Hillary Clinton on Higher Education Reform: Globalize and Emphasize Alternatives to Four-Year Degrees
ByWhile President Obama may get a lot of attention for his advocacy for higher education, Hillary Clinton has voiced her own thoughts on the subject.
Speaking at the Globalization of Higher Education conference in Irving, Texas, Clinton said a four-year degree is not for everyone. According to Inside Higher Ed, the hopeful 2016 presidential candidate said she would like to place more focus on other types of postsecondary training.
Clinton, the former secretary of state, senator and first lady, also suggested America could strengthen education in the developing world by forming global partnerships. She said online education is also a strong possibility for the future of higher education, although it may be limited right now.
When speaking on global partnerships, Clinton said an American institution should ask the country what areas of education "will make the biggest difference in a particular country or community."
Technical training and community college may be easily accessible in American, but Clinton noted that is not the case in much of the developing world. She said part of strengthening a country's education system will be offering students a viable alternative to a four-year college or university.
Both Clinton and hopeful Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush addressed the issue of college affordability, the Washington Post reported.
"I worry that we're closing the doors to higher education in our own country," Clinton said in her address. "This great model that we've had that's meant so much to so many is becoming further and further away from too many."
Bush, a co-host of the event, did not issue a speech, but did make some remarks.
"Higher education in America has a growing affordability problem while billions in the developing world struggle with accessibility," he said.
The two potential candidates are currently among the early favorites to represent their parties in the 2016 presidential election, but they somehow managed to agree on the nation's issue with higher education. Clinton even praised Bush, who took an interest in education reform as a governor, saying he "has continued that work with passion and dedication in the years since."
Clinton also spoke on technology, saying it needs to be used to supplement teaching instead of replacing it.
"Technology is a tool, not a teacher," Clinton said. "It cannot replace hands-on experience, on-the-job training or laboratory-based experiments. On its own, it cannot teach creativity or critical thinking. But it can open doors that didn't even exist a few short years ago."