AssessingImpact Spellings

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Assessing the Impact of

the Spellings CommissionTe Message, the Messenger, and theDynamics of Change in Higher Education

Brent D. Ruben, Ph.D.

Laurie Lewis, Ph.D.

Louise Sandmeyer, M.A.

with

Travis Russ, Ph.D.

Stacy Smulowitz, M.A.

Kate Immordino, Ph.D.


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Assessing the Impact of

the Spellings CommissionTe Message, the Messenger, and theDynamics of Change in Higher Education

Brent D. Ruben, Ph.D.

Laurie Lewis, Ph.D.


with

Travis Russ, Ph.D.

Stacy Smulowitz, M.A.

Kate Immordino, Ph.D.


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Copyrigh 2008 by NACUBO

All righs reserved. No par o his book may be reproduced or ransmited in any orm or by

any means, elecronic or mechanical, including phoocopying, recording, or by any inorma-

ion sorage and rerieval sysem, wihou permission in wriing rom he publisher.

Naional Associaion o College and Universiy Business Ocers

Washingon, DC

www.nacubo.org

Design by Colburnhouse Publishing, Markeing, and Graphic Design

Prined in he Unied Saes o America

Library o Congress Caaloging-in-Publicaion Daa

Ruben, Bren D.

Assessing he impac o he Spellings Commission : he message, he messenger, and he

dynamics o change in higher educaion / Bren D. Ruben, Laurie Lewis, Louise Sandmeyer ;wih ravis Russ, Sacy Smulowiz, Kae Immordino.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-56972-044-8

1. Unied Saes. Secreary o Educaions Commission on he Fuure o Higher Educaion.

2. es o leadership 3. Educaion, Higher--Unied Saes. 4. Educaional leadership--Unied

Saes. I. Lewis, Laurie. II. Sandmeyer, Louise. III. Russ, ravis. IV. ile.

LB2322.2R83 2008

378.73--dc22

2008024955


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Bren D. Ruben, Ph.D.

Proessor o Communicaion

Execuive Direcor

Cener or Organizaional Developmen and Leadership

Rugers Universiy

Laurie Lewis, Ph.D.Associae Proessor o Communicaion

Direcor, Masers o Communicaion and Inormaion Sudies

Rugers Universiy


Execuive Direcor

Oce o Planning and Insiuional Assessmen

Te Pennsylvania Sae Universiy

wih

ravis Russ, Ph.D.

Assisan Proessor o Communicaion

Fordham Universiy

Sacy Smulowiz, M.A.Research Assisan

Rugers Universiy

Kae Immordino, Ph.D.

Manager o Research and Assessmen

Cener or Organizaional Developmen and Leadership

Rugers Universiy


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Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENS .......................................................................................... ix

EXECUIVE SUMMARY..............................................................................................1

Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 2

Te Commission: Formation and Launch ................................................................ 4

Te Reportthe Document and its Dissemination.............................................. 5

Te AfermathReactions and Follow-Up Activities ..........................................6

Higher Educaion Responds ....................................................................................... 6

Emphasis and Inerpreaion ...................................................................................... 7

Subsance and one ...................................................................................................... 8

Conex ..........................................................................................................................10

Autonomy vs. Accountability......................................................................................11

Te Repor Becomes a Plan or Acion ..................................................................11Legislaive Aciviy: Posiions Harden ...................................................................11

Te Dynamics o Planned Change.............................................................................12

Sages o Organizaional Change .............................................................................13

Te Oucome ...............................................................................................................15

Lessons Tat Could Be Learned..................................................................................15

Looking Back, Looking Forward .............................................................................17

Cross-Cuting Temes in he Dynamics o Change ............................................18

IMELINE OF KEY EVENS ...................................................................................21


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v Assessing the impAct of the spellings commission

RESEARCH REPOR ..................................................................................................25

Introduction .....................................................................................................................25

Imporan Quesions ..................................................................................................26

Tis Sudy .....................................................................................................................28

Data Gathering and Analysis.......................................................................................28

Te CommissionFormation and Launch ...........................................................30

Composiion o he Commission ............................................................................30

Meeings and Aciviies .............................................................................................31

Communicaion abou he Commission ...............................................................34

Te ReportTe Document And Its Dissemination ..........................................34

Ocial Saemen by he Deparmen o Educaion ...........................................37

Disseminaion o he Repor and Relaed Inormaion ......................................38

AfermathReactions And Follow-Up Activities................................................39

Repor Recommendaions and Commens by Sudy Paricipans ...................39

Emphasis and Inerpreaion ....................................................................................47

Reacions o Key Consiuencies .......................................................................49Media Conen Analysis ......................................................................................58

Subsance and one ....................................................................................................58

Te Higher Educaion Sysem ............................................................................60

One-Size-Fis-All ...............................................................................................62

How Big he Gap; How Grea he Urgency .....................................................63

Reacions o Repor Recommendaions ..........................................................64

Language and Syle and Release o a Working Dra ................................70

Te Wihheld Endorsemen ...............................................................................75Conex ..........................................................................................................................76

Accounabiliy vs. Auonomy ...................................................................................78

Te Repor Becomes a Plan or Acion ..................................................................79

Deails o he Plan .......................................................................................................80

Implemening he Plan ..........................................................................................80

Organized Resisance o Deparmen Eors ...................................................83

Heighening ensions ............................................................................................87

Volunary Iniiaives ...............................................................................................89Legislaive Aciviy: Posiions Harden ...................................................................94

Is No Over Unil Is Over ............................................................................... 100


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vc

Te Dynamics o Planned Change.......................................................................... 101

Lasing Impac: Posiive or Negaive? ................................................................. 103

Sages o Aciviy and Impac ................................................................................ 104Sage 1: Atenion ............................................................................................... 106

Sage 2: Engagemen ......................................................................................... 108

Sage 3: Resolve .................................................................................................. 111

Sage 4: Acion .................................................................................................... 111

Sage 5: Inegraion ............................................................................................ 111

Te Oucome ............................................................................................................ 112

Lessons Tat Could Be Learned............................................................................... 113

Oher Ways Higher Educaion Migh Have Responded.................................. 114

An Opporuniy Raher han a Problem ....................................................... 114

Toughul Dialogue vs. Deensiveness ........................................................ 117

Eecively elling he Higher Educaion Sory ........................................... 120

Proacive vs. Reacive Responses .................................................................... 121

Unifed Leadership ............................................................................................ 123

On he Oher Hand ........................................................................................... 124

Oher Approaches he Commission and Deparmen Migh Have Used .... 125

Srucure and Represenaiveness .................................................................. 126

Creaing a Clearer Sense o he Need or he Commission,

Repor, and Follow-Up Aciviies ............................................................... 126

General Approach and Communicaion Sraegy ....................................... 128

Mixed Signals and Compeing Messages ...................................................... 130

More Eecively Engaging he Higher Educaion Communiy ............... 132

On he Oher Hand ........................................................................................... 135

General Lessons abou he Dynamics o Change wihin

Higher Educaion .............................................................................................. 136

Leadership and Communicaion ................................................................... 137

Culure, Assessmen, and Planning ................................................................ 143

Broader Issues ........................................................................................................... 146

Te Higher Educaion Sysem ...................................................................... 146

Jurisdicion, Syle, and Subsance ................................................................... 147

Auonomy, Accounabiliy and Locus o Conrol ....................................... 148

Embracing Criicism and Exernal Review ................................................... 149

A Higher Sandard o Discourse or Higher Educaion ............................. 151

Leadership Challenges ...................................................................................... 152

Looking Back, Looking Forward .......................................................................... 153


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v Assessing the impAct of the spellings commission

ENDNOES.................................................................................................................. 157

APPENDIX.................................................................................................................... 167Lis o Commission Members ..................................................................................... 168

Commission Charer ..................................................................................................... 170

Higher Educaion Associaions Reerenced in he ex ........................................ 174

Commission Web Sie Page Views and Downloads................................................ 177

Fac Shee or Acion Plan ............................................................................................ 180

Lis o Issue Papers......................................................................................................... 184

Organizaions and Insiuions ha Provided Inormaion ................................... 187

Preliminary Impac AnalysisJanuary 2008 Updae ............................................ 192


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x Assessing the impAct of the spellings commission

While he auhors bear ulimae responsibiliy or he orm and conen o his

work, we wan o be clear in expressing our sincere appreciaion o NACUBO, our

sudy paricipans, and all who have shared heir perspecives on he Commissionand is work wih us over hese pas monhs. We are mos graeul or your help

wih a projec we hope and believe will have value or all o us.


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Exeie S

I is ime o examine how we can ge he mos ou o our na-ional invesmen in higher educaion. We have a responsibiliyo make sure our higher educaion sysem coninues o mee ournaions needs or an educaed and compeiive workorce in he21s cenury.

