Higher Education Commission Near Unanimous On Sweeping Policy Recommendations

Washington

A U.S. Department of Education panel tasked with making long-range recommendations for revamping the nation's higher education system voted almost unanimously Aug. 10 to approve a long-awaited draft report that calls for greater alignment between K-12 schools and postsecondary institutions, and an overhaul of the federal college financial-aid system.

The 19 members of the Commission on the Future of Higher Education, established last September by Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, reached a near-consensus on the report after almost a year of heated debate and eight meetings, including hearings on topics ranging from college access to workforce readiness.

Eighteen members of the commission, which includes representatives from universities, business leaders, and policymakers, voted to support the report at a meeting in Washington. The lone dissenting vote came from David Ward, the president of the American Council on Education, a Washington-based umbrella organization representing 1,800 postsecondary schools. Mr. Ward said he found much to like in the recommendations, but expressed concern about how they might be implemented. He said he would be in a stronger position to criticize aspects of the report in the future if...