E&W Blog

House Chairwoman Behind New Education Reform Bill Knows Financial Burden College Can Bring Read more »

It has been 53 years since President Lyndon Johnson signed the Higher Education Act into law, and 10 years since it was reauthorized, under President Obama. Over the years, the law — which touches nearly every aspect of higher education — has turned into a special interest bonanza. It shields traditional colleges from marketplace competition, weaves a labyrinthine web of student aid options, packs on the pork, and in the last administration served as a pretext for the Department of Education to invent politically charged regulations. Read more »

Graduation season is upon us once again, and for millions of Americans who are finally about to get their hands on a baccalaureate degree, the road has been longer and more expensive than ever. Read more »

I am honored to stand before you to recognize the 64th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Read more »

Since the HEA’s last reauthorization in 2008, undergraduate tuition and fees have increased by 25% in real terms. Read more »

"It is my pleasure to celebrate alongside the students who have benefited from these innovative institutions." Read more »

A recent article from EdSurge highlighted the changing needs in today’s workforce and how our postsecondary education has been slow to respond. Here are three lessons from the article: 1. There are more than six million unfilled jobs in the United States in what is known as the skills gap. These jobs are unfilled because too many workers are unskilled. Corporate leaders are turning to talent deve... Read more »

The federal government’s effort to make postsecondary education more affordable has resulted in a convoluted maze of federal student aid programs including several grant programs, six different types of student loans, nine repayment plans, eight forgiveness programs, and 32 deferment and forbearance options. Read more »

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce moved its higher education reauthorization bill, the Promoting Real Opportunity, Success, and Prosperity through Education Reform Act (PROSPER Act), out of committee five months ago. Soon after, HELP Committee Chairman Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), indicated markup of the bill could begin this month. Let’s hope it does. Read more »

The U.S. economy is desperately short of skilled workers, and the federal government claims it wants to help. Alas, a new report from the Labor Department’s inspector general shows that the $1.7 billion federal Job Corps training program is a flop. Read more »