Advocate Online

From Capitol to Campus

From Capitol to Campus

On May 4, 2006, NEA National Council for Higher Education President Kathy Sproles, as well as staff from NEA Higher Education and Government Relations, met with the top staff of the Secretary of Education’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education, known as the Spellings Commission.

NEA’s goal for the meeting was to get a sense of where the commission is heading, what specific plans it has, and what avenues are still open to influence the dialogue. Kathy Sproles told the staff members that NEA was curious about the meaning of the issue papers released by the commission and is especially concerned about one of the papers released by the commission that seemed to blame faculty for rising college costs.

Commission staffers said the issue papers did not necessarily speak for the commission and that the commission would have more to say about affordability and cost drivers. The staff also made clear they welcomed ways to better communicate the work of the commission to our members.

The commission staff indicated that the intent of the secretary is to develop a national strategy for higher education, dealing with issues of national competitiveness, access, alignment between secondary and post-secondary education, and accountability.

The report, due to be submitted to the secretary on August 1, will contain recommendations to the Secretary of Education, Congress, universities, and the business community, the staff said.

NEA is striving to have the importance of faculty in higher education more accurately reflected in the final report and will continue to monitor the commission’s work.