State Lawmakers Call for Rethinking Federal Role in Higher Ed

The cost of college continues to rise. The student debt crisis has gained national infamy. A bachelor’s degree no longer guarantees a stable career. And the demographic cliff has enrollment numbers plummeting just as colleges and universities are relying more heavily on tuition for financial health. Collectively, these issues represent a growing sense of national anxiety about the purpose and value of America’s higher education system. Colleges across the country are in the middle of an existential crisis, and state policymakers are noticing and looking to be more involved in addressing the underlying issues. But they want the federal government to leave accountability measures to them, according to a new, three-part report released Thursday by the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Task Force on Higher Ed.