this is a great chapter of my life. i'm pleased to be here to talk about one ongoing chapter of my way, like one of those american express marshals -- commercials. most people know me as the committee director. i am also a professor at catholic university but really a huge part of my life i call my pro bono work. it is the volunteer work, the ongoing work i do with and for the wonderful women of afghanistan, a cause i first became involved in in september of 2002. on september 9, 2002, i began a

new job at the u.s. department of state heading at the international women's issues office and as you can imagine, the cause of the woman in afghanistan was issue and priority number one. at that point, i probably have trouble still finding afghanistan on the map. i guess a lot of americans would have had a hard time. i certainly had never, ever before -- although i have been to different countries and regions -- never met anyone from afghanistan. i even must confess that i don't think i have ever known of anybody from the islamic faith. it was completely new for me. so i was very involved with afghanistan. i traveled there several times when i was in the women's issues office at state.

and to see the country, to meet those people -- and especially the women. and now here 13 years later, when i meet particularly with young afghan people in washington and i remember one meeting recently at the u.s. institute of peace in washington on afghanistan and we were going around the room. there was a young afghan delegation. so they get to me and i think what do i say? they have been so many different affiliations with a aniston -- with afghanistan. i said i have been involved in afghanistan for 13 years and this one man sat up and looked at me and said 13 years? and then i realized this young man -- this had been more than half of his life that i have been working on this wonderful cause. so, i think it is a very critical time and yet a very challenging time to be speaking

about the cause of women in afghanistan and i should say the men who support them. that is often a misconception that it is such an awful, oppressive problem. time and time again, i have heard from different woman, scholars, "i wouldn't be here if it weren't for my father." "i wouldn't be here if it weren't for my brother." but really, they have done so much to inspire and inform my life. i was going to say -- it is a difficult time to be talking this issue. we all know that the headlines like to proclaim that it is all going downhill, the security is going -- getting worse, that attacks on civilians have increased, that the opium trade

continues, that corruption is rampant, and there is truth to an aspect of each and every one of these challenges. but it's humbling and yet a product opportunities for me to be here. because in spite of these problems, right now in june 2015, there are women in afghanistan and there are male supporters who know that their accomplishments could be regarded as fragile but they are determined to continue to work hard, to use any bit of help we can give them come and do the job they need to do. they don't really want anybody doing the job for them but they could use help. they are grateful for the help

and every ounce of help and support we provide them -- believe me, the ripple effect is phenomenal. it's humbling because the woman in afghanistan -- i will speak about some of them i know personally. they are more courageous, hard-working, resilient than i could ever hope to be. they make me proud to be here talking about their cause because they are among the most courageous, hard-working, and resilient people i know. and when i stand here, i know that it looks like -- when i am here, i feel like i bring so many of them of on this podium

with me -- up on this podium with me. i can tell you about parliamentarians, ministers, women lawyers and judges, teachers, journalists, midwives, committed to help workers come entrepreneurs, business women, and young women leading the way for a new generation. i wish i could tell you about some of the specific individuals . i have met women across the board from these areas but i could tell you about a governor habibi sarabi, the first woman governor in afghanistan. she was actually one of the vice president of candidates in afghanistan's election a year

ago. i could tell you about fatima, head of the afghan red crescent society. about the woman who heads up the society of women engineers in afghanistan. lisa owns and runs a construction company. nangahar is a province were recently we heard reports of isis. i remember reading lisa and she said i own my own construction company and my brother works for me. she is pretty amazing. and i could tell you about another woman, fauzia. she was elected to parliament in 2005 she has been reelected since then and she became the first speaker -- fema speaker of parliament in -- female speaker of parliament and afghan history. there is a great book about her

called "the favorite daughter." she was the youngest of 19 daughters. 19. when she was born, her mother took her out to die in the sun. took her outside to die. shortly thereafter, felt she had to rescue her. she went out and rescued her and pledged that she would be her biggest supporter and fauzia would be a favorite daughter.

her father was in politics. he was assassinated. her mother moved the family to kabul. when fauzia was getting ready for medical school, the taliban took over. she was prisoner in her own home and was denied opportunity to work in further education. after the fall of the taliban, it was determined she was going to leave her medical training and going to politics and become

part of the solution and the future for her country. i have met her several times. she continues to do amazing work. she wrote this article, a very moving article just about a year ago and it was titled "a letter to my american sisters." i would really like to read part of that letter today because i can interpret so much on behalf of the wonderful women i am proud to call my afghan sisters, but i think when you hear it in their own words, they tell the stories the best. she talks about 12 long years in afghanistan all stop -- afghanistan. many americans who did the international community in this country was a failure if not a mistake. a majority of americans not come to believe most of the goals of the international community, especially in regards to helping

