Quality Assurance and Accountability in Higher Education

By Ben Miller

Every year, the U.S. Department of Education spends more than $120 billion in financial assistance to help students pursue educational opportunities beyond high school. It is crucial that these investments be as effective as possible—not just because of the costs involved but also because students traditionally underserved by higher education are the most reliant on federal investments. Fortunately, there is an opportunity next year for Congress to rethink federal quality assurance and accountability in higher education as part of expected efforts to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. Recognizing this opportunity, the Center for American Progress and Higher Learning Advocates are releasing today a new framework for federal quality assurance and accountability in higher education » The framework starts with a key premise: The federal government’s role in quality assurance and accountability should contain both a gatekeeping and a continuous improvement function. The gatekeeping element focuses on setting a minimum protection, or floor, for acceptable outcomes. Meanwhile, the continuous improvement function encourages institutions to work toward boosting the quality of their education over time. This framework also acknowledges that federal quality assurance and accountability needs to recognize the three key parties involved: students; taxpayers; and institutions. Read more »