Accountability and Opportunity in Higher Education

the long version

In Accountability and Opportunity in Higher Education, leading scholars address the unforeseen impact of accountability standards on students of color and the institutions that disproportionately serve them. The book, part of the ongoing body of work by the Civil Rights Project, describes how federal policies can worsen existing racial inequalities in higher education and offers alternative solutions aimed to protect and advance civil rights for low-income and minority students and their colleges. This volume begins with a chapter putting higher education accountability in historical perspective and connecting it to the increasing importance of postsecondary education for upward mobility, coupled with rising barriers to minority student access and success. Based on a series of studies using cutting-edge research methodologies, the contributors suggest new ways to design and evaluate accountability policies that avoid predictable negative consequences. --