On Sepember 19, 2005, wih hese words U.S. Deparmen o EducaionSecreary Margare Spellings announced he ormaion o a Commissionon he Fuure o Higher Educaion. Over he nex wo years, he

Commissions aciviies were comprehensively repored and widely debaed in hemedia, and vigorous discussions o he Commission coninue. Te high visibiliyo he process and he someimes acrimonious public debaes abou is recom-mendaions have ueled a good deal o ineres wihin he academy and beyond.Te Commissions Repor and responses o i have also generaed imporan ques-ions abou he dynamics o change in higher educaion.Assessing he Impac of heSpellings Commission provides a review and analysis o he Commissions aciviies,he oucome o is work, and he impac o is recommendaions, and considers helessons learned rom his process or advancing heory and pracice in planning,communicaion, and change in higher educaion.

Tis publicaion akes he orm o a case sudy. Inormaion or he analysiscomes primarily rom hree sources: 1) a broad review o prin and elecronicmedia aricles, repors, saemens, press releases, and commenaries published

by he Commission, he U.S. Deparmen o Educaion (he Deparmen), na-ional higher educaion associaions, and accrediing associaions discussing heSpellings Commission and is work; 2) inerviews wih 36 individuals seleced be-cause o heir leadership roles and perspecives; and 3) a conen analysis o 1,363core aricles and responses published in higher educaion oules, journals, and


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2 Assessing the impAct of the spellings commission

online sies. Tose inerviewed include Commission members, U.S. Deparmeno Educaion senior sa, higher educaion associaion and accrediing agency

leaders, senior college and universiy execuive ocers, and key individuals romhigher educaion media.Te case sudy begins wih a descripion o he ormaion and membership

o he Commission, an overview o is work or he rs year, and a summary ohe Commissions Repor and recommendaions. Soon aer is publicaion, heRepor was recas as a plan or acion. Using inormaion rom inerviews wihindividuals in dieren secors o he higher educaion communiy and rom pub-lished sources, he sudy analyzes reacions o he Repor and is call o acion,

ocusing on issues o boh subsance and one.Building on his paricular case, his sudy considers broader quesions oimpac and pus orward a model o he dynamics o planned change. Te sudyexplores a number o lessons learned and discusses possible alernae ways oresponding o he Repor by he academy. Te sudy uses hese analyses o eluci-dae some broader higher educaion issues relaed o jurisdicion, auonomy, crii-cism, communicaion, and leadership challenges. Tis repor also considers waysin which he Commission and Deparmen o Educaion migh have enhanced he

eeciveness o heir eors.Tis volume concludes wih an appendix ha provides background maeri-als, including a lis o Commission members and heir aliaions, Commissioncharer, ac shee or acion plan, lis o issue papers, lis o organizaions and in-siuions ha provided inormaion o he Commission, and he CommissionsPreliminary Acion AnalysisUpdaed January 2008.

InroducIon

In announcing he ormaion o he Commission on he Fuure o HigherEducaion, Secreary Spellings charged he Commission wih developing a com-prehensive naional sraegy or possecondary educaion ha will mee he needso Americas diverse populaion and also address he economic and workorceneeds o he counrys uure.

Te 19-member Commission me nine imes over he nex yearand solicied inpu rom represenaives rom across he highereducaion communiy and he general public, sponsored sudieso gaher inormaion on key opics, and provided opporuni-ies or inpu rom he general public. Te Commissions nalRepor, A es of Leadership: Charing he Fuure of U.S. HigherEducaion, was released in Sepember 2006.


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exuv suary 3

Te Commission oered broad recommendaions or improving sudenacademic preparaion; making nancial aid more accessible and he nancial aid

sysem simpler; creaing and susaining a robus culure o accounabiliy andransparency or higher educaion; enhancing coninuous innovaion and qualiyimprovemen in colleges and universiies; argeing ederal invesmens o areascriical o Americas global compeiiveness; and developing a sraegy o encour-age lielong learning.

Te work o he Commission, he dras and he nal version o is Repor,and various ollow-up aciviies by he Deparmen o Educaion were coveredexensively in he higher educaion media, and have been he opic o consider-

able dialogue wihin he higher educaion communiy a he naional, sae, andcampus levels.Given he high level o visibiliy o he Repor and he many subsequen re-

sponses, conerences, and conversaions, his case sudy addresses he ollowingbasic issues:

How has he Commissions work been perceived by key consiuen-cies wihin he higher educaion communiy, and more generally?How do he various consiuencies value he hemes and specic

recommendaions advanced by he Commission?Wha is i abou he work o he Commission and is Repor ha hassimulaed such vigorous and coninuing reacion?How have groups wihin he higher educaion communiynaionalassociaions, accrediing agencies, and insiuionsresponded dur-ing he monhs ollowing he release o he Repor?

Will he work o he Commission, and he reacions and responses oi, resul in signican and lasing change?

While he infuence o any governmen-sponsored commission is limied andclosely ied o he enure o policy leaders, he Spellings Commission raised criicalissues ha are well esablished as imporan opics or he presen and or someime o come. Tereore i is useul o ideniy he enduring hemes and issuesarising rom is work. Furhermore, by analyzing his single iniiaive, he auhorsseek o develop more generalized insighs abou he dynamics o organizaionaland secor change ha may be absraced or use in oher conexs. A horough un-

dersanding o he dynamics o he Commissions work and a sysemaic analysis ois impac will also help inorm uure planning iniiaives and reorm eors.Te sudy idenies six major issues:

1. Is here a higher educaion sysem?


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2. Did maters o jurisdicion and syle override issues o subsance?

3. Are auonomy and locus o conrol he undamenal issues a sake?

4. Do we embrace criicism o our own purposes and insiuions as weadvocae is imporance or ohers?

5. Should we expec he highes sandards o discourse where highereducaion is involved?

6. Wha, precisely, are he leadership challenges and soluions acing hehigher educaion communiy a large?

Te research repor provides a perspecive on each o he issues ha shouldprove useul o he pracice and sudy o change in higher educaion.

hE commISSIon: FormaIon and Launch

o assure a broad-based dialogue, he Deparmen envisioned a Commissioncomposed o individuals who would represen a variey o key consiuencies and

relevan perspecives on higher educaion. Te panel included ormer and currenpublic and privae college presidens; ormer eleced ocials; represenaives oForune 500 corporaions and he nancial services indusry, or-pro educaioncompanies and nonpro educaion oundaions and associaions; and disin-guished scholars.

In addressing is charge, he Commission underook an exensive review odocumens rom approximaely 175 organizaions, agencies, and insiuions,including whie papers, opinion pieces, and research repors o pas blue-ribbon

commissions. In addiion, he Chair commissioned issues papers and esimony ondiverse opics, including complexiy and inconsisency in nancial aid programs,accrediaion reorm, accounabiliy and consumer inormaion, ederal regulaiono higher educaion, and qualiy assurance in higher educaion.

Te U.S. Deparmen o Educaions Web sie was a primary communicaionchannel or conveying inormaion abou he Commissions ormaion and heconduc o is research and deliberaions.


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exuv suary 5

hE rEporhE documEn and IS dISSEmInaIon

o address wha i ermed urgen reorm needs, he Commission in is nal re-por oered six broad recommendaions:

1. Suden academic preparaion should be improved and nancial aidmade available so ha more sudens are able o access and aord aqualiy higher educaion.

2. Te enire suden nancial aid sysem should be simplied, resruc-ured and provided wih incenives o beter manage coss and mea-

sure perormance.3. A robus culure o accounabiliy and ransparency should be culi-

vaed hroughou he higher educaion sysem, aided by new sysemso daa measuremen and a publicly available inormaion daabase

wih comparable college inormaion. Tere should also be a greaerocus on suden learning and developmen o a more oucome-ocused accrediaion sysem.

4. Colleges and universiies should embrace coninuous innovaion andqualiy improvemen.

5. Federal invesmens should be argeed o areas criical o Americasglobal compeiiveness, such as mah, science, and oreign languages.

6. A sraegy or lielong learning should be developed o increase aware-ness and undersanding o he imporance o a college educaion oevery Americans uure.

Te Deparmen o Educaion issued he Repor along wih a message indica-ing ha he Secreary o Educaion would be considering hese and oher proposalsand would prepare an acion plan or he uure o higher educaion o be ormallyreleased on Sepember 26, 2006, a he Naional Press Club in Washingon, D.C.Te plan would ouline a course orward as we begin our work ogeher owardssoluions ha will bes mee he needs o all consumers o he sysemeducaors,insiuions, axpayers, parens, and sudens. Te Commissions ndings were o

resul in an acion plan, no merely a blue ribbon repor.


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hE aFErmahrEacIonS and FoLLow-up

acIvIIES

Higher Ecaion Respons

As wih he ormaion and launch o he Commission, he U.S. Deparmen oEducaions Web sie was he primary channel used or disribuing he Repor.Te sie also provided a convenien poin o access o he ull range o relaed in-ormaion ha had been generaed rom speeches, press releases, issue papers, andoher supporing documens.

