Attaining a postsecondary degree is increasingly crucial for social mobility and economic growth in today’s economy, but students face a daunting landscape—rising tuition prices, spiraling student debt, and lackluster outcomes at many institutions. Meanwhile, the Higher Education Act has not been updated since 2008, making it difficult for federal policy to address these challenges effectively.
In response to these challenges, this report offers a bipartisan blueprint for improving access, affordability, and accountability in the U.S. higher education system. Among the report’s suggestions: create a $5 billion-a-year state-federal matching program; make federal accountability for colleges “sector-neutral,” and give extra Pell money to students at colleges that successfully serve large numbers of low-income students.