An open letter to the presidential nominees from Change: the magazine of higher learning

Taylor & Francis Group and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) are pleased to announce the publication of an open letter to the presidential nominees from Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning entitled “Higher Education, The Road to American Success: An Open Letter to the Presidential Nominees” written by George Pernsteiner and Rebecca Martin.

This letter, from state executive officers of higher education and the heads of state university systems, calls upon the presidential nominees to prioritize student success in higher education, on a national level, by investing in a working relationship between the states and federal government. Although education is principally the responsibility of the state, the national government has historically established incentives and objectives that have proved to positively benefit students and institutions.

Pernsteiner and Martin provide specific guidelines that the federal government can follow to form a contemporary partnership with states in order to advance the quality of learning and research essential to our success as a nation. These suggestions include: accessible and affordable higher education for students from every part of American society that leads to program and degree completion; quality learning that prepares students for success in work and in life; intelligent use of information to advance student success; closer connection between postsecondary education and k–12 education; research, discovery, and innovation to improve the human condition and the economy; accountability for student success; and federal regulation of higher education.

Addressing the nominees, the authors write: “Your support for higher education can define the future for America. The federal government now has the opportunity and obligation to strengthen education to permit our citizens (and our nation) to be successful in an increasingly competitive, information-enabled global society where education is not just a matter of economic success and advancing the public good, but of national strength, national competitiveness, and national security.”