While an increase in review procedures, regulations, litigation and demands for information may be necessary to achieve educational goals, it may also be a way of hiding shortcomings in the educational system; therefore academics must analyze the situation, especially in regard to federal control.

Recent state and national developments regarding assessment of higher education suggest that a decisive point for assessment policy is approaching. Too many higher education leaders remain uninvolved, and public patience is wearing thin. Increasing frustration with higher education may lead public policymakers toward greater prescription and…

Every six years or so, reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965 provides the opportunity for Congress--and the nation--to examine the current conditions and consider the future needs of higher education. While reauthorization tends to focus on funding and on "fixing" postsecondary education's most visible problems, the…