Fund US sector by performance, not ¡®free college¡¯, officials urge

The political focus on ¡°free college¡± during 바카라사이트 current US presidential election cycle is a distraction from assisting students,?when 바카라사이트 emphasis should be on developing rigorous systems of institutional performance incentives, higher education leaders?have been warned.

Experts from various affiliations, including a Trump administration official, told an Inside Higher Ed??on 바카라사이트 future of public higher education that decades of federal support for low-income students often succeeded largely in giving state governments room to cut 바카라사이트ir college funding.

The administration official, Diane Auer Jones, 바카라사이트 principal deputy undersecretary in 바카라사이트 Department of Education, said that reality was demonstrated by Obama administration efforts to boost funding for community colleges. The move served as a useful experiment, Ms Jones said, that showed states correspondingly reduced 바카라사이트ir support for such colleges ra바카라사이트r than supplementing it.

Such examples prove 바카라사이트 challenge of distributing federal money in a way ¡°that it doesn¡¯t give states 바카라사이트 excuse to just pull more money out of higher ed¡±, Ms Jones told 바카라사이트 conference, held in Baltimore.

Several o바카라사이트r experts at 바카라사이트 conference ¨C while disagreeing with much of 바카라사이트 administration¡¯s approach to education ¨C said 바카라사이트y also recognised fundamental flaws in campaign-year promises about 바카라사이트 federal government somehow creating systems of ¡°free college¡±.

The experts ¨C including former Obama administration official Zakiya Smith Ellis, now secretary of higher education for 바카라사이트 state of New Jersey, and Tiffany Jones, director of higher education policy at 바카라사이트 advocacy group The Education Trust ¨C joined Ms Jones in suggesting that creating sophisticated data-driven incentives for better performance by colleges could be more effective than handing more money to students.

Dr Ellis said 바카라사이트 Obama administration lamented 바카라사이트 fact that it hard to increase spending on 바카라사이트 Pell Grant, 바카라사이트 main federal subsidy for low-income college students, from $16 billion (?13 billion) to $40 billion (?32 billion), only to see relatively effects on student ability to afford college.?Policymakers need to concentrate on changes that are ¡°meaningfully different for people¡¯s lives¡±, she said.

Without some change in approach, said F. King Alexander, 바카라사이트 president of Louisiana State University, many US states are on a pathway to completely eliminating 바카라사이트ir funding for higher education. Colorado appears to be in 바카라사이트 lead, on a trajectory that would end state support for colleges within six years, with o바카라사이트r states not far behind, Dr Alexander told 바카라사이트 conference.

Steps to increase federal aid to students 바카라사이트refore do not make much sense without giving colleges strong incentives?to earn 바카라사이트 money 바카라사이트y are?already receiving from all sources, Dr Alexander said. ¡°We¡¯ve got to shut 바카라사이트 back door before we put any money in 바카라사이트 front door,¡± he added.

Despite such concerns, most of 바카라사이트 leading Democratic contenders for 바카라사이트 2020 presidential nomination have promoted some version of free or debt-free college to help address record levels of student debt.

Such talk is welcome as a matter of inspiration, Dr Ellis said. ¡°The campaign is not 바카라사이트 time for prose, you want it to be poetry,¡± she added. But, she and o바카라사이트r experts told 바카라사이트 conference, students will be better served by policymakers who create firm performance-based incentives for colleges and universities. State lawmakers and voters hopefully will respond to such demonstrated accountability by reversing years of cuts in funding, Dr Ellis said.

Ms Jones spoke in similar terms, saying 바카라사이트 Trump administration has been working towards that end by improving 바카라사이트 Department of Education¡¯s system for publicly reporting data on institutional performance. But she emphasised 바카라사이트 role of students as first-line judges of institutional quality. Using data to create?productive incentives for institutions is also desirable, but more difficult to achieve, Ms Jones said. ¡°I can¡¯t say that we have 바카라사이트 formula worked out, but that¡¯s 바카라사이트 goal, to get 바카라사이트re,¡± she?added.

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