The conference's organizers say the country needs more college graduates for the economy to turn around.Sunday, dozens of state governors, lawmakers, and educators from across the country were in Charlottesville for a two-day summit to improve higher education. They're pushing for more students to graduate, even as tuition becomes tougher to pay for many families.
The goal is pretty simple, and it's to get more kids to college. University of Virginia Miller Center Staff Director Heather Crislip said, "We would love to have very frank conversations between the policy makers, the academics that cover this area and the leaders of colleges and universities about what our options are and how are we going to achieve better results and more results with less resources."
With tuition high and financial resources low, UVA's Miller Center for Public Affairs is trying to tackle the challenges of raising the bar on higher education by hosting a full day of presentations and discussions. Crislip said, "I would be very happy if we came up with five or 10 really actionable steps to help higher education."
Topics cover everything from new funding plans to performance policies. The conference's organizers say the country needs more college graduates for the economy to turn around. Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman said, "Every student needs to complete college in order to compete in that workforce."
Finding solutions should help the students too. "The kids of the future are going to compete in a knowledge based, technology driven, global, free market economy. A high school education is no longer sufficient," said Heineman.
The Miller Center's Conference is not open to the public, but if you are interested in checking out any of the presentations they will all be webcast.
Reported by Dannika Lewis
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