IHEP Congratulates Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona on his Confirmation and Calls for Equity-Driven, Evidence-Based Policy

Washington, DC – Today, the U.S. Senate voted in a bipartisan fashion to confirm Dr. Miguel Cardona as the U.S. Secretary of Education. Mamie Voight, interim president of the Institute for Higher Education (IHEP), issued the following statement:

“On behalf of the Institute for Higher Education Policy, we offer sincere congratulations to Dr. Miguel Cardona on his confirmation to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Education. We also thank the U.S. Senate for leading a swift and thoughtful confirmation process that affirmed a bipartisan interest in innovating and strengthening our higher education system to better deliver value for students.

“As we welcome new leadership at the Department of Education, we recognize that today’s students face daunting challenges. Need-based aid has not kept pace with rising college costs. Our federal postsecondary data infrastructure fails to provide students and families with the information they need to inform their college choices. Longstanding racial and socioeconomic inequities continue to limit postsecondary opportunities and outcomes for students or color and students from low-income backgrounds. And the COVID-19 public health crisis and resulting economic criss have intensified many of the barriers that students face on their path to a postsecondary credential. While the challenges are real and urgent, so too is the opportunity to build a better higher education system together.

“IHEP looks forward to working with Secretary Cardona and his team at the Department of Education, as well as Congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle, to advance equity-driven, evidence-based higher education policy reforms that promote college access, affordability, and success and deliver on the promise of higher education for individuals, our communities, our economy, and society.”