the women of afghanistan, were not achieved. she talks about the constant barrage of negative media coverage of afghanistan. she said it has focused on the progress of the war but not the afghan people and has reinforced the negative perceptions. for those of us, she says, especially the women of afghanistan who are on the ground fighting for justice and equality as mothers, sisters, wives, teachers, politicians, and more portly as citizens -- more importantly as citizens, there is a different reality that stands in contrast to what has been accomplished. she said it is true afghan is not a paradise for women and we face a very uncertain future with the upcoming withdrawal of international troops. but this is a part that struck me -- she says, that if the world could only see through our

eyes, they might get a glimpse of the fact that afghan women have come a long way over the last decade. kate has been a difficult journey marked by blood and violence, but we have made significant gains and achievements, which would not have been possible without the generous support of the international community, especially the american people. so i would like to point to some of those achievements that fauzia mentions in her letter to

her american sisters. the benchmarks of progress. education. afghanistan has basically rebuilt an education system that had for all intents and purposes stopped functioning. in 2002, only 900,000 students in primary school and all of them were male. today, almost 9 million students are in school and 40% of them are girls. i mentioned to some of the political achievements just by virtue of women like fauzia, who had been leading the charge. 25% parliamentarians are women and in the last election, 20% of the provincial council members were female. young people -- i remember that delegation where the young man stood up and found it hard to

believe i had been working on afghanistan have his life and i remember him saying how much now among the young people -- the young men are proud and happy to work alongside their female counterparts. the young generation really is -- i remember a woman on that same delegation. she said you have to understand we were born in war, we grew up during work, and we live in war. we are 60% of the voters. we are sacrificing our lives for a better future because their work leading up to the election puts them at great risk. in the health sector, there have been significant gains. almost 60% of the afghan population now has some access

to basic health care. this is a massive increase from just 8%. now, you have more than 60% of the population. thanks in great part to the system, community health programs have helped to reduce the maternal mortality rate by 80%. the infant mortality rate by about 23%, meaning this is saving 80,000 newborn lives each year. there have been significant increases in life expectancy for both men and women. that to the political. the young people and women were

actively courted by all of the candidates in the field, particularly the top two. and i think we just need to think "yes, that election was not problem free." there were charges of fraud and the handling of things but the election and the way it proceeded exceeded people's expectations and i think it's important to look at the fact that in that election, about 60% of eligible voters voted. one was the last time we had 60% of our eligible electorate voted in our election? in terms of the economy, women

are starting businesses. they are training programs. women comprise 60% of the country's agricultural workforce. perhaps all of these positive changes is the ability to dream. i remember my first trip to afghanistan and hearing young woman say "you know, i was denied my basic human right to an education. i didn't have the ability to dream. we were prisoners, oppressed, we had no future." now when you talk to little girls in afghanistan, they will tell you their dreams. "i want to be a pilot peer cap -- pilot." "i want to be a doctor or cope

-- doctor." the picture is certainly not rosy. of all the times i've spoken to audiences about the achievements and challenges of the women of afghanistan, this is one of the hardest moments. the reports are not good. the fear among the women is very clear. they are very heartfelt. here at a time in the u.s. when there is a great time of afghan fatigue and certainly donor fatigue. we live in a world where we want instant change, instant progress , and atm -- an atm. we cannot forget the fourth transition needed and it is the generational transition, which holds great promise. still as i mentioned ongoing problems, it is hard to believe

despite all the efforts, more than 70% of afghans over the age of 15 cannot read or write. have of all afghan girls are still not in school. of those in school, if you stay long enough to make it through secondary school. child marriage is still a scourge. so, how do we address this? what are the tools in our kit? i often get asked by audiences, don't we try to take solutions or a possible solution and we try to prescribe something that would never work in their culture. one of the best approaches we have used in afghanistan, the low cost comes sustainable efforts, have been because of partnerships. my basic approach to a lot of issues is find a way to connect the dots and that means not just connecting houses, education, health, connecting the issue dots come -- dots, but connecting the dots that are the players.

one of the most successful initiatives i have been involved in over 13 years is the u.s. afghan women's council. it was headquartered then and started out at the state department. it was launched by president george w. bush in january of 2003. it was devised by my colleagues then at the u.s. department of state to be able to respond to this amazing outpouring from the american people.

business men and women, academics, democrats and republicans alike, we didn't care. we wanted a way to harness the energy and ideas and support of leaders across the board that said i see the situation of the lumen of afghanistan and i want to help. so we worked together, pulled together. the council is still very much alive and well in supporting its members projects. recently, we had a wonderful meeting in dallas, texas. it was hosted by laura bush at smu along with the first lady of afghanistan. what a fascinating meeting to be a part of. we had an honest discussion around the table.

