A new government commission met for the first time Monday to
discuss improving higher education and creating a more skilled
workforce.
The new panel, the Commission on the Future of Higher Education,
has been formed to address the changing economic and labor needs of
the country, but there has been some opposition to the new board
due to the lack of academics who will be part of it.
The commission’s chief goal is to “develop a
comprehensive national strategy for postsecondary education,”
try to understand what skills are necessary for people to succeed
in a global economy, and then make recommendations on how to
improve higher education, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings
said in a Sept. 29 notice.
“The country is encountering a significant change to its
economic structure, resulting in unmet workforce needs,” she
said.
The first meeting focused largely on financial matters ““
how money is used in higher education and how to ensure that
students are not barred from college due to their parents’
income.
During their meeting, members of the commission pointed to the
lack of information on how money is used in education and how
effective government programs are.
The main criticism of the commission regards the people who have
been chosen to examine higher education.
Members include business executives, former college presidents,
a former governor, non-profit executives, education association
scholars and higher education scholars, but the American Federation
of Teachers has said they would like to see more representation
from people who have hands-on experience working at
universities.
“While the commission includes one or two distinguished
faculty members, we are concerned that it does not include leaders
of organizations, such as ours, that represent thousands upon
thousands of college faculty members around the country,”
said AFT Higher Education Director Larry Gold in a letter to
Spellings.
Jenny Wood, president of the Undergraduate Students Association
Council, said that just due to the nature of the topic, the
commission should draw its membership from those more directly
involved in the education process.
“Any commission formed on higher education must have
faculty and students as the majority,” she said.
Wood also said she would like to see the commission present more
specific goals.
Though the commission’s findings may lead to changes in
the education system, what those changes may be are still
unknown.
“It’s really too early to tell what, if any, effect
the commission’s work will have on the university,”
said Brigitte Donner, a spokeswoman for the University of
California.
As the commission meets throughout the year, the potential
impacts on the UC will become more clear, she added.
Though specifics are still unknown, Donner also said she is
pleased the commission was formed to explore ways to improve the
education system and said she looks forward to the
commission’s findings and recommendations.
Though the commission has set out such broad goals as improving
higher education and preparing a more skilled workforce, few
specifics have been released as to how they will approach the
analysis. The commission’s future impact nationwide is very
much up in the air.
The commission is being formed at a time when higher-paying jobs
require higher education, which has not been the case in the
past.
“Eighty percent of our fastest-growing jobs will require
some higher education,” Spellings said, adding that more jobs
today require skilled workers in a global economy.
The commission will assess whether institutions of higher
education are providing students with the skills they need to
compete in the labor market and provide recommendations to enhance
the education system. By Aug. 1, the commission plans to present
written recommendations to the secretary of education.
According to Spellings, more students are graduating high school
and entering college. As a result, it is important for institutions
of higher education to serve the needs of students, she said.