Education Dept. Seeks Ideas for Experiments in Cutting College Costs

The U.S. Department of Education on Wednesday called on higher education to submit ideas for “experimental sites” that will test innovative ways of reducing the cost of college.

The sites, which were mentioned in the college-affordability plan President Obama introduced in August and will be outlined in a notice to be published in the Federal Register on Friday, present an opportunity to formally test the merits of a variety of ideas that have gained traction in higher education, such as competency-based learning.

Targeted experimentation—on a particular campus, say—has long been an option available to the department, which is authorized to waive certain federal financial-aid rules for such sites.

Amy Laitinen, deputy director of higher education at the New America Foundation, said the long-awaited announcement was welcome news to those who have asserted that new financial-aid policy must be informed by hard evidence.

Experimentation with competency-based education will be particularly important, Ms. Laitinen said. “This is going to be a real testing ground for how the quality of competency-based education is defined,” especially given Congress’s vocal interest, she said.

The promise of innovative policies and programs has been a frequent refrain on Capitol Hill in recent weeks, as Congress has heard higher-education leaders and advocates testify on what to include in the coming reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Several have stressed competency-based learning, reduced government regulation, and accreditation reform.

Suggestions for experimental sites should be sent to experimentalsites@ed.gov by January 31.