different members. one lady is a business lady. she runs a wonderful program. she came up with the idea after her first visit to afghanistan and said she wanted a business that afghan women can be part of. they will design the rugs, we will make it part of the deal to get the support. children have to go to school. the woman will run the businesses, we will sell the rugs come all of the profit goes back to the project. it is a fabulous project. they are beautiful products. connie was just one person in dallas. there were some afghan women who were there. one woman does an amazing job running orphanages and mobile training clinics for women to teach them some basic skills so they can start their own business and be self-sufficient and provide for their families. so the council really was a partnership. afghan and u.s., public and private.

it was a way to join forces, make strength in numbers, and to really respond. sometimes you here criticism of the projects in afghanistan being our ideas. did anybody consult the women of afghanistan? everything the council has supported and been involved in has been very much in response to the priorities of afghan women themselves. that means education, political management, job employment, and health. those were the topics that came up again in dallas. one of the council members provided a description several years ago. she said initially, the work we took on was like digging at a mountain with a spoon. then the spoon became a shovel and the shuttle became a bulldozer. joining together, you get

stronger. i involved with an organization, they are afghan americans who went back.

they started one of the three top telecommunications companies in afghanistan. the foundation has built 12 hospitals across afghanistan, focusing on maternal and child health. they help support the new build at the american university of afghanistan. they are supporting projects to dig wells, to provide water,

sanitation, health projects. winter aid, just across the board. they do it quietly and with great determination. they recently joined forces with another foundation and went over to afghanistan and city 1700 children in afghanistan with hearing aids so they could hear for the first time. there are targeted projects that are having a ripple effect.

another organization i'm involved with is a scholarship and leadership program involving a number of u.s. colleges and universities that provide full four-year scholarships for rising women leaders from afghanistan. one young woman just graduated from college. i got a note from her today and congratulated her on her graduation. if you ever have a chance, catch the 8.5 minute documentary film she made. she made it as a student.

she and her sister made this little film, which is amazing, about their quest to get their driver's licenses in afghanistan. it took great courage at the time. it is a story of their journey and as young women, she talks about what her future looked like now. she sees her future compared to what it looked like when she was growing up during the taliban when she said they were like in cages. they were prisoners in cages. then she composes herself and says now, i am going to try to inspire other women to stand up

and be drivers of change in afghanistan. she is one of the beneficiaries of that program for josh program -- program. another young woman is already petitioning a chance to go back to afghanistan and starting a project teleconferencing speech pathologists here to train speech pathologists in afghanistan, which until recently only had one for the entire country. she saw the need. she is getting the academic background so she can, this project. she is doing some kick starters to get on the. connecting the dots, the other efforts would the hearing aids. maybe we can work out a win-win with that. so how do we sustain and build from some of the progress i have talked about, particularly in

the midst of some of the challenges i mentioned? first of all, we have to remain steadfast in our commitment. we told the afghan people but particularly the women of afghanistan over different administrations, different political parties, different secretaries of state, we will not abandon you, we will stay with you. we have to remember that commitment. i like to think we americans live up to our promises. i like to think we like to safeguard our investments and lord knows we have made a phenomenal investment in the future of afghanistan through our blood and treasure. it is not a gift. that is taken likely. it is not underappreciated, believe me. i believe my last trip to

afghanistan, there was a young woman that was a deputy minister of health. the day i was leaving and i was with the delegation and i said i have been out there to weeks longer than the delegation and she came up to me and took me by my hand and looked at me and said "promise me you won't forget us. promise me, promise me you won't forget me, you won't forget us." i promised her and we as a country have made that promise. she said my plea to you would be please don't give up, please continue to support us. so this is heartfelt and we have to live up to our commitment. second, we have to make sure women remain part of the deal. whatever security assistance package, negotiations with the taliban, whatever new plan that might carry forward though and

aspiration for more jobs and economic opportunity. we have to make sure women are part of the deal. we have to focus on youth. two thirds of afghanistan's population is under the age of 25. two thirds of their population of 30 million people under the age of 25. 42% of the population is under the age of 15. we can all read the headlines. we know what happens now in this age of violent extremism. the extremists are targeting the youth. in terms of our capacity building, in terms of our efforts to prevent violent

extremism if not stop it, we have to focus on the youth and we have to focus on their education and skills. education is the tool the insurgents fear the most. education is a basic human right . its impact is transformative. i know soon you will have malala yusef stop by this part of the country. of course, she is from pakistan

but there are many malalas in that part of the world. i think often about some ring of the ministers in afghanistan said in terms of focusing on education and focusing particularly on connecting education to job skills. this is a couple years ago but i believe it still holds true. he was a minister for rural development. he said few insurgents are driven by theology, many are driven by unemployment. he said here is the key challenge -- how and where do you get the jobs needed each year in a country where two thirds of the population is age 25 or younger? in my view, the minister said, it is unemployment rather than insurgency that poses the

