Dept. of Ed Delays College Ratings Proposal; APLU Continues to Push Its Alternative Proposal

Georgia Southern University's Class of 2014.
Photo credit: Georgia Southern University
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Last week the U.S. Department of Education announced a delay in the release of its college ratings proposal, citing ongoing conversations with higher education stakeholders on the scope and design the new federal system will take. The original timeline called for a mid-2014 release, but department officials say sometime this fall is more likely.

“The scope of responses, complexity of the task, and importance of doing this thoughtfully and usefully led us to decide that it is worth taking more time before publishing a proposal for comment,” said Jamienne Studley, deputy under secretary of the U.S. Department of Education in a blog post. “We are continuing conversations with educators, families, leaders and researchers. We are on track to come out with a proposal by this fall and a final version of the new ratings system before the 2015-16 school year.”

While APLU agrees with the administration’s goal of increasing transparency and accountability at higher education institutions, the association is advocating for an alternative it developed to the administration’s ratings plan. APLU supports making essential and accurate information, such as the Student Achievement Measure (SAM), about all higher education institutions widely available to students and their families. In addition, APLU proposes tightening up the Title IV federal student aid eligibility process and measuring institutions, after adjusting for the nature of the student body, against key metrics. These measurements should have real consequences, which would be in keeping with the president’s goals to protect students and better use federal resources.

Back in January the association formally sent its alternative proposal to Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan. A month later APLU presented recommendations on providing greater value to students and the public at a symposium on the ratings plan, formally known as the Postsecondary Institution Rating System (PIRS). APLU will use this new delay in the administration’s development of its ratings plan to further push for its alternative proposal.

Slideshow: Cooperative Extension Centennial Celebration

Cooperative Extension celebrated its 100th anniversary last week with a convocation in Washington, DC on May 7&8, 2014. The centennial coincided with the signing of the Smith-Lever Act, which created the national Cooperative Extension network.

Learn more about Cooperative Extension's year-long celebrations at www.Extension100Years.net

CLOSE THE INNOVATION DEFICIT

The following open letter was sent today from 165 university presidents and chancellors.  Additional university leaders are lending their support for this critical effort at www.innovationdeficit.org 

Dear President Obama & Members of the 113th Congress:

Our nation’s role as the world’s innovation leader is in serious jeopardy.  The combination of eroding federal investments in research and higher education, additional cuts due to sequestration, and the enormous resources other nations are pouring into these areas is creating a new kind of deficit for the United States: an innovation deficit.  Closing this innovation deficit—the widening gap between needed and actual investments—must be a national imperative.  

Ignoring the innovation deficit will have serious consequences: a less prepared, less highly skilled U.S. workforce, fewer U.S.-based scientific and technological breakthroughs, fewer U.S.-based patents, and fewer U.S. start-ups, products, and jobs.  These impacts may not be immediately obvious because the education and research that lead to advances do not happen overnight.  But the consequences are inevitable if we do not reverse course.

The path for resolving appropriations, the debt limit, and a potential long-term budget agreement this fall is unclear.  What should be clear is that the answer to our nation’s fiscal woes must include sustained strategic federal investments in research and student financial aid to close the innovation deficit and bolster our nation’s economic and national security for decades to come.

Read the rest of the letter here...

Meet APLU Intern Yvonne Usanase

Yvonne Usanase is 2013 summer intern in APLU's Office of International Programs. Usanase is currently a graduate student in the sustainable development program at the School for International Training in Vermont. In this video, she discusses what she hopes to accomplish during her internship.

APLU Interns Visit the Supreme Court

By Stephen Payne, APLU CGA Summer Intern



Interns (L to R) FRONT: Stephen Payne, Yvonne Usanase, Min Kyung Jeon, Alexandra Colevas
BACK: Michael Mastroianni, Jacob Steiner, Dorian Cockrell, Ethan Cheatle  
Interns from several departments at APLU traveled to the Supreme Court for a presentation on the procedures and history of the court chambers. We also had a great opportunity to hear from Maj. Gen.William Suter, who serves as the high court's clerk.

Suter explained his background and how he became the clerk after retiring from a distinguished military career—including basic training with Elvis Presley.