WASHINGTON – Hot education topics ranging from workforce relevance and measuring student outcomes to school choice and postsecondary access and affordability highlighted the second annual Reagan Institute Summit on Education (RISE) conference Thursday at the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center.
Hosted by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, the gathering brought together 350 leaders in education, government, business, technology and philanthropy around the theme, “Education: A National Priority, a State Responsibility,” reflecting the governing philosophy of the 40th U.S. president for which it is named.
In a panel discussion about what lies on the horizon for higher education, speakers noted a range of issues, including flexibility, transparency, innovation, more state control and a playing field that doesn’t favor traditional colleges and baccalaureate degrees over other forms of post-secondary education.
The point of higher education “is to prepare not just traditional students for the future, but higher education today is a lifelong endeavor” that should be reflected in policies that provide all types of students various pathways to postsecondary education, said U.S. Rep. Jim Banks.
The term college should be dropped in favor of a broader descriptor such as “post-secondary education” to eliminate a long-standing focus on and bias in favor of traditional universities, suggested Diane Jones, the education department’s principal deputy undersecretary.
Traditional college isn’t the only or necessarily best option after high school, depending on a student’s goals and needs, she said. She and other panelists said different avenues, and the students who take them, should be equally respected.
Kenzie Academy co-founder and CEO Chok Ooi agreed, saying the perception among some that a vocational or technical education is “inferior” is “a totally wrong notion.”
