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Federal Commission to Report in September
By Gwendolyn Bradley
The Commission on the Future of Higher Education, an advisory board established by U.S. education secretary Margaret Spellings, will report to her in mid- to late September instead of August 1 as originally scheduled. The commission hopes to issue a report with a limited number of clear recommendations backed up by practical advice on how to implement them, but it must first pare down the long list of topics that have been raised in “issue papers” authored by consultants to the commission, in testimony about higher education given at open hearings, and by commissioners themselves. Since its creation in September 2005, the commissioners have pondered faculty salaries; student retention; grants for adult students; how well high schools are preparing students for college; the dwindling numbers of American students in science, technology, engineering, and math; the effect of corporate outsourcing on the job market; accreditation; standardized testing; and myriad other issues.
At a two-day meeting held in May, commissioners appeared divided on several major issues, including whether traditional liberal-arts education is valuable or whether higher education should focus on workforce development and job training. A draft report released in June was harshly critical of higher education.
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