to mention the $14 billion in cuts to student aid which Secretary Spellings sought and Congress approved last winter.