Duncan Applauds Black Colleges but Urges a ‘Culture of Accountability’

In the keynote speech last night at the National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Conference, in Washington, Education Secretary Arne Duncan praised the colleges for their many contributions to the lives of their students and society, often despite great adversity, but he also said the colleges cannot simply blame the “iron triangle” of conflicting priorities — quality, access, and cost — as the reason their students have low graduation rates or poor results on teacher-licensing examinations. The Obama administration will help the colleges financially, along with other higher-education institutions, but at the same time, HBCU’s must develop a “culture of accoutability” and, in the end, do more with less, Mr. Duncan said.