Te involvemen o many individuals rom he higher educaion communiy

aciliaed he rapid diusion o inormaion abou he Repor hrough personaland proessional neworks. In addiion o he Web sie, Te Chronicle of HigherEducaion and Inside Higher Ed were key channels or disseminaing news. Oherpublic and proessional media also published aricles and leters on he iniia-ive and reacions o i. In subsequen weeks and monhs, inormaion abou heCommission and Repor was disseminaed o a progressively larger number o in-dividuals wihin he higher educaion communiy. Te Deparmen o Educaionrepors ha rom 2005 hrough February 2008, here were more han 190,000

visis o he Spellings Commission Web sie and roughly 95,000 downloads o heCommission dra and nal repors. (See Appendix.)Te Repor highlighed he disinguished radiion and he coninuing con-

ribuions o U.S. colleges and universiies o eaching and learning, research, andoureach. As a resul, i could be seen as providing precisely he kind o naionalatenion ha many wihin higher educaion el was clearly needed. roublingdeclines in public suppornancial and someimes atiudinalhad been heopic o discussions hroughou he higher educaion communiy.

Te issues and challenges idenied by he Commission were no unamiliarones. Te imporance o a commimen o higher educaion qualiy, increasedaccounabiliy, greaer ransparency, heighened atenion o insiuional peror-mance and learning oucomes assessmen, rened approaches o nancing andnancial aid, improved access and ranserabiliy, an inensied commimen oconinuous improvemen and innovaion, and overcoming complacency and re-sisance o changewere amiliar ones o members o he higher educaion com-muniy. All o hese ideas had been he subjec o numerous books, aricles, ask

orces, commissions, and conerence panels and presenaions wihin he academyin recen years.Indeed, as his sudy documens, mos higher educaion leaders saw he rec-

ommendaions o he Commission as generally posiive and quie signican ohe uure o higher educaion.


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exuv suary 7

Emphasis an Inerpreaion

Te Repor did indeed bring ocus and atenion o higher educaion, rumpeedis accomplishmens and value, and rearmed many o he challenges and needsalready idenied as prioriies. Bu he iniial reacion rom he higher educaioncommuniy did no ocus on hese posiives. Insead, almos rom he momen ois release, responses o he Repor argeed areas o concern and disagreemen.

As a consequence, here was litle opporuniy or he higher educaion communiy oleverage he accolades or develop a shared agenda or addressing needs and prioriies.

Te inenion o he Commission may well have been o oer a refecive anal-

ysis o a naional problem and a houghul and mobilizing call o collaboraive ac-ion. Bu, in spie o is laudaory commens and eors o describe he problems asshared challenges, manyi no moswihin he higher educaion communiyregarded he Repor as an atack on U.S. colleges and universiies.

Iniial and subsequen reacions rom he higher educaion communiy in gen-eral, and specically rom he individuals inerviewed or his sudy, generally sup-pored his inerpreaion. Sudy paricipans noed ha overall, he Commissions

work was perceived unavorablywih cynicism and annoyanceby many, i no

mos, wihin he higher educaion communiy.Bu all secors did no respond idenically o hese evens. Based on personalinerviews, he sudy describes diering perspecives o hose associaed wihhigher educaion, including adminisraors, board members, alumni, presidens,sudens, members o Congress, represenaives o sae governmens, memberso he business communiy, and he media. According o hose inerviewed, heharshes reacion came rom he Washingon-based higher educaion organiza-ions; he responses rom he six presidenial associaions and various oher as-

sociaions and agencies were characerized as considerably more negaive hanin oher pars o he higher educaion communiyranging rom skepical oopenly hosile.

Media coverage o he Commission and is work was quie subsanial. Teauhors o his sudy idenied, caegorized, and analyzed 1,363 online or paperaricles and responses published rom Sepember 5, 2005, o Sepember 7, 2007.Tey concluded ha he majoriy o aricles and responses were persuasive innaure, generally displaying posiions criical o he Commission. Over a quarer o

he responses/commens o aricles did no commen direcly on he Commissionswork or process, bu ocused on criiques o oher responses and commens.


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Sbsance an one

Te iniial criique o he Repor wihin higher educaion ocused on boh sub-sance and one. From he perspecive o subsance, any iniial enhusiasm abouhe Repors praise o higher educaion dissipaed quickly among mos highereducaion readers when more specic deails were considered.

Te higher educaion communiy seemed o reach a consensus ha he Reporoered oo much o a one-size-s-all approach o he challenges idenied, anddid no ake ino accoun or value he diversiy o missions wihin he commu-niy. Naional associaions, accrediing agencies, and insiuional leaders were

paricularly concerned abou his approach o he complexiies o assessmen. TeCommission Repor and Deparmen saemens suggesed ha oucomes shouldreceive greaer emphasisha assessmen should shi rom a primary emphasison repuaion, inpu, and resource measures o a ocus on measures o peror-mance, impac, and oucomes. Higher educaion leaders expressed ear ha i asingle approach were pu in place, sandardized mehods and measures would beapplied across all ypes o higher educaion insiuions wihou regard o heir di-erences, especially dierences associaed wih mission. Furher, hey eared ha

simplisic and poenially damaging comparisons would be broadly publicized, inhe name o ransparency. Tese reacions were immediae and inense, and servedo galvanize resisance o he Commission, he Repor, and he Deparmen oEducaion.

Inerpreaions dier as o wheher ears over he one-size-s-all approachwere jusied or no, and wheher such ears arose a leas parially as a consequenceo planned communicaion eors by some organizaions wihin he higher educa-ion communiy, designed o inensiy resisance. Wheher by design or deaul,

concerns abou a one-size-s-all approach had imporan consequences. One in-erviewee noed: A leas in my percepion o he higher educaion communiyhas probably he mos conenious issue.

Furhermore, here was a general resisance o wha many higher educaionleaders believed was an overly harsh criique o he curren sae o higher educa-ion. Tey expressed opinions in public media and associaion Web sies ha hegap beween he presen and desired sae o higher educaion is no as wide as heCommission implied in is Repor. Many indicaed ha he Commission saw isel

chronicling a crisis, when, in ac, he concerns i voiced were no paricularly new,were being addressed, and were no a cause or alarm or panic. Tis creaed yeanoher source o ricion and resisance beween he Commission and he highereducaion communiy.


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exuv suary 9

Te sudy documens diering perspecives on prioriies and mehods ad-dressed in he Commissions Repor, noing ha mos o he recommendaions

were no viewed as especially conroversial or innovaive. Te sudy provides aclose look a how dieren segmens o he higher educaion communiy respond-ed o each o he Commissions recommendaions.

Mos o he recommendaions are sucienly general ha hey enjoy a con-siderably broad level o supporin he absrac. For example, here has been

widespread agreemen abou he need o address improving academic preparaion,removing barriers, and increasing suden aid. Similarly, here has been suppor orresrucuring he nancial aid sysem and improving measuremen and manage-

men o coss and insiuional produciviy, and promoing a culure o coninuousinnovaion and qualiy improvemen in pedagogies, curricula, and echnologieso improve learning. Mos agreed ha i is very imporan o develop a naionalsraegy or lielong learning. Finally, here was srong suppor or increases in ed-eral invesmen in atracing he bes sudens o sraegic areas, criical o globalleadership and compeiiveness, specically, o science, engineering, medicine,and oher knowledge-inensive proessions.

Te recommendaion ha generaed he mos conroversy concerns assess-

men: creaing a robus culure o measuremen, accounabiliy, and ransparency.Tis recommendaion osered considerable discussionin published documensand in inerviews or his sudyabou a poenially enlarged role o accrediingagencies and an inensied ocus on insiuional and learning assessmen goalsand oucomes, he need or clearer communicaion o such indicaors o he pub-lic, he value o developing more sandardized approaches or reporing, and heimporance o increasing atenion o he assessmen o insiuional eecivenessin erms o produciviy, eciency, and cos eeciveness.

In addiion o issues o subsance, here were also reacions o wha migh besbe ermed one. An early dra, released in June 2006, had considerably harsherlanguage han he nal version. Largely he work o a commissioned wrier, hedocumen became public beore i had been reviewed and edied by mos o heCommission members. Te Deparmen o Educaion repored ha he disri-

buion o his early dra was accidenalha he dra was being reviewed bysome members and was inadverenly released. Because he accidenally-releaseddra was quie widely circulaed hrough inormal e-mail and oher channels, he

Deparmen decided o pos ha version on is Web sie.Reacions o he early release were mixed. Tough mos o hose inerviewedbelieved ha he early release o a harsh rs dra was accidenal raher han sra-egic, here was agreemen ha he one cerainly conribued o negaiviy among


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exuv suary 11

auonomy vS. accounabILIy

Te case sudy noes ha he issue o auonomy was he mos criical acor insimulaing he inensiy o iniial and subsequen reacions o he Commission andRepor. Tis concern ceners on he quesion o who has he responsibiliy and herigh o criicize, recommend, and/or iniiae change wihin higher educaion. Assudy paricipans noed in dieren ways, sel-deerminaion and auonomy areamong he mos reasured values a all levels wihin higher educaion, and viewedas essenial o he success ha U.S. colleges and universiies have enjoyed.

