Trusteeship - November/December 2023 - 40

HIGHER EDUCATION AS A STRATEGIC ASSET
higher education. Others (including David Ward, president of the
American Council on Education) said the report painted higher education
with too broad a brush rather than recognizing the distinct
challenges, needs, and opportunities for different types of institutions.
Concerns were expressed about the national student database, both
over privacy and how data would be collected, reported, and used.
As much as the content, the tone of the Spellings Report
offended some in the broader higher education community. It was
divisive rather than serving to bring sectors of higher education
together to solve the challenges identified. The report's tone was
viewed as terse and at times harsh, and both overly critical and
overtly political. This resulted in blowback from higher education
associations and efforts to thwart Department of Education actions
in response to the report recommendations. This set up a dynamic
with the unfortunate consequence of expanding the divide
between higher education and the federal government as well as its
other public and private constituencies.
Most agree that efforts to meet the recommendations of the
Spellings Commission have fallen short. Whether overly ambitious
or out of reach, too politically tinged or entangled, or with too little
support from within the higher education community, a look back
reveals little progress in transparency, cost, access, or innovation.
Nick Donofrio, former executive vice president of innovation
and technology at IBM and a member of the Spellings Commission,
has suggested that one of the most important gaps the
commission identified (that may not have come across strongly
enough in the report) was the lack of rigor and intentionality in
the final year of high school. There was a clear case for strengthening
the final year of high school and forging stronger " bridging "
connections to college in that important, and too often wasted,
year. Donofrio still believes enriching the last year of high school
is essential for driving students toward postsecondary education,
preparing students for academic success in college, reducing the
cost of attaining a degree or credential, and creating meaningful
pathways to employment and careers after graduation.
In reflecting on the progress made in the years since the Spellings
Commission issued its report, Carol L. Folt, a former chancellor
of the University of North Carolina (the same university system
Margaret Spellings was leading at the time), stated " the disparities
are still too great and the startlingly low economic and social
mobility we still see will require an acceleration of our efforts to
prepare graduates for this knowledge economy. "
Closing Thoughts:
What Can We Expect From the HESA Report?
The work of the Council on Higher Education as a Strategic
Asset will not close all remaining gaps or address all of the challenges
issued by previous commissions. But its work will serve to
deepen and broaden the discussions around higher education as
40 TRUSTEESHIP NOV.DEC.2023 ©2023 AGB.ORG
a strategic asset and an engine for growth, security, inclusion, and
democracy.
HESA's recommendations, as with those from past commissions,
will be met with criticism. They will fuel debate and may even be
seen by some as controversial. Historians and scholars, years from
now, will find flaws in the commissioners' logic, question their
social or moral compasses, and point to holes in their plans. They
will describe their recommendations as being " of their time " and
" ahead of their time, " things that are ascribed to all national higher
education commissions and councils. One thing they all have in
common is that the commissioners and advisors endeavor to speak
to both the issues of their day and the anticipated issues of tomorrow,
the latter being seen through their present-day eyes with all of
the present-day biases, assumptions, social norms, and ignorance.
Will they get it right? No. Responses may be incomplete, unsustainable,
or socially irrelevant (or even offensive) in future years. They
may miss the mark entirely, anticipating a technological or societal
advance that is not realized, or failing to anticipate a system shock
they had never imagined. But their recommendations to President
Biden, members of Congress, state officials, and both business leaders
and higher education leaders will form the basis for priorities, commitments,
and a framework for change. A more robust conversation
about the role of higher education as a societal driver and a strategic
asset for the nation will emerge. New models, new partnerships, and
new ways of linking investments to outcomes will surely be recommended.
Higher education leaders, faculty, and boards will be challenged
to be more flexible, more adaptable, more forward-looking,
and more collaborative across institutions and industry sectors.
Higher ed often is called upon to solve what seems at times to
be " all that ails us. " It is also accused of being rigid, reticent, and
resistant to change-steeped in tradition and clinging to centuries-old
values and processes-stubborn and stagnant. In the face
and wake of economic challenges, pandemics and global health
challenges, resource challenges and inequities (whether food,
financial, natural resources, or other), challenges to our social systems,
and even challenges to democracy itself, higher ed must once
again step up and deliver. HESA's 2024 report can help to motivate
and shape that response. It can also help to forge new and stronger
partnerships and drive new investments. The goal of the HESA
report will be to inspire action, from within higher education and
outside of it, that will position U.S. higher education as a public
good, an engine for social change and democracy, a strategic asset,
and a global leader in the decades ahead.
HESA's final report to the president and Congress, with specific
recommendations and action plans, is expected to be completed by
June 2024.
David V. Rosowsky, PhD, serves as vice president for research at Kansas State
University and is a strategic advisor to the Council on Higher Education as a
Strategic Asset (HESA).
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