Dive Brief:
- An anticipated rolling back of many of the Obama-era regulations on higher education has some questioning how the user experience will be impacted if an emphasis on accountability erodes.
- In making the case for reporting standards created under the Obama Administration, Washington Post commentator Jeffery Selingo says potential deregulation will open the doors for schools to avoid accountability in graduation rates, average debt loads and postgraduate employment outcomes of former students.
- He writes that education should be reduced as an industry which only yields its outcomes after a consumer has paid for and experienced, and more centered around metrics which show common trends for higher learning outcomes.
Dive Insight:
Regardless of the centralized focus on accountability, presidents must become better at exposing the realities of how campuses create pathways for students and encourage them on why they are good pathways to take. Valiant efforts should be made to establish partnerships with various employers to build opportunities for employment and internships, and to provide adequate career counseling services and an education that is actually relevant to the needs of industry. Still, leaders should emphasize the role students play in their own success and encourage proactive behavior around outcomes like academic performance and securing internships and other experiential learning activities which enhance their education and make them more employable candidates.