Te perceived hreas o auonomy were exacerbaed by a seemingly wide-spread belie wihin he higher educaion communiy ha enhanced sysems oaccounabiliy would ineviably lead o diminished auonomy. Some, however,

believed i would be possible o be accounable and ransparen, while mainain-ing auonomy. Recommendaions ha are perceived o hreaen he auonomy ohigher educaion srike a he hear and soul o he academy. Paricularly i a per-ceived hrea o ha principle comes rom ouside he academy, and i i appearsha he ousiders may have he power o enorce change, vigorous resisance is apredicable response. For many leaders in he higher educaion communiy, hishas been precisely he siuaion creaed by he Spellings Commission.

Te Repor Becomes a Plan for Acion

A number o individuals inerviewed in connecion wih his sudy said hey be-lieved ha he iniial goal wihin he higher educaion organizaions and agencies in

Washingon was o minimize he atenion given o he Commission deliberaions.From a sraegic perspecive, he hinking was ha he more he higher educaion

communiy responded, he more visibiliy he Commissions work would receive.However, wih he level o public atenion generaed by he release o he Repor,i became apparen ha his sraegy would no be eecive. I became clear hano only would he Repor coninue o atrac considerable atenion, bu also hahe Deparmen o Educaion envisioned he Spellings Repor as a componen oa broader agenda or change.

Legislaive Aciviy: Posiions Haren

Te naional higher educaion associaions and agencies, wih he suppor o manycollege and universiy leaders around he counry, sough o moderae, modiy,and ideally sall he Deparmens and Secrearys agenda or changewhich was in-creasingly depiced as a one-size-s-all ederalized program or higher educaion.


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One o he cleares examples o legislaive counermeasures came in he ormo a widely circulaed saemen rom Senaor and ormer Secreary o Educaion,

Lamar Alexander on May 24, 2007. Senaor Alexander made a srong appeal hahigher educaion, raher han he Deparmen o Educaion, should ake respon-sibiliy or improvemen. And Senaor Edward Kennedy on behal o he SenaeCommitee on Healh, Educaion, Labor, and Pensions, urged he Deparmeno rerain rom proposing new regulaions on accrediaion unil aer Congressreauhorized he Higher Educaion Ac.

hE dynamIcS oF pLannEd changE

Wha impac has he Commission and is work had? Tis sudy akes a close looka his quesion rom several perspecives. o a large exen, he answer depends onhow one hinks abou he concep o impac. Mos inerviewees believe ha he

work o he Commission and he Repor have had a signican impac, bu heydier in heir perspecives o wha he impac acually is and wheher he impac

will ulimaely be posiive or negaive. A Deparmen o Educaion member ob-served ha he communiy realized ha his may be he las chance hey have o

ge in ron o his i hey don gure i ou now someone is going o gure i ouor hem. Ohers noed ha many o he issues cied in he Commissions Reporhave been discussed or a long ime, and eors o solve problems were underway

beore he esablishmen o he Commission.In addiion o documening hese perspecives, his case sudy analyzes im-

pac by considering hese issues wihin he larger conex o organizaional changeheory. Planned change eors proceed hrough a predicable se o sages, de-piced below. In assessing impac, his case sudy describes atenion, engagemen,

resolve, acion , and inegraion and evaluaes he exen o which he responses ohe Commissions work mee he crieria or each sage. Successul change requirescompleion o each phaseand change agens seek o bring heir iniiaives o henal sage o long-erm inegraion.

Te auhors argue ha his model is useul or assessing he impac o heSpellings Commission and ha i helps o clariy and organize diering deniionso impac. Te ramework also helps explain some o he underlying reasons or heresisance and redirecion ha has occurred in his case. Each sage is comprehen-

sively discussed in he ull research repor; he analysis is briefy described here.


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more dicul. I mus be acknowledged, however, ha he adversarial climae hasuraced during and aer he work o he Commission, no doub has origins ha

precede he Commission, and o some exen may well be inheren in he culuralrelaionship beween higher educaion and any governmenal agency.

resle. Te resolve sage ocuses on eors o secure commimen o he prob-lem as dened, and help o ideniy seps needed o work oward soluions. Onepossible oucome could be a resolve o disengage. Bu in his insance, he oucomehas been greaer engagemen. Based on he research repored here, i seems clearha he Commission and Repor have become he impeus or a number o newand energized discussions and planning eors aking place wihin he higher edu-caion communiy. Te serious consideraion o diverse volunary iniiaivesinline wih Commission prioriiesprovides evidence o some level o armaion

by higher educaion associaions and colleges and universiies. A he same ime,sudy paricipans indicae ha commimen a he ground level is uneven. Such

buy-in is a criical componen o resolve and he subsequen sages o insiuionalchange.

ai. Tis sage considers progress owards idenied goals. Te case sudydocumens wha may be described as common ground, which signals a resolveha is being ranslaed ino acions o various kinds. Te magniude o his com-mon ground can be seen in he compleion o a number o iniiaives ha wereunderaken volunarily by associaions and agencies. I is also evidenced by henumber o insiuions ha have adoped or adaped hese or similar insiuion-generaed iniiaives a he local level.

Iei. Tis sage reers o insiuionalizing change, so ha reorms become

a permanen par o policy and pracice. In his regard, i is useul o diereniaebeween shor- and long-erm impac. While we can look a some o he immediaerepercussions o he Commissions Repor, i is premaure o make any deniivedeerminaion abou is infuence. Paricipans in he sudy were asked o specu-lae abou he exen o which he infuences o he Spellings Commission wouldranslae ino lasing change. Inerviewees generally expressed he view ha heCommissions work will ulimaely resul in lasing change, and mos saed hahe changes would be posiive.

Te undersanding o planned organizaional change elucidaed hrough hisexample can be generalized o help clariy and improve oher planning and changeiniiaives wihin higher educaion and beyond.


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exuv suary 15

Te Ocome

Tere is litle doub ha he Commission, is work, and subsequen aciviies basedupon ha oundaion, atraced he atenion o a subsanial segmen o he highereducaion communiy, osered a visible and vigorous naional conversaion on hechallenges and needs o higher educaion, and moivaed or inensied commi-mens o a number o volunary acions ha can be seen as direc responses o hehemes o he Repor.

Viewed rom he perspecive o he Commission and he Deparmen oEducaion, he impac o he Commission and he eeciveness o he iniiaive

overall can be seen mos clearly in: 1) he atenion i aorded o he issues andhemes addressed in he Repor and ollow-up aciviies; 2) he dialogue ha has been simulaed by hese eors; and 3) he numerous volunary improvemenprojecs and programs ha have been energized and inspired during his period.However, he eor has had considerably less impac and success in osering hekind o muual respec, consrucive collaboraion, and engaged parnering haseems necessary o unie he higher educaion communiy, Congress, and heDeparmen in he join pursui o a common agenda.

Much o he higher educaion communiy has aken considerable pleasure inis success a resising exernally mandaed and imposed regulaions and in ini-iaing volunary eors o respond o some o he mos criical pressures poinsidenied by he Commission. Bu as sudy paricipans noe, hrough is responsehe higher educaion communiy has been less successul in eecively elling hehigher educaion sory o he public a large, in presening a unied response ohe issues and hemes o he Repor, and in easing disquie among many exernalconsiuencies abou higher educaions presumed insulariy and indierence o

concerns o he day.

LESSonS HA COuLd BE LEarnEd

Nearly all o hose inerviewed, across various roles and perspecives, believe hahe higher educaion communiy could have responded more eecively hani did o he Commission and he Reporbeore, during, and aer is release.Many expressed regre ha he communiy had inerpreed he issues raised by

he Spellings iniiaive more as problems han as opporuniies, had appeareddeensive and reinorced images ha he academy is resisan o change, ailed ouse he siuaion as a plaorm or eecively elling higher educaions sory, aced


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reacively raher han proacively, and missed opporuniies o provide neededleadership. Te case sudy examines hese issues in deail and provides compelling

evidence ha higher educaion migh have beneed wih a dieren approach.By avoiding deensiveness and he appearance o being resisan o change, highereducaion migh have been more eecive in geting across he values and goals hai deems imporan and ha i believed were hreaened by he Deparmens ini-iaive. Wih a more proacive sance and beter coordinaed leadership, he highereducaion communiy migh have mouned a clearer case or is own prioriies.

Tose inerviewed also suggesed ways ha he Commission and heDeparmen o Educaion migh have delivered is messages more eecively. Tey

noed ha he Commission could have been more broadly represenaive, provid-ed a clearer raionale or is exisence and is recommendaions, could have com-municaed in a more collegial manner wih clearer signals, and could have more

broadly and eecively engaged he higher educaion communiy in he dialogue.Te case sudy examines hese asserions in deail. Wih a broader engagemenand a dieren communicaion sraegy, he Commission migh have been beterable o pu is concerns beore he public and he higher educaion communiy in amanner ha would generae ineres raher han deensiveness and ha would have

avoided a leas some o he anger and push back ha garnered so much atenionin he media. A more collegial communicaion process may have elucidaed hemany areas in which he Commission and he Deparmen shared goals or reorm

wih he higher educaion communiy. Wih a recogniion o hese shared goals,cooperaive iniiaives o improve higher educaion wereand sill areeasible.