greatest threat to achieving a stable afghanistan. focus on technology. this is an area of hope. we do hear about technology being used by the bad guys as well. but it is really amazing when you think that women in afghanistan 13 years ago who really had no education, no literacy, no understanding of anything outside their home, that now there is about 80% of the women in afghanistan have cell phones now. that is an amazing opportunity. certainly i am not a techie but i do know about apps. there is a lot of useful information, a lot of education

for health, citizen awareness, peer-to-peer entrepreneurship endeavors that can be achieved through cell phones. i think this is a way that we can come up with some creative solutions like begun woman i mentioned who is working on a speech by college of project. look at ways you can use to knowledge he to train people. -- the ways you can train people. the government is working hard but they need to achieve a lot more in terms of tackling some of the big problems.

i think we need to look at the win-win. i think that we're at a point in time where we think what is the smart thing for us to do? just walk away from afghanistan, not care about the progress that has been achieved? it is easy to say, to use culture as an excuse. when you look at its history and how many times it's "culture" has changed. there are positive changes in the air, even in the midst of the challenges, there is a lot of positive things happening. again, thinking about the arc that brought me here today and ronald reagan room, i think about something ronald reagan once said.

he said "we cannot help everyone, but everyone can help someone." it brought to mind a conversation i had with a group of women on my first visit to afghanistan. kate was any literacy center funded by the u.s. government. it was just a plain room where we all sat around a wood burning stove. there were about 25 women there ages 18-60. some were widows. they have to provide for their families alone. this was soon after the fall of the taliban. i had thought that as we sat down that i should prepare myself to hear a lot of really hard stories about the suffering they endured, about their fear, their whatever. they each were so happy that someone showed interest in them,

they couldn't stop talking about their hopes for the future. they were so proud of the fact -- i remember one of the older woman said i can knit sweaters, i can sell them. one young woman said i know how to weave a carpet. right now, the men take our carpet and tell them to pakistan and we don't get any profits but

i know how to do this. that is why some of our projects have been helpful because we have offered partnerships with these women who deserve them. but each one had a story to tell not about fears or victimhood, but about possibilities and their hope for the future and their self-confidence that with enough work, we can do it. one of my favorite expressions i have learned from them when -- from the women of afghanistan is "no problem." they love to say that. i remember those women and going around the room and one of us said "see? everyone here knows how to do something." so, that is the arc. we cannot help everyone but everyone can help someone and everyone here knows how to do something. so i welcome your questions, your support, and your interest

on behalf of my sister's afghanistan. thank you. [applause] >> we had a microphone here in the middle of the room. it is very important to go to the microphone to ask your questions. >> to say that was inspiring is a gross understatement. this is a such a sincere question. as i listen to you and sure there is true possibility and potential, i don't know what i can do.

what can i do? is it money, tell me. ms. ponticelli: i think this has been a beauty and thank you for that question. it is one of the reasons the u.s. afghan women's council -- that was the genesis of it. what can i do? we wanted to make sure the point is, it is not just about writing a check -- though, trust me, and especially in this challenging time with donor fatigue, there are good organizations where you can make a strategic difference with a relatively small donation. but it is not just about writing a check. sometimes, it is about offering ideas. and i think that just making contact -- i mean, again, let me go to my connecting the dots. if you are a dentist and you

want to know about how you might -- and i actually was telling judy that story the other day -- talking to a group at the state department from kentucky and i got the same question. i said you know, your talents, ideas help. they can use anything. to send books to a school. if you want to know where a school is, i can give you the name of us w -- of a school. it is using our network. i heard once someone described the perfect definition of vocation. i heard it can be described as this -- the connection between one's deepest desires and the world the greatest needs. so if your deepest desire is to help on the literacy front, to help children have access to books, there is a way to do that. i think we connect, we target the need, and we do it. i want to show you this because

i think this is one of the most effective brochures. thank you for that question. i hope i answered it. if anybody wants to help, i will give you my card. i love -- there were young afghan woman that helped design this brochure. educated women lead to lasting change. their education is the change that makes the difference. participation is the difference that makes a change. so, this is the type of program. it doesn't go to overhead. it goes to the women to support them, to help buy their books. to fill in where the medical insurance doesn't. there are all kinds of needs. they are going back and leading the way for change. it's a great program. sure. this would be a great example. thank you.

