New book examines how higher ed can fulfill President Obama's challenge
Mark Schneider, Andrew P. Kelly
August 30, 2012

  • Download

"We have entered an era where continuing to conduct [higher education] 'business as usual' will be increasingly difficult, if not impossible." -- Andrew P. Kelly and Mark Schneider in Getting to Graduation: The Completion Agenda in Higher Education

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 30, 2012

In their new book, American Enterprise Institute (AEI) higher education experts Andrew P. Kelly and Mark Schneider examine the dramatic and unprecedented increase in expectations for American higher education since 2010, when President Obama boldly challenged the nation to once again have "the highest proportion of college graduates in the world."

Getting to Graduation (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012) evaluates the new higher education agenda. The contributors explore where we stand in the effort to improve graduation rates and identify which sectors in higher education could be improved to accomplish the President's challenge.

The contributors in Getting to Graduation write that it is essential for policymakers to:

  • Consider a broader range of learning opportunities--beyond the research university and traditional bachelor degree programs--to include community colleges, occupational certificate programs, and apprenticeships.
  • Rethink policies governing financial aid, remediation, and institutional funding to promote degree completion.
  • Look to the states, both for examples of scalable policies that have proven successful at the state level, and to do much of the "real work" in implementing higher education reforms.

"A solid body of work on an important topic that is not getting the kind of analytical attention it deserves."
--Jane Wellman, Delta Project on Postsecondary Costs, Productivity, and Accountability

Click here for more information about the book.

Andrew P. Kelly (andrew.kelly@aei.org) is a research fellow at AEI, where Mark Schneider  (mschneider@air.org) is a visiting scholar. Both can also be reached through Lauren Aronson at lauren.aronson@aei.org or 202.862.5904.

For additional help, other media inquiries, or to reserve AEI's in-house TV studio or ISDN facilities, please contact:

TV Jesse Blumenthal jesse.blumenthal@aei.org / 202.862.4870

Radio Michael Pratt michael.pratt@aei.org / 202.862.5823

Print or Web Jesse Blumenthal jesse@aei.org / 202.862.4870, Michael Pratt at michael.pratt@aei.org / 202.862.5823, or Veronique Rodman at vrodman@aei.org / 202.862.487

Follow @AEInews

  • Download
Also Visit
AEIdeas Blog The American Magazine
About the Author

 

Mark
Schneider

  • Mark Schneider is a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute  and Vice President at the American Institutes for Research, based in Washington DC. Prior to joining AIR, he served as the U.S. Commissioner of Education Statistics from 2005-2008. He is also a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the State University of New York, Stony Brook. He is the author and editor of numerous article and books on education policy, including Getting to Graduation: The Completion Agenda in Higher Education (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012),  Higher Education Accountability (Palgrave, 2010),  Charter Schools: Hope or Hype? (Princeton University Press, 2007), and  Choosing Schools (Princeton University Press, 2000), which won the Policy Study Organization’s Aaron Wildavsky Best Book Award. Schneider has been working to increase accountability by making data on college productivity more publicly available. To that end, he is one of the creators of www.collegemeasures.org and serves as the president of College Measures LLC, a joint venture of AIR and Matrix Knowledge Group.


    Follow AEI Education Policy on Twitter


  • Phone: 2024035510
    Email: mark.schneider@aei.org
Show More

 

Andrew P.
Kelly
Show More | See Full Profile

What's new on AEI

image Unleash the private sector
image The difference it will make
image How the R&D tax credit is like duct tape
image From Beijing to Jerusalem
close

Join the AEI Media List

AEI's press office frequently sends press advisories highlighting the availability of scholars to discuss particular news topics, as well as recent AEI products (such as studies, articles, and testimonies). Please enter your contact information below to be added to our media list.
JOIN MEDIA LIST
AEI on Facebook
Events Calendar
  • 20
    MON
  • 21
    TUE
  • 22
    WED
  • 23
    THU
  • 24
    FRI
Tuesday, May 21, 2013 | 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Free beer: Liberating libations from ‘Bootleggers and Baptists’

Join us for a discussion of the history and future of federal and state alcohol regulation and competition, followed by a reception with beer, wine, and spirits.

VIEW EVENT DETAILS
Wednesday, May 22, 2013 | 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
NCLB sanctions: Tests taken, lessons learned

Join education scholars and practitioners for a discussion about the latest NCLB research and its implications for future education policy.

VIEW EVENT DETAILS
Thursday, May 23, 2013 | 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Competing visions of the common good: Rethinking help for the poor

What shared commitments do we have as citizens and neighbors to care for one another? How can a proper ordering of America’s political economy enable the most people to have the best life? At this event, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), a longtime champion of human rights causes, and AEI President Arthur Brooks will join Wallis in addressing these and other questions.

VIEW EVENT DETAILS
No events scheduled this day.
No events scheduled this day.
No events scheduled this day.
No events scheduled today.
No events scheduled this day.