Dive Brief:
- The University of Virginia's National Commission on Financing 21st Century Higher Education has released its recommendations for the industry to create financial sustainability through public appropriations, access to low-income and minority students and private sector engagement.
- The report calls for more intrusive attention to student success, incentives for timely degree completion and better education spending decisions as foundations for legislative engagement which can lead to more consideration for funding support.
- The report seeks to make the recommendations a major part of the nation's objectives of increasing college degree holders by 16.4 million people by 2025.
Dive Insight:
The report underscores public and for-profit efforts to find ways of making education more synonymous with job training, and credentialing more affordable to a broader cross-section of citizens. But a stronger case must be made for legislative outlook on the value of higher education, and what elements of the industry are most present and valuable to their daily policy reviewing and prioritizing habits.
It is no longer enough to tell decision makers why higher education is important, how it boosts economy and why is must cost so much, but to figure out how these realities parallel policy construction and revision. Funding will not come easy without aligning mission with political interest.