>> i am just wondering what is the influence of the taliban at this point on the women? before we even went into afghanistan, i happened to go to different talks about the country and the woman had to wear the burqa is -- burkas all the time, public amputation, the woman could not go to school. how much influence do they have? ms. ponticelli: obviously, when the taliban fell out of power, you have the pockets in the

provinces but for the main part, there was a return to some ability of freedom. the burka -- people look at that and think is that the symbol of oppression? when you meet young afghan women, some might wear a scarf, some might not at all. i was telling judy the other day one of the first afghan woman i -- women i met, she actually ran for president at one point. i remember her and some other afghan women saying i remember when i could wear miniskirts or the younger woman would say my mother tells me she used to wear miniskirts. the garb -- the burka is used primarily in the rural areas but a lot of those restrictions are no more. under the taliban, girls couldn't go to school.

period. some of the bravest woman you will meet were those who ran underground schools during the taliban at the risk of their lives. one woman told me she became a deputy administer of the education ministry and she is one of those women who ran a school. she said we told the taliban it was a religious schools will be children would come with the quaran. when the taliban would knock on the door, they would put the quaran back on the desk. there was one woman i met who

became the first head of the afghan midwife association. i remember her telling us she had her son drive her around but didn't tell him what she was doing, which was delivering babies. she delivered 2000 degrees during the taliban regime. -- 2000 babies during the taliban regime. great achievements -- education, health, life expectancy. the first afghan woman i met, life expectancy was 42. now they have gained 20 years. there has been tangible, real progress. the international community withdrawal leaves a vacuum and we open a door for the bad guys to come back in. that is what they are afraid of. the peace and reconciliation commission has kind of a token participation of women.

but they are very fearful of negotiations with the taliban. >> what is the presence of americans at that point? are there still any troops as advisors? ms. ponticelli: yes. there are still troops there as advisors. we are trying to continue the military advisors there. they're trying to continue the capacity building for the afghan security forces will stop some women are -- forces. some women are involved in the

police force. training, advising, assisting. we are looking at complete withdrawal in maybe 18 months. it is a very short window and i often think -- a general i heard once who was talked about -- i have heard this story several times. it is a very vivid story of after the fall of the taliban and he was talking to a taliban representative and the taliban guy told the general "you have all the watches, but we have all the time. " >> thank you. >> i thought i would highlight one of your points, which was that a lot of young men are supporting women and having been part of the feminist movement in this country, the mistake we made was not to include men. so what i'm proposing is we have a room full of men and women here and a think that is a way we could connect electronically.

so, i guess what i'm proposing is maybe we could help by mentoring. i think we need to help the net and so instead of boots on the ground, we need hoots in the air. >> i think boots in the air -- >> hoots. ms. ponticelli: what? >> hoots. cheering people on. ms. ponticelli: yes, support is wonderful. and i know there are so many universities in this part of the world, this state. they give out the ways in your local colleges you could connect as well. you had michael smith, a former president of the american university of afghanistan.

i think there is a great way to connect. and afghan women themselves tell us -- thank you for raising that point. they have told me for 13 years, thanks for helping us educate our girls but we need to educate the boys too. [applause] ms. ponticelli: and thank you for training woman but if we're really going to advance the cause of women's rights and equality and women's opportunity, we need to train the men. so, we get involved in this gender thing and i never use that word when it comes to

afghanistan because it is a neutral term and it doesn't translate well. but women, men, mothers, fathers, family, they get that. and so do we. thank you. >> the last time i checked, there were approximately four countries in the islamic world is required sharia in their constitutions. afghanistan was one. is that still the case and what is the prognosis for women in the future if that is brought to bear? thank you. ms. ponticelli: thank you. afghan women were very active in the drafting of the constitution. that was one of the big challenging points they had to work out. they did feel -- at least my recollection is -- i think they're pretty proud of our constitution and they don't see a conflict between the particular clause and the equal rights for all citizens. so, they are working things out. the judicial process is one of their big challenges, the rule of law issue. so, they want to make their existing constitution work. we have amendments to our own constitution.

so who knows? they may amend it sometime. but one big goal right now is to try to make that first female appointment to the supreme court. women are pretty much relegated to the family court right now and there is a lot of work that needs to be done on the rule of law and judicial systems. thank you. [applause]

>> thank you very much, charlie, for a very inspirational talk. thank you so much. we have a gift for you. we want you to come back to santa barbara, california. ms. ponticelli: thank you. >> thank you. [applause] >> cymer bike next week. members have been revealing their support or opposition to the iran nuclear deal. moments ago, we learned that delaware democrat senator chris clinton will support the agreement. there are 33 approving the deal. one shy of sustaining a possible presidential veto.

