Higher Education Act: Murray Calls for Strengthening Accountability in Higher Education to Ensure All Colleges are Setting Students Up for Success in School and Beyond

In hearing, Murray lays out Democratic priorities for Higher Education Act reauthorization

As HELP Committee begins to negotiations to reauthorize HEA, Murray calls for student-focused reform, including holding all colleges accountable for access and student outcomes when they use taxpayer dollars

Murray: “We cannot allow schools colleges to close the door on the students who have the most to gain from higher education simply because they may face additional challenges than their more advantaged peers”

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee delivered the following opening statement today at a hearing on Accountability and Risk to Taxpayers in higher education. Senator Murray expressed the need to build upon and strengthen the current accountability system as the Senate HELP Committee begins to negotiate a comprehensive reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.

Senator Murray laid out Democratic priorities for discussions to reform accountability in higher education: a one-size-fits-all accountability system for the nation’s more than 7,000 colleges will not work; all colleges need to be held accountable for all phases of a students’ education, such as access and persistence, not only whether or not they can receive a good-paying job after graduation; and colleges who load students with debt they cannot repay should not be able to benefit from taxpayer dollars. Senator Murray also highlighted the need for improved accountability systems to take into account the success of underserved students, including low-income students and students of color.

“When Chairman Alexander and I negotiated the Every Student Succeeds Act, we agreed the previous education law was broken—but that we needed to maintain a focus on our most vulnerable students, and not allow them to fall through the cracks. And since it is clear students’ education very rarely ends with high school these days—we need to maintain that same focus on underserved students in our HEA reauthorization.”

Key Excerpts from Senator Murray’s remarks:

“I think by now it’s very clear the issues in our higher education system are deep-rooted and vast. Our caucus has very clear priorities that must be addressed if we are going to reauthorize this law. We must look at all the challenges students face—including addressing the rising costs of college; providing access to higher education to everyone who wants it; ensuring students are able to learn in a safe environment—free from discrimination, harassment, and assault; and as we’ll discuss today—supporting students to help them complete their education and be prepared for success after college.”

“In short, students should be better off—not worse off—after enrolling in college. It may be hard to get consensus across the aisle on these issues—but I am hopeful we can get there. And I think it’s really clear from the number of times accountability came up in last week’s hearing on access and innovation—that these issues intersect. So it is important we reauthorize the Higher Education Act in a way that addresses all of these issues comprehensively, and takes into account how they are related to each other.”

“I want to make one thing clear: we should be building a stronger accountability system. And all the options discussed today should be in addition to, not in replacement of, our current accountability measures. We cannot loosen guardrails and give colleges free range—just because they ask for it. Instead, we need to use evidence to determine which accountability measures produce good results for our students and which guardrails need to be strengthened. Our students’ success should be our number priority.”

Full text below of Sen Murray’s speech:

“Thank you, Chairman Alexander.

“One of the reasons you and I are able to work together to tackle big, important issues like higher education is because we find common ground and negotiate in good faith.

“But our work is not over once we have passed a law—we must continue to work together to ensure it is implemented as we intended.

“I appreciate that you have listened to my concerns about the Department’s implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act so far—and I look forward to hearing from Secretary DeVos.

“I know you and I can work together to resolve the concerns with implementation of our last bipartisan education law—before we begin negotiating on this one.

“Now—I want to thank our witnesses for being here today.

“I hope to hear from you how we can better hold all colleges accountable for students’ success in higher education—and your thoughts will be valuable as we begin to negotiate the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.

“I think by now it’s very clear the issues in our higher education system are deep-rooted and vast.

“Our caucus has very clear priorities that must be addressed if we are going to reauthorize this law.

“We must look at all the challenges students face—including addressing the rising costs of college; providing access to higher education to everyone who wants it; ensuring students are able to learn in a safe environment—free from discrimination, harassment, and assault; and as we’ll discuss today—supporting students to help them complete their education and be prepared for success after college.

“In short, students should be better off—not worse off—after enrolling in college.

“It may be hard to get consensus across the aisle on these issues—but I am hopeful we can get there. 

“And I think it’s really clear from the number of times accountability came up in last week’s hearing on access and innovation—that these issues intersect.

“So it is important we reauthorize the Higher Education Act in a way that addresses all of these issues comprehensively, and takes into account how they are related to each other.

“Now I want to go into what accountability means, and why it’s so important for students.

“We ask our students to make enormous decisions about their future—where to go to school, what kind of program best fits their needs, and what to study.

“But in order to make the best decisions, students need better and more complete information to make the right choice for them.

“And because the federal government invests so heavily in higher education, it is our job to hold all colleges receiving federal funding accountable when they are failing our students to ensure taxpayers are getting a good return on that investment.

“Students, too, deserve to know they are going to get a return on their hard work and money—and won’t be saddled with debt they cannot repay.

“I know there will be many ideas discussed today, but there are three points I feel must be included in any conversations about better accountability in higher education.

“First, we cannot create a one-size-fits-all accountability system for the more than 7,000 colleges in our entire higher education system.

“Community colleges differ vastly from traditional four year colleges—which differ from colleges that exclusively provide instruction online.

“And in some cases, schools may have different priorities—including for-profit colleges, an industry with a troubling history of sacrificing students’ education for financial gain.

“So it is only logical we would design accountability measures to take into account different types of colleges—and keep a closer eye on bad actors.

“Second, we need to hold schools accountable at all stages of a student’s education—not just whether or not they can find a job after graduation.

“I think we can all agree, one of the core missions of higher education is to prepare students for the workforce, but to get there—colleges also need to be encouraging students to complete college.

“Currently, a staggeringly low 55% of students graduate within 6 years.

“Accountability systems also need to ensure colleges play a bigger role in making higher education more accessible and supportive for underrepresented students.

“By holding schools accountable for all phases of a student’s education—we can ensure colleges aren’t avoiding enrolling underrepresented students.

“We cannot allow schools colleges to close the door on the students who have the most to gain from higher education simply because they may face additional challenges than their more advantaged peers.

“Finally, our system of accountability also has to recognize the incredible investment we are asking our students and families to make—often in the form of debt.

“Colleges that load students with debt they cannot repay, or fail to prepare students to be successful in paying down their debt, should not be able to benefit from taxpayers dollars.

“We have a crisis of borrowers falling further and further behind on their debt, particularly students of color, and we have to address the root causes.

“When Chairman Alexander and I negotiated the Every Student Succeeds Act, we agreed the previous education law was broken—but that we needed to maintain a focus on our most vulnerable students, and not allow them to fall through the cracks.

“And since it is clear students’ education very rarely ends with high school these days—we need to maintain that same focus on underserved students in our HEA reauthorization.

“As I mentioned earlier, only 55% of students are graduating in a timely manner. Disappointingly—that already low number is even lower for Latino, African American, and low-income students. 

“So, just as we clearly required in ESSA, we must ensure higher education is paying attention to groups of students who have previously struggled—and using their success as a key factor in their accountability systems.

“These are broad issues, and I know many ideas will be discussed today.

“So I want to make one thing clear: we should be building a stronger accountability system.

“And all the options discussed today should be in addition to, not in replacement of, our current accountability measures.

“We cannot loosen guardrails and give colleges free range—just because they ask for it.

“Instead, we need to use evidence to determine which accountability measures produce good results for our students and which guardrails need to be strengthened.

“Our students’ success should be our number priority.

“Thank you.”

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