On June 29, WGU President Scott D. Pulsipher was one of several higher education experts who testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Ways & Means Oversight Subcommittee about “Expanding Access to Higher Education and the Promise It Holds.”
Despite the country’s current political polarization, improving access to higher education remains a bipartisan objective. But for higher education to fulfill its promise, it must provide valuable pathways to opportunity for everyone, not just a select few. To that end, President Pulsipher presented the following suggestions to the committee:
- Higher education institutions must implement policies and management practices that keep tuition and fees low.
- Colleges must be measured and funded not by enrollment, but by outcomes—their ability to help students persist, complete, and thrive.
- ·Students must have access to clear, simple financial information. An example of this is WGU’s Responsible Borrowing Initiative (RBI), which has helped reduce average debt per student at graduation by a third since its implementation in 2013.
- Education programs must be personalized to fit student needs. Students should have the freedom to learn at their own pace and the flexibility to focus on mastery rather than time in a classroom.
The text of President Pulsipher’s testimony is posted on his LinkedIn profile. Video of the full subcommittee hearing can be found on the Ways & Means Committee website.