senator casey of pennsylvania released a statement saying, --is agreement illinois democrat bobby rus-- he said this today -- watch.ill continue to the c-span city store, working with our cable affiliates and theting cities across country per we are joined by charter communications to learn more about the life in colorado. the mining of a certain mineral

had a long-term importance in this part of colorado. plateauver the colorado especially here in mason county, we are surrounded by morrison rock. with in that, we find a lot bones and fossils. that has really intrigued scientists for a long time to the other thing we also find in the morrison is a mineral, a rock. it contains -- three different elements. it was used to help solve and fight cancer. it continues to strengthen steel. during the buildup to world war ii, it was of extreme value. which, contains uranium, as we know, is one of the best sources for atomic power and atomic weapons. >> colorado congressman wayne astronaut -- through his water

legislation. fore fought the battle colorado by making sure we got our fair share. -- how did he do that? beginning his state career and then going on to his federal career, he climbed up the ladder of seniority and was able to exercise i think more power than you might normally have. certainly in the united states congress, where he was able to make sure colorado and western colorado would be treated fairly in any divisions of water. the first major success was the passage of the colorado river storage project in 1956. >> see all of our programs from grand junction saturday on c-span2's book tv and sunday afternoon on american history tv on c-span3.

[captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] >> and now, the senate education committee on improving the higher education and student achievement act. the north carolina community college system, and various nonprofit groups testified there this is about 90 minutes. afterwards, we will open our phone lines to get your thoughts on the subject. >> the senate committee on health education and labor will please come to order. ons is our eighth hearing the reauthorization of the higher education act. the senator and i will each have an opening statement and then introduce our witnesses. afterwards, senators will have five minutes of questions each. we expect to have a vote at 10:30. we will take turns at gavel's.

we will continue the lines of questions so we do not slow things down. today's's hearing is really about finding out if there is a canthe federal government help more students finish college. few students can afford to be stuck with debt and no degree but that is happening to far too many college students. federal aid programs are working to help people for a degree or certificate in 1, 2, or for your programs. four-year programs. only 55% complete within four years. the problem is worse for low income students. 8.6 million low income students received pell grants from the federal government last year. the department of education data says only 45% of the students achieve a degree or certificate

within six years. borrowers inillion default on student loans. the department of education says borrowers are three times more likely to be in this if it did not finish any degree or credential. we know students are less likely to benefit from a better job or salary. addresslike to briefly why so many american college students are leaving before they graduate. what role can the federal in encouragingy a students who are receiving grants, especially, to finish with a start. and encourage colleges and universities to help didn't make progress and graduate. i will submit my entire statement to the record. let me summarize what it says. -- students are graduating

are not graduating seems to focus on these things. part-time enrollment and slow progress. they consistently enroll full-time and are most likely to graduate. however, a 2013 survey of institutions showed the majority are not taking the credits needed to finish a four-year degree for a bachelor or two years for an associate degree. according to the community college research center, most remedial students never get past remediation. financial difficulties. pressures making them more likely to drop out. what can the government do? offered a proposal to simplify the student aid application form. testimony said it discourages as

many as 2 million students from applying for federal financial aid. many students continue working or have to get a job while they are in school. ago, they will testify about the success they have had with the medial education. half of these students need to take remedial courses once they are enrolled. is remedial education so that students who lacks and skills in math, reading, or writing in wrote -- enroll in credit bearing college courses to help them catch up. before using this approach, 10% of the remedial students that ever completed in math class, now 70% dew. a maximum grant is awarded to a student who is often not attending full-time. that is one reason federally does not encourage students to

complete their careers as quickly as they can. progress seems to lack teeth. federally today can be used to subsidize studies unfocused from the degree. a student can take as many as 90 credits, or 60. the longer a student takes, the less likely they are to finish. it can be detrimental to completion. federal policy is emphasized access over completion. encourage 6000 higher education institutions to prioritize success without throwing a big wet blanket of a workal mandate that might at the university of maryland and might be good at yeshiva that might not be good at

harvard. we look forward to the testimony of the witnesses. >> higher education is critical to make sure the economic strength of the middle class. and i believe it is critical part of building an economy that works for all of our families, not just a wealthiest view. more jobs will require education beyond highs goal. have an economic stake in helping as many students as possible go to college and complete their degrees. it is how we will remain competitive. there are a few principals i will focus on to make sure more students can pursue their degree. i will work -- look for ways to make college affordable and reduce the crushing burden of student debt. i will be especially focused on making sure students have access

to a safe learning environment, and more students should have strong and clear pathways into in through higher education. it is clear there is lots of room for improvement. shows 60% of first-time students that attend full time complete their four-year degrees within six years. even fewer students complete this on time. out and wereropped oftentimes trying to pay off student that. many students at community colleges struggle to make it to graduation are successfully transferred to a four-year program. while others have increased, the same is not true from dunes from low income backgrounds. 9% of people graduated with a college degree by the time they

