Interesting Reads This Week

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It's mid-October, and the signs of winter are starting to appear in the mountains here in Utah. Today, I want to do something a little different. Typically, I cover a range of reading, but this week, I want to focus on four reports issued by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

I wanted to cover these reports in detail because I believe they offer valuable insights into the environment higher education will need to navigate in the coming years. After reading them, I’m more convinced than ever that higher education must place a much stronger emphasis on the student experience, its direct connection to student success and that technology is going to be a key part of those processes. These lessons go beyond the US.

The states weigh in on higher education

For the first time in nearly two decades, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) convened a task force to examine the higher education sector. This week, they released three major reports, along with a summary, detailing their findings.

The task force assessed higher education within the context of the significant challenges facing the sector and focused on three key areas, each addressed in a separate report:

1. The performance of the higher education system.

2. The balance between federal and state responsibilities in higher education, exploring where policies can best complement each other.

3. Recommendations on improving affordability and enhancing the value of higher education.