Going beyond his paricular case sudy, his sudy raises broader issuesabou he higher educaion sysem, abou posuring and poliics, abou criicism,sandards, and leadership. Te case sudy isel illusraes he imporance o juris-

dicional issuesa he botom o he conroversy lies he undamenal issue ohe righ o criicize and iniiae change. Key consideraions are briefy consideredbelow.

One o he recurring hemes in he commens o inerviewees a all levels isha more eecive leadership approaches are needed wihin higher educaion oinspire collaboraive raher han conronaional poliics in he ace o challenges,and ulimaely o unie voices on behal o higher educaion. More generally, eec-ive leadership a all levels could help ensure ha higher educaions perspecive is

more eecively undersood and appreciaed by is many exernal consiuencies.Exernal advocacy and cogen explicaion o criical issues are key challengesor higher educaion. Bu, here is also a need or new leadership o enhance com-municaion and ineracion among componens wihin he higher educaion com-muniy. Wih new approaches o higher educaion leadership, he roles individuals


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exuv suary 17

play wihin our sysems and insiuionsrom academics o suden lie andadminisraioncould be more eecively inegraed o beter serve operaional,

nancial, and communicaion challenges aced by insiuions and he higher edu-caion communiy a large.A number o hose inerviewed suggesed ha he Commission would have

been more eecive i i had idenied a ew key issues around which here wasagreemen, such as he need or improvemen in he awarding o nancial aid, andhen had buil on ha common ground. Ideniying common ineress is a concepha appears oen in he organizaional change lieraure. A sraegy o principlednegoiaion could hen move he discussion rom divergen posiions o areas o

common ineress. Tis is one o several available sraegies ha migh have beenuseul. Te need o separae he people rom he problem is anoher widely under-sood principle o negoiaion. Tis allows hose involved o ge away rom overidenicaion wih a persons syle and ge o he issues under discussion.

Specic commens rom sudy paricipans poin o he need or ariculae,inclusive, proacive leadersleaders who promoe he highes sandards o dis-course and subsanive dialogueor clariying needs and direcions, or oseringmore genuine and producive engagemen, or encouraging more holisic concep-

ualizaions o higher educaion, or delivering dicul messages o hose who maypreer no o receive hem, and ulimaely or more eecively advancing he col-laborae pursui o shared purposes.

Wha general lessons abou he dynamics o change wihin higher educaioncan be derived rom his case? An analysis o commens by sudy paricipans in-dicaes ha in addiion o sages, here are a number ohemes ha are vial acrosshe various phases o he change process, among hem leadership, communicaion,culure, assessmen, andplanning. Exensive commens by sudy paricipans eluci-

dae hese ideas in he case sudy.

Looking Back, Looking Forwar

Te sudy concludes wih a summary o he ndings and a discussion o howhe analysis o he work o he Commission can inorm our planning as we goorward:

Te Repor and he recommendaions are viewed dierenly by he

dieren secors in higher educaion.Wihin each secor, here were considerable variaions among presi-dens, chancellors, academic ocers, and business ocers as o howhe work o he Commission and he nal Repor is viewed.


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Tere was general agreemen ha i is imporan o separae he issuesidenied rom he poliics surrounding he Repor.

Te srong language o he Repor, he sharp edge, and he high po-

liical visibiliy were o-puting o many in he higher educaion com-muniy. Tese hings did, however, gain he atenion o he communi-yin spie o, or more likely, because ois direcness.Te primarily posiive value o he Repor is ha i pu higher educa-ion on he naional agenda and wih houghul responses, his could

be used o grea advanage.Te Repor was viewedby all pariesas somehing more han

simply a documen or refecion; i was raher a call o acion. Tisacor, along wih he poenial hrea o governmen inervenion,conribued signicanly o he inensiy o reacions rom he highereducaion communiy.

A number o associaions and agencies underook an aggressive andorganized eor o clariy misundersandings and o advocae or hehigher educaion communiyeors which were seen as eecivein blocking Deparmen acion, bu perhaps less so in enhancing he

undersanding and appreciaion o he higher educaion communiya large among oher consiuencies.

Figre 2: Cross-Cting Temes in he dynamics of Change

Source: Ruben, Bren D., Undersanding, Leading and Planning Social and Organizaional Change.

Washingon, DC: Naional Associaion o College and Universiy Business Ocers, 2008 (in press).


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exuv suary 19

Many individuals indicaed ha heir insiuions were already ad-dressing some o he iniiaives raised in he Repor and believed ha

hey perhaps, had no done a good job communicaing he progressbeing made in hese areas.Te Spellings Repor may have lled a vacuum creaed by unaddressedconcerns abou he coss o higher educaion, he value added, andhigher educaions ineeciveness represening isel as a public goodo he public.Te higher educaion communiy would have done well o rea heCommission and Repor as a se o opporuniies, and o embrace

he issues and creae meaningul responses, raher han o respond ohese primarily as problems. Te opporuniy o reengage and creaecollaboraive neworks and parnerships across higher educaion and

wih sae and ederal agencies is no los. Te creaion o hese iesconinues o be criically imporan.Te Commission would have been more eecive i i had made aclearer case or he need or educaional reorm, i is communicaionsyle had been more collegial, and i i had i been more successul in

creaing alliances wih he higher educaion communiy o promoecommon values and goals.

Tose who served on he Commissionleaders rom he Deparmen oEducaion, he higher educaion associaions and accrediing agencies, collegesand universiiesand all hose who read and reaced in one way or anoher, un-dersand boh he accomplishmens o and opporuniies or improvemen wihinhigher educaion. Te challenge or hose seeking o advance he purposes o

higher educaion is one o balance. Should he ocus be on he many atribues, ac-complishmens, and achievemens o he U.S. higher educaion communiy in hehope o broadening public undersanding and much needed suppor? Or, shouldhe emphasis be on improvemen needs, gaps, weaknesses, and challenges, in ordero simulae and mobilize he alen and resources o accelerae progress?

Te Spellings Commission adoped a syle and approach ha primarily em-phasized challenges, needs, gaps, and poenial areas or improvemen. Te gainsand risks associaed wih his approach were predicable, and boh have been real-

ized in some measure. Te nal oucome will be deermined over ime and i maywell be years beore we can ascerain he exen o which he Commission had aposiive or negaive impac on higher educaion.


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In looking back o draw lessons rom his high prole iniiaive or educaionreorm, we are also mindul o he need o look orward. As he Commission made

clear, colleges and universiies address economic and proessional needs and provide benesor individuals and or he naionha are criically imporanor all o us. Tey also srive o make vial conribuions hrough enhancing hequaliy o sudens personal lives, relaionships, and communiies; promoingcivic engagemen, ehical behavior, social responsibiliy, inerpersonal compe-ence, and inerculural appreciaion; developing leadership and communicaionskills; enhancing aesheic appreciaion, media and inormaion lieracy, poliicalparicipaion, and criical analysis o conemporary issues; and building he many

imporan undersandings, capabiliies, and lielong commimens ha bene allo us.Te communicaion challenge here is o vial imporance. Tere is a coninu-

ing and compelling need o creae and capialize on opporuniies or elling hehigher educaion sory eecivelyo houghully explain is conribuions oeconomic, proessional, and personal developmen hrough eaching, researchand discovery, oureach, and public service. o be eecive, he sory mus be oldin a manner ha akes cognizance o he needs, perspecives, and sensiiviies o

he various consiuencies whose undersanding and appreciaion o he mulipleaces o he academys work is criical.As he analysis presened in his sudy so clearly underscores, leadership a all

levels is essenial o he realizaion o hese goals. Tere are vial and coninuingleadership challenges relaed o ideniying, promoing, and leveraging innova-ions and eecive pracices; ideniying new iniiaives where common challengescan be proacively and cooperaively addressed; seeking new opporuniies or col-laboraion beween higher educaion and governmenal agencies and oces; and

developing collecive public voices o span and unie he various ypes o insiu-ions, associaions, and agencies ha dene higher educaion in America.


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ielie f Ke Ees

Sepember 19, 2005

U.S. Deparmen o Educaion Secreary MargareSpellings orms he Commission on he Fuure oHigher Educaion and charges i wih developing acomprehensive naional sraegy or possecondaryeducaion.

June 2006 Early dra o Commission Repor is released.

Early Sepember2006

Prepublicaion Commission Repor is released.

Sepember 19, 2006Spellings Commission Repor,A es of Leadership:Charing he Fuure of U.S. Higher Educaion, ispublished.

Sepember 19, 2006Deparmen o Educaion issues rs ocialsaemen upon release o Repor.

Sepember 22, 2006

Deparmen o Educaion releases saemen haSecreary Spellings would announce an acionplan or he uure o higher educaion; Secreary

Spellings and Commission Chair Miller hold pressconerence a he Naional Press Club.


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November 2006

Secreary Spellings convenes an Accrediaion

Forum wih 60 represenaives o accrediingagencies, colleges, universiies, sae leaders, privaesecor, and higher educaion organizaion.

Sepember oDecember 2006

Proessional educaion associaions and college anduniversiy presidens issue saemens abou heRepor.

