"I think one of the first things that you could do," said Reindl, "Is to really figure out which students aren't finishing and why. Some institutions already do that, but I think every institution can do a better job of that.
"That's when you start figuring out how to reach out to them."
Among the others include a better curriculum transition from secondary education to college and smarter spending by colleges.
"In some ways, in the United States, we suffer from the fact we're a really decentralized education system," said Reindl. "We focus on local control, and when it comes to colleges and universities, there's a lot of independent authority."
"A lot of activity is so scattered, that sometimes it's hard for the right hand to know what the left hand is doing."
He also said that the preliminary findings of another MOA report, coming out later in the spring, indicate that increases in costs of college attendance for students are not due to increases in curriculum and instruction spending.
The MOA hopes to implement these goals by providing "research, tools and support" to school systems and policymakers with the intent of "transforming how they deliver post-secondary education to serve more students without reducing quality."
These efforts are supported by a $25.5 million commitment over five years by the Lumina Foundation, an Indianapolis-based group.
Reindl said many of the people approached by the foundation-state legislators, business leaders and school superintendents in several states-have been receptive to its intentions, but there has been some resistance by people who don't believe the problem is as bad as the report would indicate.
"I think there's a real interest in moving forward," said Reindl. "A lot of what's held us up is there's a lot to figure out in terms of what we really need to start with."
"That's when you start figuring out how to reach out to them."
Among the others include a better curriculum transition from secondary education to college and smarter spending by colleges.
"In some ways, in the United States, we suffer from the fact we're a really decentralized education system," said Reindl. "We focus on local control, and when it comes to colleges and universities, there's a lot of independent authority."
"A lot of activity is so scattered, that sometimes it's hard for the right hand to know what the left hand is doing."
He also said that the preliminary findings of another MOA report, coming out later in the spring, indicate that increases in costs of college attendance for students are not due to increases in curriculum and instruction spending.
The MOA hopes to implement these goals by providing "research, tools and support" to school systems and policymakers with the intent of "transforming how they deliver post-secondary education to serve more students without reducing quality."
These efforts are supported by a $25.5 million commitment over five years by the Lumina Foundation, an Indianapolis-based group.
Reindl said many of the people approached by the foundation-state legislators, business leaders and school superintendents in several states-have been receptive to its intentions, but there has been some resistance by people who don't believe the problem is as bad as the report would indicate.
"I think there's a real interest in moving forward," said Reindl. "A lot of what's held us up is there's a lot to figure out in terms of what we really need to start with."
