http://www.edweek.org Education Week

Published: February 23, 2005

Spellings Backs Accountability in Higher Education

By Vaishali Honawar
Washington

Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings called on colleges last week
to use the No Child Left Behind Act as a model for measuring the
performance of higher education institutions and reducing the minority
achievement gap.

'One of our biggest challenges is a lack of compatible and comprehensive
measurements‚ the kind of information people have come to expect from
K-12 schools,' Ms. Spellings said in a Feb. 14 address here to the
annual meeting of the American Council on Education, a major group
representing higher education. 'Parents see a mosaic of fine higher ed
institutions, but find it difficult to piece the puzzle together.'

The secretary's comments came about a week after President Bush unveiled
a fiscal 2006 federal budget proposal that would increase the maximum
Pell Grant amount and erase a $4.3 billion shortfall in the program that
helps low-income families send their children to college.

But to do so, the president is asking Congress to eliminate other
programs that serve poor students, including some that supporters say
have helped millions of young people move on to college.

Ms. Spellings, who said she had just gone through the college
application and selection process with her daughter, compared her
experience to that of millions of parents who face the same challenges
every year.

She highlighted the additional funding for Pell Grants, saying “we owe
it to parents and students to make college as affordable as possible.”

'This is truly a reform budget when it comes to student loans,' she
said, referring to the president's decision to increase the amount of
low-interest money that students can borrow in the federal loan program.


Cuts Face Opposition

But she steered her speech clear of the cuts in the budget that many say
will make it harder for low-income students to get to college: To help
pay for the proposed $19 billion increase for the Pell Grant program
over the next 10 years, Mr. Bush has proposed eliminating the Perkins
Loan Program, which provides long-term, low-interest loans to students
with deep financial need. The budget also asks colleges to return the
federal funds they hold under this program to make new loans to students
from low- and middle-income families.

The budget would also cut the Upward Bound, Talent Search, and GEAR UP
programs that advocates say provide academic and personal support
services to more than 700,000 secondary school students a year. Upward
Bound and Talent Search are among the federal TRIO programs for
disadvantaged students, and GEAR UP helps middle school students from
poor families.

Members of the higher education community have promised to fight to save
those programs, and some in Congress appear sympathetic.

Rep. John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, the chairman of the House Education and
the Workforce Committee, said in a speech to the ACE meeting that
finding the money to pay for the proposed Pell Grant increase would be
'quite a challenge.'

He also acknowledged the popularity of some of the programs President
Bush has proposed cutting and indicated that Congress might not be
willing to go along.

'There is quite a bit of support for Perkins, and politically I don't
know how viable it is to get rid of Perkins and bring the money to
Washington,' Mr. Boehner said.

He also expressed concern over cutting the Upward Bound, Talent Search,
and GEAR UP programs, but pointed out that in the administration's
opinion, the programs had not been sufficiently successful.

'Now that's their opinion, and they're entitled to it,' Mr. Boehner
said. 'But we'll have a great big debate about the veracity of that.'

The president's budget proposal has raised deep concerns among leaders
in higher education. Susan Trebach, a spokeswoman for the
Washington-based Council for Opportunity in Education, said she hoped
Congress would think long and hard before eliminating Upward Bound,
Talent Search, and GEAR UP.

'Everyone is scratching their heads, saying how do we get low-income
students into college, and what does the president do?' she said. 'He
moves to eliminate the programs that really help students. Does it
make sense that standardized testing or even raising standards at
schools is an adequate substitute for students getting one-on-one
mentoring?'


'Mixed Bag' Budget

The president's budget seeks to add $100 to the maximum Pell Grant
amount over each of the next five years, topping out at $4,550 in 2010.

Democrats, Republicans, and education advocacy groups agree that there
is a need to increase the maximum Pell Grant, which has been frozen for
the past three years at $4,050, even as the program has dropped into a
$4.3 billion deficit.

'In fact, we would like it to be higher,' said Gabriella Gomez, an
assistant director who deals with higher education issues for the
American Federation of Teachers.

Ms. Gomez said she was concerned that Mr. Bush hopes to achieve the Pell
Grant increase through cuts to other programs, such as the Perkins Loan
Program, which, she said, helps middle-income students.

Jon S. Whitmore, the president of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, said
that cutting the Perkins Loan Program could make access to college
difficult 'for those that have the greatest need.'

Mr. Whitmore said that the 28,500-student university generally has
middle-class and first-generation college students, and that if Congress
goes along with the president's proposals, it will become particularly
hard for those students to attend college.

'I believe the federal government needs to continue its responsibility
of trying to provide financial aid to students across the country,' he
said in an interview.


A Job for Congress

Representatives of education groups say they are hopeful that Congress
will soften the blow as it takes up Mr. Bush's budget.

'This is just the beginning,' said Bill Harvey, a vice president of the
ACE. 'We will have an opportunity to have some discussions with folks on
[Capitol] Hill, and what will ultimately get enacted will look very
different from the president's proposal.'

Rep. Boehner told the ACE meeting that Congress this year plans to pass
the overdue reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.

'We have an opportunity to enact positive reforms throughout the
reauthorization and find common ground on contentious issues,' he said.

He and other Republicans on the House education committee introduced a
bill this month to renew the HEA that is similar to one they introduced
last year.

But they are already hitting speed bumps. For instance, the bill
includes a controversial provision that would prevent borrowers wanting
to refinance their federal student loans from locking in a low, fixed
interest rate. Democrats oppose the measure as one that would make
college even more expensive for students.

Ms. Spellings, in her speech to ACE, held up the No Child Left Behind
Act as a model for higher education.

'Even though we federally fund less than one-tenth of [K-12
education]‚ compared to about one-third of higher education we've
leveraged our investment,' she said.

But education advocates called the proposal for an accountability plan
for colleges a bad idea.

'It is like taking the basic idea of No Child Left Behind, about having
some sort of accountability for money, and dumping it on higher
education,' said Jodi Fingland, also an assistant director of the AFT.
She said that the federal government would have a tough time defining
what 'success' is for colleges and universities.

Vol. 24, Issue 24, Pages 29,32

From the Archives
'Cuts Proposed in Bush Budget Hit Education,'
</ew/articles/2005/02/16/23budget.h24.html> February 16, 2005.
'Under Budget Bill, Some Students Facing a Reduction in College Aid,'
</ew/articles/2004/12/08/15pell.h24.html> December 8, 2004.
'Students Ill-Prepared for College, ACT Warns,'
</ew/articles/2004/10/20/08act.h24.html> October 20, 2004.
'Barriers to College: Lack of Preparation Vs. Financial Need,'
</ew/articles/2004/01/21/19Access.h23.html> January 21, 2004.
'Tax Credit Fails to Help Needy Reach College, Report Says,'
</ew/articles/2003/10/22/08Credit.h23.html> October 22, 2003.
'Rising College Costs Spark Responses,'
</ew/articles/2003/10/22/08College.h23.html> October 22, 2003.
'College Students Strain to Cover Rising Tuition at Public
Institutions,' </ew/articles/2002/05/29/38aid.h21.html> May 29, 2002.
For background, previous stories, and Web links, read Accountability
</rc/issues/accountability>.
Resources on the Web
Read the transcript
<http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/2005/02/02142005.html> of U.S.
Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings' speech at the annual meeting
of the American Council on Education.
The Council for Opportunity in Education <http://www.trioprograms.org>
provides information on the federal TRIO programs
<http://www.trioprograms.org/abouttrio.html>, created to help low-income
students enter and complete college.

© 2005 Editorial Projects in Education All Rights Reserved