The Spellings Commission and the States

This month the Secretary of Education Margaret Spelling’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education issued its final report, calling for systemic changes at the nation’s colleges and universities. Declaring “we must not be blind to the less inspiring realities of postsecondary education in our country,” the 19-member panel issued six primary recommendations.

The commission report makes clear that progress in these areas will require action from a wide range of stakeholders—K-12 and postsecondary leaders, state and federal policymakers, and accrediting agencies, to name a few. Less clear is who should lead in which areas, especially given the complex network of shared roles and responsibilities in areas such as student financial aid and institutional accountability. For public colleges and universities, the role of state policy in leveraging a reform agenda is particularly important, even though states are playing a smaller role in financially supporting their institutions of higher education.