Higher education saw action by the White House, Congress, and the U.S. Department of Education last week.

White House

The White House announced that President Obama had extended an invitation to presidents of ten colleges and unviersities to the White House to discuss affordability and productivity in higher education. Though a list of the presidents invited was not released the invitation to the meeting suggests the focus will be on increasing access and success as well as how to make higher education more affordable. Specifically presidents will be asked for their perspectives on increasing productivity, access and attainment, as well as how to create change at higher education institutions.

The meeting will take place on December 5 and will take the form of a roundtable discussion with President Obama, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, White House advisers, and “thought leaders” in higher education.

Congress

Last week the U.S. House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training held a hearing on the cost of higher education. The focus was what colleges and universities are currently doing, and what they can do, to make college more affordable for students and families.

Several experts appeared before the Subcommittee to discuss current initiatives to hold down the cost of higehr education, including Jane Wellman, founder and executive director of the Delta Project, Ronald Manahan, President of Grace College & Seminary, Jamie Merisotis, President of the Lumina Foundation, and Tim Foster, President of Colorado Mesa University.

U.S. Department of Education

Before a Federal Student Aid conference last week, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan focused on college costs. Duncan expressed concerns about the rising prices of higher education and called on the higher education community to “think more creatively and with much greater urgency” about college costs.

In addition he identified several plans for higher education. Among the changes he proposed include replacing the expiring Perkins Loan program with campus-based loans awarded in part on Pell Grant recipient graduation rates; incentive grants rewarding states and institutions for increasing completion rates and closing achievement gaps; and a fund to support innovative programs that hold down tuition.

On a different note the U.S. Department of Education also issued a final rule that will make it easier for states to track students’ academic progress and evaluate education programs. The rule will expand the aiblity of state and local education officials to share student information more widely without violating federal privacy laws. In addition the rule also makes lenders, guarantors, and other agencies with access to student records subject to the law known as FERPA.