reached 24. that is only up 6% from 1970. today face many barriers but there are several policies we can pursue to improve those rates. we need to make sure that they graduate college and career ready. i'm glad the senate voted to pass a bipartisan bill that would be a strong step in the right direction. many students dropout because they worry about mounting student debt. have family or work responsibilities that make it impossible to continue earning their degree. and we also need better data on student outcomes from colleges and universities if we're going to help students effectively. it's hard to believe that higher education data ignores our time

students, transfer students, those that returned to school, students and remediation, and tell recipients. we should know how they are doing to make sure we're making affect policy decisions. some my colleagues have suggested penalizing recipients by tightening eligibility and other requirements in a misguided effort to try to motivate their test. suggests thech exact opposite. many students don't succeed when they served to punish rather than reward and support. and for students that are struggling, we need to incentivize higher education. that includes structured pathways so students see a clear route to graduation. it includes programs for college

mentoring and advising. it includes individualized when students have access to a support system, evidence shows there are much more likely to complete their degree. i'm looking forward to hearing from dr. richard. including highly regarded programs. improving outcomes is an important piece of work to grow the economy from the middle out. it will help guarantee the nation will compete in leaving in the world. i look forward to hearing testimony from all of you today. the vote was changed. so we won't have that interruption this morning. jones.st witness is stan

his organization partners with states with the goal of substantially increasing the number of americans with a postsecondary credential. he served 16 years in the indiana legislature and was a senior advisor for higher education for a decade. president of the state community college system is her next witness. 830,000 people annually. in over 30% of the wage earners have been students at one of the states 58 community colleges. assume the presidency of northern virginia community college system. our next witness is vice of hosts, professor and vice president for enrollment management and student success at georgia state university.

georgia state has doubled the number of at-risk student, and more importantly, improving graduation rates and close all -- closent gaps achievement gaps based on race and income. and had hoped to be here may still be here. they wanted me to say that to both of you. our final witness is director for young adults and post secondary education. a nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization in new york city. dr. hayes focuses her work on and is lessievement selective four-year college. she has overseen some of the most rigorous six tournaments about how students can change their behaviors to succeed in

school. if each of you would summarize your comments in about five minutes, that would leave more time for us to have a conversation with you. so why don't we start with you and go right down the line. >> thank you, mr. chairman. putting the remarks that you ,ade a highlight the testimony the line's estate and 35 states across the country. we primarily work with states, arernors, legislators, and entirely funded by foundations like the gates foundation. and a highlight some of the points you made. i found it interesting during the peak of the recession, we

had record-breaking enrollment at mosthis country and colleges, it was record-breaking. that peopleints out are willing to go to college and are desperate to go to college in order to better themselves. i have a handout or not going to go through but will refer to from time to time. bottom tile income wise, 10% of the students get a four-year college degree. only 15% get a four-year college degree. and the third, only 34% get a four-year college degree. college really only works for -- for so many students, it is the structure of our college and universities that a failed them.

we don't graduate students that in any sector, except the flagship that can range from 15 to 25%. and virtually nobody graduates on time. we put out a report called the four-year myth. and hardly anybody graduate in four years. flagships, we found an our report that out of 500 and 80 public in four-year universities, only 50 graduated in four years. and students take longer to get a degree than they used to. 4.9 years at many four-year colleges. surprisingly, it costs more

money, but it is also lost wages in the workforce. university of texas, university of temple, they indicate that student that really spikes after the fourth year. students have run out of traditional resources. the increase in student that occurs after that or theater. calle focused on what we the game changers, things that significantly make a difference. there's only five of them that we recommend. senator alexander has referred to several. one is transparency of information. many colleges and states are unaware of the crisis that we have, the lack of completion. this is not dated the federal government collects. as a billions of dollars, we don't know if the students

graduate or not. i know it has been back and forth about whether the veterans are agile way to earn. there are some core things the federal government could collect in terms of transparency. policymakers to make these decisions without having graduation rates for pell students, for parents. remediation rates. this information simply doesn't exist. senator alexander mentioned remediation. started instudents remediation. they are taking a statewide model. this could be done right now to

allow 30 credit hours. so that money could be used to support students in classes. structure is hugely important. centers,ssee tech their graduation is about 75% or 80%. rateabout five times the in terms of graduation as typical community colleges. it really is all about structure, and these programs have shown significant success. the last one i referenced was 15 credit hours. we do not suggest taking more than 12. most take 12 alas. they are already on a five-year plan. we would propose thinking about providing incentives.