Lae all 2006

Work begins on he ormaion o he VolunarySysem o Accounabiliy, a join projec o he

American Associaion o Sae Colleges andUniversiies and he Naional Associaion o SaeUniversiies and Land-Gran Colleges. More han70 insiuions creae VSA o help universiiesdemonsrae accounabiliy and sewardship. By

April 2008, more han 235 insiuions join he VSAnework.

Spring 2007 oSpring 2008

Commission sponsors public evens, includingsummis, own hall meeings, and SecrearysCollege our.

May 25, 2007

Senaor Lamar Alexander issues saemen warningo he dangers o ederal conrol o higher educaionand urging higher educaion o ake responsibiliyor is own improvemen.

May 2007

Members o he Associaion o AmericanUniversiies Daa Exchange agree o collec and

release inormaion abou undergraduae sudenperormance and coss.


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23t Ky ev

June 15, 2007

Senaor Edward Kennedy, on behal o he Senae

Commitee on Healh, Educaion, Labor, andPensions, issues leter urging he Deparmeno rerain rom proposing new regulaions onaccrediaion unil he Higher Educaion Ac isreauhorized.

July 2007U.S. Senae passes S1642, Higher Educaion Acreauhorizaion bill.

Ocober 2007

FIPSE awards $2.45 million o Associaion oAmerican Colleges and Universiies, AmericanAssociaion o Sae Colleges and Universiies, andNaional Associaion o Sae Universiies and Land-Gran Colleges or collecion, reporing, and use odaa o improve insrucion and oucomes.

November 2007

Te VSA launches College Porrai, a generic Webpage emplae ha colleges and universiies canuilize o provide various ypes o inormaion o hepublic.

Lae 2007

Te Universiy and College Accounabiliy Nework,

a projec o he Naional Associaion o IndependenColleges and Universiies signs up 600 privaeinsiuions o paricipae in he projec o presenuniorm inormaion abou heir colleges anduniversiies.

January 2008

Te AAC&U and CHEA issue Principles or

Suden Learning and Accounabiliy, as aramework or accounabiliy and o help highereducaion insiuions assess is conribuions o ourdemocracy as well as our economy.


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February 2008

Naional Consorium or Coninuous Improvemen

(NCCI) recognizes rs winners o is LeveragingExcellence Award Program, or eecive academicand adminisraive iniiaives ha have been acivelyleveraged or impac beyond one deparmen,campus, or insiuion.

February 2008U.S. House o Represenaives passes HR 4137,Higher Educaion Ac reauhorizaion bill.

Spring 2008House and Senae are in conerence commitee o

work ou he dierences beween heir wo versionso a reauhorized Higher Educaion Ac.


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Te Commission oered six broad recommendaions:

1. Suden academic preparaion should be improved and nancial aid

made available so ha more sudens are able o access and aord aqualiy higher educaion.

2. Te enire suden nancial aid sysem should be simplied, resruc-ured, and provided wih incenives o beter manage coss and mea-sure perormance.

3. A robus culure o accounabiliy and ransparency should be culi-vaed hroughou he higher educaion sysem, aided by new sysems

o daa measuremen and a publicly available inormaion daabasewih comparable college inormaion. Tere should also be a greaerocus on suden learning and developmen o a more oucome-ocused accrediaion sysem.

4. Colleges and universiies should embrace coninuous innovaion andqualiy improvemen.

5. Federal invesmens should be argeed o areas criical o Americasglobal compeiiveness, such as mah, science, and oreign languages.

6. A sraegy or lielong learning should be developed o increase aware-ness and undersanding o he imporance o a college educaion oevery Americans uure. 5

Each recommendaion was accompanied by exensive discussion, supporingdocumenaion and suggesions or acion. Te higher educaion media6 covered

exensively he work o he Commission, he Repor, and various ollow-up acivi-ies by he Deparmen o Educaion. A he same ime, he higher educaion com-muniy a he naional, sae, and campus levels engaged in considerable dialogue.

Imporan Quesions

Nearly wo years aer is release, he Repor coninues o atrac ineres and a-enion in media, conerences, and conversaions wihin he higher educaion

communiy. Tere have been a number o ask orces and commissions on highereducaion in recen imes, bu none has garnered his level o atenion. Because ohe imporance o he issues raised in he Repor, and he level o ineres generaed


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Rar Rr 27

by he aciviies o he Commission and he Deparmen, his case is o imporancerom operaional, policy, and scholarly poins o view:

How has he Commissions work been perceived by key consiuen-

cies wihin he higher educaion communiy, and more generally?How do he various consiuencies value he hemes and specicrecommendaions advanced by he Commission?

Wha is i abou he work o he Commission and is Repor ha hassimulaed such vigorous and coninuing reacion?How have groups wihin he higher educaion communiynaionalassociaions, accrediing agencies, and insiuionsresponded dur-

ing he monhs ollowing he release o he Repor?Will he work o he Commission, and he reacions and responses oi, resul in signican and lasing change?

Answers o hese quesions, an idenicaion o enduring hemes and issuesarising rom he work o he Commission, and an appreciaion o he process by

which hese issues have been brough ino he limeligh hrough his eor are im-poran or several reasons. While he enure and inuence o his Commission, and

o curren Deparmen o Educaion policy leaders and heir educaional philoso-phies are limied, he issues raised by he Commission are likely o be o ineres orsome ime o come. A beter undersanding o he dynamics o he Commissions

work and o he ensions wihin dieren higher educaion consiuencies, as wellas a sysemaic analysis o he impac o he Commission, can conribue o policyormaion and communicaion well ino he uure.

Addiionally, his analysis can be helpul in developing more generalizedinsighs:

Wha lessons can be learned rom his case abou he dynamics o

change wihin higher educaion?Can hese lessons orm he basis o a se o change principles ha can beuseul in oher conexs and a oher levels wihin higher educaion?

Will lessons rom his case have applicabiliy or undersanding hedynamics o change in oher organizaional or iner-insiuionalchange setings?

Tis undersanding can be o pracical signicance or naional higher educa-ion associaion and accrediaion leaders, as well as or academic and businessleaders wihin colleges and universiies. Tis knowledge will also conribue moregenerally o eors o sudy he naure o change wihin higher educaion and

wihin oher insiuional setings.


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Tis Sudy

Te purpose o his research projec is o provide a review and analysis o he ac-iviies and consequences o he Spellings Commission and is recommendaions.Inormaion or he analysis comes primarily rom hree sources: 1) a review andevaluaion o public communicaion abou he Commissions work and repors;2) inerviews wih a cross-secion o knowledgeable leaders wih varying perspec-ives on he case; and 3) a conen analysis o core aricles and responses publishedon paper and elecronically.

Based on he analysis, his repor describes he Commissions aciviies, goals,

and approaches, and summarizes percepions o is imporance and shor- and longer-erm impac rom muliple perspecives. Furher, i seeks o provide insighs inoprinciples o change wihin higher educaion, and o ideniy pracices ha may

be useul o leaders in heir eors o disseminae inormaion, garner atenion,heighen dialogue, promp acion, and more generally, o eecively engage audi-ences wih varying levels o ineres and enhusiasm in he consideraion o newideas and direcions.

As noed above, an eor is also made o examine he work o he Spellings

Commission in a broader conex, one ha considers general quesions abou henaure and dynamics o change wihin higher educaion and in oher insiuionalsetings. Tese are also opics ha are imporan in he proessional and academiclieraure addressing issues relaed o secor, insiuional, and organizaionalchange. I is hoped ha he analysis o his case will conribue o knowledge inhese areas, and will also provide he oundaion or urher, long-erm sudies ohe impac o he Spellings Commission and similar iniiaives.

data GatheRInG and analysIs

Tis research sudy has hree major elemens.

1. An inormal review o a cross secion o higher educaion prin andelecronic media aricles appearing in higher educaion public media,in combinaion wih repors, saemens, press releases, and commen-aries published by he Commission, he Deparmen o Educaion,naional higher educaion associaions, and accrediing associaions

beween Sepember 2005 hrough March 2008. Tose documensand he maerial hey conain provide he basis or consrucing hedescripive accoun o he Commission, is charer, is composiion,


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and is work. Tese documens also provide atribued saemensand quoes rom he Secreary, he Commission Chair, Commission

members, and ohers in he higher educaion communiy. All quoesatribued by name o specic individuals ha are included in hissudy are derived rom hese published documens.

2. Srucured inerviews wih 36 purposeully seleced leaders broadlyrepresenaive o he Spellings Commission, he Deparmen oEducaion, and higher educaion insiuions and media.7 Tis groupincludes senior leaders rom major higher educaion organizaions andaccrediing agencies; insiuional, academic, and adminisraive and

nance execuives rom a cross secion o sysems, universiies, andcolleges;8 and senior reporers/ediors rom Te Chronicle o HigherEducaion andInside Higher Ed who were key gures in covering hework o he Commission and relaed aciviies. Te group consisedo our members o he Spellings Commission; wo senior leadersrom he Deparmen o Educaion; our higher educaion associaionpresidens; presidens or execuive direcors o hree accrediing as-sociaions; presidens or chancellors o wo public universiy sysems,

hree liberal ars colleges, and one communiy college; and hree chieacademic ofcers, oureen chie business and adminisraive ofcers,and wo senior journaliss rom higher educaion media who hadprimary responsibiliy or covering he Spellings Commission. (womembers o he Commission were also represenaives o oher iner-

viewee groups lised.)

