Reducing Math Obstacles to Higher Education

Overview & Synopsis

The last few months have brought changes in the leadership of public education in Massachusetts. The new secretary of education and chair of the Board of Higher Education both have deep expertise in education reform and accountability, and broad experiences in business. This new leadership could bring momentum for a "systems approach" to reduce the achievement gap and increase rates of high school completion and college-going. A systems approach would improve the alignment of higher education curricula with workforce demand while integrating the liberal arts curriculum in professional and technical disciplines to provide college graduates better career mobility. Completing the leadership triumvirate, the Board of Higher Education recently selected a new commissioner of Higher Education. Their selection provides a level of continuity for advancing the Vision Project goals and sustaining efforts around increased access and success initiated by the outgoing commissioner.