Six Ways to Advance Higher Education Accountability
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| Title: | Six Ways to Advance Higher Education Accountability |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Preston Cooper, Michelle Dimino, Alison Griffin, Robert Shireman, Steve C. Taylor, Wesley Whistle, American Enterprise Institute (AEI) |
| Source: | American Enterprise Institute. 2025. |
| Availability: | American Enterprise Institute. 1150 Seventeenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-862-5800; Fax: 202-862-7177; Web site: http://www.aei.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 48 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Collected Works - General |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Higher Education, Accountability, Colleges, Universities, Federal Government, State Government, Federal Aid, Student Loan Programs, Educational Change, Legislators, Accreditation (Institutions), Outcomes of Education, Educational Finance, Government School Relationship |
| Abstract: | Public faith in higher education has slipped in recent years, with just 42 percent of Americans expressing "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in higher education in a recent Gallup survey--down from 57 percent 10 years ago. While the average college degree is still worth the cost, that is unfortunately not true for every program. The promise of economic mobility eludes far too many who opt to pursue higher education. Policymakers have taken note. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), which President Donald Trump signed into law in July 2025, imposes a new accountability regime on colleges and universities dependent on federal funding. The new law caps the loans that students may borrow from the federal government and denies federal loans entirely to degree programs where students wind up earning less than a comparable high school graduate. But OBBB is far from the last word in higher education accountability. Indeed, the reforms ought to spark an ongoing conversation about the best way for policymakers to ensure that higher education consistently produces value for students, taxpayers, and society. With Arnold Ventures' kind support, AEI has commissioned six reports on higher education accountability from a bipartisan group of experts. The authors come from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives and have varying approaches to higher education accountability, but all share a commitment to making college a better deal for students. Two reports focus on leveraging the accreditation system to drive improvement at colleges and universities. Alison Griffin lays out a plan to modernize accreditation through real-time monitoring of quality and outcomes, much as the health care and financial services sectors do today. Wesley Whistle proposes that Congress explicitly require accreditors to center student outcomes in the accreditation process, using reliable and publicly available data. Other reports emphasize Congress's role. Michelle Dimino argues that Congress should build on the accountability efforts in OBBB with additional standards for student outcomes while providing targeted support for colleges that demonstrate a clear commitment to their students' success. In the editor's own report, he argues that Congress ought to require colleges to share the risk of unpaid student loans. Steve C. Taylor stresses the key role of states, which have a more intimate knowledge of their particular institutions, students, and labor market needs and thus can promote quality assurance in higher education in a way the federal government cannot. Robert Shireman argues that the government should rethink the way it has approached antitrust in higher education to allow groups of colleges to collaborate on initiatives that will benefit students. The ideas in these reports inject new thinking into the higher education accountability conversation. As policymakers move forward with implementing the reforms of OBBB and consider what should come next, the proposals in this series can serve as a valuable guide. |
| Abstractor: | ERIC |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | ED678012 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Public faith in higher education has slipped in recent years, with just 42 percent of Americans expressing "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in higher education in a recent Gallup survey--down from 57 percent 10 years ago. While the average college degree is still worth the cost, that is unfortunately not true for every program. The promise of economic mobility eludes far too many who opt to pursue higher education. Policymakers have taken note. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), which President Donald Trump signed into law in July 2025, imposes a new accountability regime on colleges and universities dependent on federal funding. The new law caps the loans that students may borrow from the federal government and denies federal loans entirely to degree programs where students wind up earning less than a comparable high school graduate. But OBBB is far from the last word in higher education accountability. Indeed, the reforms ought to spark an ongoing conversation about the best way for policymakers to ensure that higher education consistently produces value for students, taxpayers, and society. With Arnold Ventures' kind support, AEI has commissioned six reports on higher education accountability from a bipartisan group of experts. The authors come from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives and have varying approaches to higher education accountability, but all share a commitment to making college a better deal for students. Two reports focus on leveraging the accreditation system to drive improvement at colleges and universities. Alison Griffin lays out a plan to modernize accreditation through real-time monitoring of quality and outcomes, much as the health care and financial services sectors do today. Wesley Whistle proposes that Congress explicitly require accreditors to center student outcomes in the accreditation process, using reliable and publicly available data. Other reports emphasize Congress's role. Michelle Dimino argues that Congress should build on the accountability efforts in OBBB with additional standards for student outcomes while providing targeted support for colleges that demonstrate a clear commitment to their students' success. In the editor's own report, he argues that Congress ought to require colleges to share the risk of unpaid student loans. Steve C. Taylor stresses the key role of states, which have a more intimate knowledge of their particular institutions, students, and labor market needs and thus can promote quality assurance in higher education in a way the federal government cannot. Robert Shireman argues that the government should rethink the way it has approached antitrust in higher education to allow groups of colleges to collaborate on initiatives that will benefit students. The ideas in these reports inject new thinking into the higher education accountability conversation. As policymakers move forward with implementing the reforms of OBBB and consider what should come next, the proposals in this series can serve as a valuable guide. |
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