All o he individuals invied o paricipae in his sudy acceped

our inviaions. Te inerviews consised o a series o closed- andopened-ended quesions and each lased an hour o an hour and ahal. Inerviews were conduced by wo o he lead auhors o his re-por over a period o ve monhs, roughly one year ollowing he releaseo he Spellings Commission Repor. Inerviewees were inormed haheir responses would remain condenial and anonymous and norepored in a way ha would reveal heir ideniies. Wih he conseno he inerviewees, he inerviews were recorded and laer ranscribed

and edied in a manner ha preserved anonymiy and condenialiy.3. Sysemaic sampling and conen analysis o 1,363 core aricles and

responses published online and/or in paper orm beween Sepember5, 2005, and Sepember 7, 2007.9 Te Repor presens resuls rom


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a review and conen analysis o aricles and responses o ariclespublished by higher educaion media.Crieria used o selec relevan

aricles/responses or his sudy are as ollows:Core aricles were seleced rom he lis o publicaions i he ile,absrac, or conen o he aricle indicaed a commenary on heSpellings Commission on he Fuure o Higher Educaion, reac-ion o he Spellings Commission, and/or a ollow-up discussiono he Commissions work.

Aricles were seleced i he ile o he aricle indicaed a com-menary on he Spellings Commission, reacions/responses re-laed o he commission, and ollow-up discussion as a resul ohe Commissions work.10

Aer core aricles were seleced, all published responses o se-leced aricles were also analyzed ollowing acceped pracices oensure validiy and reliabiliy.

the commIssIonFoRmatIon and launch

Te ormaion o he Commission on he Fuure o Higher Educaion ollowed aseries o roundables on higher educaion hosed by he Deparmen o Educaionin Washingon and Colorado. Based on hose meeings, Secreary Spellings con-cluded ha here was a need or naional leadership on he issues acing highereducaion, and he Commission was seen as a vehicle o help address his need.11

Composiion o he Commission

o assure a broad-based dialogue, he Deparmen envisioned a Commissioncomposed o individuals who would represen a variey o key consiuencies andrelevan perspecives on higher educaion. I was assumed ha individual members

would speak or he groups hey represened.12 Specically, he ormal documenscalled or he Commission o include ormer and curren public and privae col-lege presidens, represenaives o Forune 500 corporaions, he nancial servicesindusry, or-pro educaion companies, nonpro educaion oundaions, highereducaion researchers, and oher represenaives he Secreary deemed appropri-ae including ormer eleced ofcials.13 Ulimaely, 19 individuals were appoined

o he Commission.14 Te Charer o he Commission called or he Secreary oappoin one or more chairpersons rom among he members, and Charles Miller,ormer Chairman o he Board o Regens o he Universiy o exas Sysem, wasappoined.


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Meeings and Aciviies

According o he charer, a minimum o hree meeings were o be held in dierenpars o he counry during he course o he Commission deliberaions, and hesemeeings were o be open o he public excep as deermined oherwise by heSecreary in accordance wih saues governing ederal advisory commitees. 15 Inacualiy, over he course o he Commissions work, a oal o nine meeings in-cluding public hearings were heldin Washingon, Nashville, San Diego, Seatle,Boson, and Indianapolis.

Secreary Spellings broadly charged he Commission wih developing wha

was characerized as a comprehensive naional sraegy or possecondary educa-ion ha will mee he needs o Americas diverse populaion and also address heeconomic and workorce needs o he counrys uure. Speaking a he Universiyo Norh Carolina in Charlote on he day she announced he ormaion o heCommission, Spellings described he challenge his way:

I is ime o examine how we can ge he mos ou o our na-ional invesmen in higher educaion. We have a responsibiliyo make sure our higher educaion sysem coninues o mee our

naions needs or an educaed and compeiive workorce in he21s cenury.

She asked he Commission o engage sudens and amilies, policymakers, business leaders, and he academic communiy in a naional discussion abouhigher educaion, in general, and in paricular, o consider such quesions as:

Wha skills will sudens need o succeed in he 21s cenury?How can we make sure America says he worlds leader in academic

research?How can we make sure opporuniies or qualiy higher educaion andhe bes jobs are open o all sudens?

In ha speech, Secreary Spellings urher noed ha,

he achievemen gap is closing and es scores are rising amongour naions younger sudens, due largely o he high sandards

and accounabiliy measures called or by he No Child LeBehind Ac. More and more sudens are going o graduaeready or he challenges o college and we mus make sure ourhigher educaion sysem is accessible and aordable or all hesesudens.16


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Te message here is simple, she commened,

in odays global economy, he bes jobs go o he mos skilled

and mos moivaed workers. Around 80 percen o he ases-growing jobs require a leas some possecondary educaion.Ta means a college educaion is more imporan han ever.

Te good news is ha we sill have he nes sysem o highereducaion in he world. Bu were a a crossroads. Te world iscaching up. In 1970, America produced more han 50 perceno he worlds science and engineering docoraes. Bu i cur-

ren rends coninue, by 2010, we will produce only around 15percen.

As axpayers, we all have a sake in he higher educaion sysem.Mos people don realize ha ederal dollars make up abouone-hird o our naions oal annual invesmen in highereducaion.

unlike K12 educaion, we don ask a lo o quesions abou

wha were geting or our invesmen in higher educaion. Andas a resul, were missing some valuable inormaion o helpguide policy o ensure ha our sysem remains he nes in he

world. And parens have a ough ime geting answers abou heway i all works.

A ew weeks ago, I dropped my oldes daugher o a college o begin her reshman year. I ound pleny o inormaion ondining hall ood, inramural spors, and campus archiecure. Ilearned a one school ha you can atend a Jimmy Bue Bashand a oga pary all in one year. Who knew?

I didn nd much inormaion on wha courses o ake, howlong i akes he average suden o graduae, and wheher is a

beter deal o graduae rom a less-expensive sae school in sixyears or a privae school in our. I learned jus how conusing hecollege process can be or parens.

Te ederal governmen is par o he problem, oo. We havearound 60 dieren Web sies or ederal nancial aid and dozenso dieren oll-ree phone numbers. Were working on a plan osreamline he process.


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Parens need beter inormaion. And so do policymakers. Ishard o make good policy wihou sound daa on whas working

well and wha needs o work beter.We all have a par o play a he ederal, sae, communiy, andprivae levels. Im no advocaing a bigger role or he ederalgovernmen, bu is ime o examine how we can ge he mosou o our naional invesmen. We have a responsibiliy o makesure our higher educaion sysem coninues o mee our naionsneeds or an educaed and compeiive workorce in he 21scenury.

Tas why oday Im announcing he ormaion o a new com-mission. Te goal is o launch a naional discussion on heuure o higher educaion and how we can ensure our sysemremains he bes in he world and provides more opporuniiesor all Americans.

In recen years, here have been many good sudies and recom-mendaions on dieren aspecs o higher educaion. Is ime

o review his work and ake sock o where we sand. We mushave a plan or moving orward. We mus develop a comprehen-sive naional sraegy or possecondary educaion.17

A number o issues ha were o be considered by he Spellings Commissionhad been o growing concern wihin Washingon. Te 1998 Amendmens o heHigher Educaion Ac o 1965, or example, called or a sudy o ranser policies,and esablished a commitee o review and advise on accrediaion sandards and

pracices.18

I also called or he Naional Cener or Educaion Saisics (NCES)o conduc a sudy o expendiures by insiuions and prices paid or a collegeeducaion by sudens and heir amilies.19 Given his conex, i was no surprisingha here appeared o be biparisan suppor or he launch o he Spellings iniia-ive, and Senaor Edward Kennedy released he ollowing saemen on Sepember19, 2005:

I applaud he Secrearys eor o look a he long-erm srenghsand weaknesses o our possecondary sysem. More han ever,

our colleges and universiies are vial o our abiliy o mee henew and dynamic challenges o our ime. We need o ensure haevery suden has he abiliy o go o college and ha hey gradu-ae ready or he jobs o he 21s cenury.20


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o address is charge, he Commission underook an exensive review odocumens rom a variey o sources including whie papers, opinion pieces, and

research repors o pas blue-ribbon commissions. Inormaion was solicied andreceived rom approximaely 175 organizaions, agencies, and insiuions.21As a par o he inormaion-gahering process, Chairman Charles Miller com-

missioned 15 issue papers on opics ha were considered cenral o he delibera-ions. Tese papers covered a range o hemes including: eliminaing complexiyand inconsisency in nancial aid programs, he need or accrediaion reorm,accounabiliy and consumer inormaion, ederal regulaion o higher educaion,and assuring qualiy in higher educaion.22 As described in he Repor, hese is-

sue papers were prepared by various expers and heir purpose was o spark anaional dialogue, educae he public, generae debae, and inorm he work o heCommission surrounding key possecondary issues. Te Commission was careulo poin ou ha he issue papers did no necessarily represen he opinions oCommissioners or he Deparmen o Educaion, and were no ormal recommen-daions.23 In addiion, he Deparmen o Educaion hosed a number o evens, orinsance a roundable discussion wih accrediing agencies and sae higher educa-ion leadership, o ideniy he major challenges acing accrediaion in carrying

ou is mission o promoing and assuring qualiy in higher educaion.

