Dive Summary:
- Thomas Weko and Elise Miller, the top two higher education data experts at the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, have moved on to accept promotions or positions in other organizations, leaving some nervous pending a coming reorganization in the department.
- The proposed reorganization is rumored to shuffle the departments four current data divisions--higher educations, K-12, early childhood and assessment--into new groupings based on data collection methods.
- Some observers worry this structure will de-emphasize data specific to higher education in favor of a broad K-20 approach, which is especially troubling in an environment where policy makers and foundations are pushing data-heavy higher education issues.
From the article:
The top two higher education data mavens at the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics have moved on, and their departures come amid a looming reorganization that will probably nix a stand-alone higher education division. The changes have made some observers nervous, given the increasing appetite for solid data in higher education policy making. "We just lost a couple good people, and that's always hard," said Jack Buckley, the center's commissioner. While the leadership turnover was unrelated to the reorganization, Buckley said the "timing wasn't great." ...