StraighterLine Founder Sounds off on Education in Washington Post Blog
In a recent post on his College Inc. blog at The Washington Post, Daniel de Vise asked StraighterLine’s founder, Burke Smith, to suggest some ways that American higher education could be improved. We encourage you to read the blog, but we’ve taken the liberty of summarizing some of Burke’s ideas for you here . . .
If students declare bankruptcy, their student loans should be discharged
That would encourage the growth of worthy colleges and reduce the growth of colleges that do not provide a good educational product.
Accrediting agencies should evaluate individual courses, not colleges
That would ease the problems that students experience when transferring from college to college or when getting colleges to award credit for courses they have taken online or at other institutions. And evaluating courses, not colleges, would offer a fairer yardstick for measuring the value of the education that students receive.
State funding for higher education should be voucher-based
That would allow states to continue to support post-secondary learning, but it in a way that would encourage innovation and efficiency. It would also reflect the fact that more students are taking college courses online.
