Washington — John McCain and Barack Obama have said very little about higher education on the campaign trail besides the standard promise about making college more affordable.
Maybe the two candidates just need some talking points.
In an effort to jump-start the campaign conversation on issues important to colleges in advance of Friday night’s debate, the leaders of the “big six” higher-education associations sent a letter to Senators McCain and Obama with several suggestions on what they could do as president to strengthen the American higher-education system.
“We hope you find our comments regarding higher-education issues and opportunities to be useful,” the presidents of the associations wrote. We “stand ready to do our part to enhance the important partnership among our colleges and universities, the private sector, families, and the federal government. It is in our nation’s interest to pursue this goal together.”
The letter contained few, if any, concrete proposals. The only specific increase the college leaders asked for is in the number of students studying abroad. They noted that in 2006-7, only about 225,000 American students studied abroad, and they wrote that the United States should commit itself to increasing that number to one million a year within the next decade.
Among the other ideas they floated for the federal government’s role in higher education: Recommit to “proven” student-aid programs, ensure that colleges are not “overburdened by additional costly reporting requirements that do not serve consumer needs,” maintain federal dollars for research and job training, and reduce barriers to international students.
The letter was signed by the presidents of the American Association of Community Colleges, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the American Council on Education, the Association of American Universities, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. —Jeffrey Selingo
