Deputy Secretary of Education Jim Shelton will take part in a State University of New York (SUNY) Critical Issues in Higher Education conference at 11:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, Oct. 30, in New York City. Shelton and SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher will co-host the closing session of the conference, leading a panel and the audience through a discussion on what collective impact would look like in higher education.
Titled “Higher Education Reconsidered: Executing Change to Drive Collective Impact,” the conference is bringing together leaders in higher education, business and industry, and public-private partnerships to explore large-scale change needed across sectors to realign institutions around outcomes, specifically college completion and student success.
The Obama Administration strongly believes that every child deserves the opportunity to succeed, and education is crucial to the economic strength and security of our nation and communities. The Department of Education’s work is focused on ensuring all students receive an education that prepares them for success in life and their career, through programs including Promise Neighborhoods, School Improvement Grants, Race to the Top, and ConnectED, as well as ED's work to expand access to preschool and make college more affordable.
The Administration has made historic investments to increases the maximum Pell grant award by $1,000, create the $2,500 American Opportunity Tax Credit, and enact effective student loan reforms that eliminated subsidies to banks and reinvested in America's students and families to make college more affordable. These efforts are targeted at expanding college opportunity and ensuring families have the finances they need to succeed in their college pursuits to help us reach the President's goal for America lead the world in college graduation.