But Spellings also said students need better information about colleges and universities, including data on how colleges are spending their tuition dollars.

“Just like any other investment of enterprise, we need meaningful data to better mange the system,� she said.

Spellings cited the work of her Commission on the Future of Higher Education, which last year called for increases in need-based aid. The panel also recommended a less bureaucratic student aid system with more accessible information.

She said she intends to convene a national summit to discuss the commission’s recommendations. One goal of that discussion is to promote affordability and accountability among government, colleges and universities, governing boards, business leaders and states.

“States, institutions and the federal government must work together to increase need-based aid,� she said. “The president’s call for a Pell Grant increase will achieve this goal.�

Spellings also devoted part of her speech to college access, particularly the problems of many at-risk high school students. “The problem of access begins in our nation’s high schools,� she said, noting that half of all Black and Hispanic students do not graduate on time.

As a result, colleges, students and taxpayers spend more than $1 billion a year on remedial education, according to Spellings. To combat this problem, the administration also is targeting increased high school rigor as a major priority.

--Charles Dervarics

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