Chicago — Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, in one of her final attempts to persuade colleges to improve their performance, told a conference of educators here today that they would face such pressures even after she left office, in six months.

Ms. Spellings, at the conference marking the second anniversary of the final report of her Commission on the Future of Higher Education, again tried to warn colleges that others in government would impose unpalatable conditions on them if they did not make changes themselves.

““In the absence of continued leadership in education,” “others will step in,” the secretary said. “When public demand reaches critical mass, policy makers are compelled to act, whether they’re in the Congress or on state boards or in state legislatures.””

She added, ““I suspect their solutions will likely not be as informed or sophisticated as what you would propose.””

The conference concluded this morning with educators and business leaders seeking agreement, at the urging of the Education Department, on a concrete course of action they can take over the next 18 months to improve the quality and affordability of higher education in the United States. —Paul Basken