Event Summary: Measuring Value in Higher Education with AEI

On October 17, the Postsecondary Commission joined with AEI to host economists, policy experts, and practitioners at AEI’s Washington, DC office to discuss how to measure the value of a higher education credential and some of the implications of doing so. Beth Akers, an AEI Senior Fellow and a PSC commissioner, moderated three conversations on the topic.

The first panel included the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity’s Preston Cooper, the University of Virginia’s Sarah Turner, and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s David Troutman discussing the importance and feasibility of value-added measures.

Next, Scott Pulsipher of Western Governors University (WGU) delivered a lunchtime keynote address on accountability in higher education, followed by a discussion with Beth Akers on WGU’s model, thoughts on how institutions measure value, and the relationship between regulators and innovation.

The final discussion featured PSC’s Stig Leschly, the Department of Education’s Rajeev Darolia, and the US House Education and the Workforce Committee’s Chance Russell on how value-added measures could be practically implemented.

AEI organized and hosted the at-capacity event and Beth Akers did a tremendous job moderating. The embedded video below covers all three sessions of the event.