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Representative Foxx Challenges the Assumptions
Representative Virginia Foxx, the new chairwoman of the House higher-education subcommittee, made it very clear in her address to CHEA, the Council on Higher Education Accreditation, that she envisions a level playing field for the different sectors of higher education. Her goal is to ensure fair and objective criteria for judging the integrity and merits of our colleges and universities. This is truly a breath of clean air.
ACTA has been engaged in a meaningful dialogue with the Department of Education in an attempt to remove obstacles to the transfer of credit from two-year and for-profit institutions to four-year colleges and universities. ACTA objects to the imposition of "gainful employment" or any other criteria on for-profit institutions alone, while giving a pass to low productivity and evasive quality standards among non-profit colleges and universities. Eduardo Ochoa, assistant secretary at the U.S. Education Department took the Congresswoman's message to heart. Protecting the interests of students and taxpayers is a crucial role. Representative Foxx has signaled that she wants facts and data, not assumptions and prejudices, to inform that process.
Congresswoman Foxx represents a state that has showcased some important initiatives in higher education. In "Cutting Costs: A Trustee's Guide to Hard Economic Times," ACTA praised the University of North Carolina for its visionary creation of an inter-campus consortium to deliver German language programs. While other universities terminate programs, UNC is finding ways cost-effectively to maintain theirs. ACTA also issued recommendations in 2005 for strengthening governance procedures in the UNC system. And the Congresswoman herself has spoken to ACTA, at 2003's ATHENA meeting. We are very happy that this leadership state in higher education has a very worthy representative in Congress.
Posted by Michael Poliakoff on January 26, 2011 at January 26, 2011 12:20 PM
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