Communicaion abou he Commission

Te U.S. Deparmen o Educaions Web sie24 was a primary communicaionchannel or conveying inormaion abou he ormaion o he Commission andhe conduc o is research and deliberaions.25 Public and proessional elecronicand prin media also devoed considerable atenion o he iniiaive.

the RepoRtthe document and Its dIssemInatIon

In Sepember 2006 he Deparmen released a prepublicaion version o heCommission repor, ollowed shorly hereaer by he release o he nal repor.Te Preamble o he Repor eniled,A es o Leadership: Charing he Fuure oU.S. Higher Educaion,began in his way:

Tree hundred and seveny years aer he rs college in ouredgling naion was esablished higher educaion in heUnied Saes has become one o our greaes success sories.

Wheher Americas colleges and universiies are measured byheir sheer number and variey, by he increasingly open access


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he U.S. commi o an unprecedened eor o expand highereducaion access and success by improving suden preparaion

and persisence, addressing non academic barriers, and provid-ing signican increases in aid o low-income sudens.

o address he escalaing cos o a college educaion and he s-cal realiies aecing governmens abiliy o nance higher edu-caion in he long run, we recommend ha he enire sudennancial aid sysem be resrucured and new incenives pu inplace o improve he measuremen and managemen o coss andinsiuional produciviy.

o mee he challenges o he 21s cenury, higher educaionmus change rom a sysem primarily based on repuaion o one

based on perormance. We urge he creaion o a robus culureo accounabiliy and ransparency hroughou higher educa-ion. Every one o our goals, rom improving access and aord-abiliy o enhancing qualiy and innovaion, will be more easilyachieved i higher educaion insiuions embrace and implemen

serious accounabiliy measures. We recommend he creaion oa consumer-riendly inormaion daabase on higher educaionwih useul, reliable inormaion on insiuions, coupled wih asearch engine o enable sudens, parens, policymakers, and oh-ers o weigh and rank comparaive insiuional perormance.

Wih oo ew excepions, higher educaion has ye o addresshe undamenal issues o how academic programs and insi-uions mus be ransormed o serve he changing needs o a

knowledge economy. We recommend ha Americas collegesand universiies embrace a culure o coninuous innovaion andqualiy improvemen by developing new pedagogies, curricula,and echnologies o improve learning, paricularly in he area oscience and mahemaical lieracy.

America mus ensure ha our ciizens have access o high qual-iy and aordable educaional, learning, and raining opporu-

niies hroughou heir lives. We recommend he developmeno a naional sraegy or lielong learning ha helps all ciizensundersand he imporance o preparing or and paricipaing inhigher educaion hroughou heir lives.


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Te Unied Saes mus ensure he capaciy o is universiies oachieve global leadership in key sraegic areas such as science,

engineering, medicine, and oher knowledge-inensive proes-sions. We recommend increased ederal invesmen in areas crii-cal o our naions global compeiiveness and a renewed com-mimen o atrac he bes and brighes minds rom across henaion and around he world o lead he nex wave o Americaninnovaion.27

Ocial Saemen by he Deparmen o Educaion

Te Deparmen o Educaion issued is rs ofcial saemen upon receip o heCommission Repor on Sepember 19, 2006,28 and on he same day a summary ohe Commissions ndings was issued by he Deparmen in a separae saemen:

Over he pas year, he Commissioncomprised o public o-cials, researchers, and leaders rom he academic and businesscommuniyheld a series o public meeings and hearingsacross he counry, engaging Americans rom all walks o lie in arobus naional dialogue.

Te Commissions Final Repor deermined ha while Americascolleges and universiies have much o be proud o, hey are no

well-prepared or he challenges o an increasingly diverse su-den populaion and a compeiive global economy. Our sysemo higher educaion has become dangerously complacen despiehe ac ha, in he Commissions words, Oher counries are

passing us by a a ime when educaion is more imporan o ourcollecive prosperiy han ever. 29

Te release reieraed he ollowing addiional poins rom he CommissionRepor:

College access, paricularly or low-income and minoriy su-dens, is limied by inadequae academic preparaion, a lack oinormaion, and persisen nancial barriers;

Te curren nancial aid sysem is conusing, complex, and in-efcien, and is hereore requenly unable o direc aid o hesudens who need i mos; and


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Tere is a shorage o clear, comprehensive, and accessible inor-maion abou he colleges and universiies hemselves, including

comparaive daa abou cos and perormance.oo many Americans jus aren geting he educaion ha heyneed. Tere are disurbing signs ha many sudens who do earndegrees have no acually masered he reading, wriing, andhinking skills we expec o college graduaes.30

Te saemen included a brie lising o he six recommendaions, and indica-ed ha he Secreary o Educaion would be considering hese and oher proposals

and would prepare an acion plan or he uure o higher educaion o be or-mally released on Sepember 26, 2006, a he Naional Press Club in Washingon,D.C. Te orhcoming plan, he release indicaed, would ouline a course orwardas we begin our work ogeher owards soluions ha will bes mee he needso all consumers o he sysemeducaors, insiuions, axpayers, parens, andsudens.31

Disseminaion o he Repor and Relaed Inormaion

As wih he ormaion and launch o he Commission, he U.S. Deparmen oEducaions Web sie32 was he primary channel or disribuing he Repor. Tesie also provided a convenien poin o access o he ull range o Commission-and Repor-relaed inormaion ha had been generaed rom speeches, pressreleases, and oher supporing documens.

Tose who had been ollowing he work o he Commission were very amiliarwih his Web sie, where a variey o maerials, including he ex o he issue pa-

pers, had been posed hroughou he year. Te involvemen o many individualsrom he higher educaion communiy during he preceding year aciliaed herapid diusion o inormaion abou he Repor hrough heir own personal andproessional neworks. Te Chronicle o Higher Educaion and Inside Higher Ed werehe mos visible ormal channels or disseminaing news o he Repor. Oherpublic and proessional elecronic and prin media also devoed atenion o heiniiaive. In addiion o ormal channels o communicaion, he inormal neworko e-mails, atachmens, and Web sies were hen, and have coninued o be, ex-

remely signican in he diusion process.As knowledge o he Repor spread, he Deparmen and is Web sie was in-creasingly signican as a source or archived inormaion or hose who were seek-ing o beter undersand he hisory o evens associaed wih he Commission. Aso January 2008, he Deparmen o Educaion had disribued more han 12,000


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copies o he Repor o a wide array o sakeholder groups, including saes, insiu-ions, governing boards, associaions, sudens, and parens. More han 7,000 cop-

ies were mailed o U.S. college presidens in Sepember 2006. Anoher 4,000 cop-ies were requesed hroughEdPubs or individual use, and more han 1,000 copieswere disribued o paricipans a he naional and regional higher educaion sum-mis and own hall meeings held hroughou 2007.33 According o Deparmen oEducaion records, here were nearly 75,000 visis o he Spellings Commission

Web sie in 2006 and more han 95,000 in 2007. Tere were approximaely 36,000downloads o he Commission dra and nal Commission Repors on he Web in2006, and 53,000 in 2007.34 Clearly, he availabiliy o Inerne-based communica-ion channels is a acor ha helps o explain he high level o iniial and susainedineres in he Commission, is Repor, and is work.

aFteRmathReactIons and Follow-up actIvItIes

Predicably, news o he release o he Repor spread rom hose mos closely in-volved wih he work o he Commission o hose who were ineresed bu no in-volved. In subsequen weeks and monhs inormaion abou he Commission andRepor was disseminaed o a progressively larger number o individuals wihinhe higher educaion communiy. Among hose inerviewed in he sudy, here wasa general sense ha members o higher educaion associaions and agency lead-ers, as well as higher educaion academic and business leaders, became aware ohe Commission, and is work early on; ohers, including board members, aculy,sudens, and alumni were much less knowledgeable.

Repor Recommendaions and Commens by Sudy Paricipans

Tose who came o he Repor wihou a paricular poin o view ound is open-ing paragraphs quie reassuring because o heir srong reafrmaion o he valueand imporance o U.S. higher educaion:

Higher educaion in he Unied Saes has become one o ourgreaes success sories. Wheher Americas colleges and univer-siies are measured by heir sheer number and variey, by he in-creasingly open access so many ciizens enjoy o heir campuses,

by heir crucial role in advancing he roniers o knowledgehrough research discoveries, or by he new orms o eachingand learning ha hey have pioneered o mee sudens chang-ing needs, hese possecondary insiuions have accomplishedmuch o which hey and he naion can be proud.35


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In highlighing he disinguished radiion and he coninuing conribuionso U.S. colleges and universiies o eaching and learning, research, and oureach,

he Repor could be seen as providing precisely he kind o naional atenion hamany wihin higher educaion el has been

Documents

AssessingImpact Spellings