there are examples of state institutions doubling the students taking credit hours or more. these things can be done. it is a problem with how we have structured the institutions, which is very simple. students go monday through friday eight to 12. a block schedule or in the afternoon. tennessee tech center is the same way. an underappreciated strategy. >> you need to wind down. >> in conclusion. are only fourend

or five game changers that provide substantial success and have provided them and have been implemented across colleges and states. >> ranking member murray, thank you for this opportunity. state and local community college leaders met and cleared student success the strategic focus of the north carolina community colleges. began as a nine-month listening and learning tour. it culminated in what some refer to as a culture shift in our results in access series of statewide in program designed to impact student success and scale across 58 community colleges. some of these reforms included statewide dual enrollment

and pathways rather than courses. what someverhaul is refer to as her medial education. of 89 technical programs to enable .ompetency-based programs enabling guaranteed course transfers for all community college students, and most of the private universities in our state as well as reverse transfer opportunities, and statewide performance outcome measures and funding tied to key student access metrics as well as professional development across colleges. the combined implementation

still relatively new and the outcomes are yet to be evaluated. have certainly not yet reached educational nirvana. the number of lessons and principles have emerged, ways in which our thinking has been greatly influenced that may contribute as you approach the important work of the education act. to finde more likely success along pathways. that is where governor has endorsed key legislation. it's also white house grants would be key to impacting students access across the nation. students are more likely to find success when i have outcome milestones along the way.

vital to pay more attention to the measures. less than one third are in the current ones. it they leave without an academic credential with recognized industry certification that often leads to a job or gain a four-year degree but are not counted as successes according to the current metrics. we know the success goal for many of our students is a skill and a job. it requires they quickly improve their job standing which is why we have gone to such great lengths to integrate and articulate a short-term training opportunity leading to valued industry certifications.

this means the students can gain valuable industry certifications and takeemand areas those certifications to the work place and bring back him authorizing institutions to include short-term training programs and they are hell grants -- and eligiblel grant portfolio. we know most of the student pathways to success run through institutions and don't begin and end there. the personal pathways are not typically confined to single institutions. it have to be willing to embrace the reality and be diligent in creating more coherent pathways cut across institutions. they are uniquely positioned in this regard as seamless education.

federal policy should incentivize and encourage dual enrollment programs with those that are tightly coordinated with statewide articulation agreements. creation of a student record system would move us forward, accounting for the reality of students moving across multiple institutions. and the number of successes we create, not just in the institution. it is a widely available opportunity and access is so vital to any focus on student success. two thirds come from the bottom half of income brackets. the simplifying and improving financial aid is so important. that is why the sector of the promise act importantly makes that beyond high

school, for families sustaining incomes. we know america's community colleges today, we have to be more than just a gateway to the american dream. we have to build clearer and more direct pathways. i look forward to discussing the points more with you. as you continue this important pursuit, clear and many obstacles, thank you for this opportunity. >> would you like to say some words about him? >> i have bragged about georgia state university, and innovation in the university.

they can stay in school and graduate. aey have also developed student tracking system that tracks over 30,000 students at against itity hundred unique identifiers. georgia state is doing a remarkable job. they now grant more bachelor degrees african-american graduates. we're are very proud of georgia state university. >> committee members, thank you for the opportunity to be here today. the author georgia state university would someday be invited to testify on a hearing of student access seemed very remote. they stood at 42%.

graduation rates were 22% for hispanics, and 18% for black males. georgia state lost tens of millions of dollars in state appropriations while simultaneously doubling the number of at risks tunes. and one of the most at risk. under the leadership of the president, we made a public commitment. we identified obstacles that trip up students and pioneered a dozen innovative and large-scale programs. georgia state was dropping more than 1000 every semester from baruch passes because their

students couldn't cover the cost of tuition and fees. many of these students were seniors that are only a semester or 20 wait -- away from graduating. the program awards one time micro grants to cover the balance between what students can pay and the cost of their tuition and fees. we haveest beginnings, brought 5300 students back into their classes. more than 60% graduate within two semesters of receiving the grant. funding goes to covering tuition and fees, 100% comes back to the university making the program on only the right thing to do but financially sustainable as well.

where tracking 30,000 students for 800 different risk factors. to those that underperform in prerequisite classes. the advisor assigned to that student reaches out to help. they are prompted by alerts to the advice system. we have reduced the average degree, saving students and taxpayers millions of dollars. commonterventions are and that made huge difference. graduate 1700 more students annually than it did five years ago. it confers more bachelor's

degrees to african-americans than anyone else in the nation. the biggest names are enjoyed by student populations that once struggled the most. the impact has been so that we will be consolidated in georgia with the goal of leveraging to benefit an additional 22,000 students. georgia state was committed to broadly sharing the approaches we developed. we approached visiting teams from 160 campuses and looked at practices with groups. we are a founding member of the innovation alliance, a coalition enrolling more than 400,000 for low income students.

are adoptedrations nationally. it is perhaps the most promising path. here we need your help. ways toto find new incentivize. rather than supporting ambitious proposals to test and scale transformative ideas. find the way that students are given access to federal-aid and empower campuses to use data to target federal-aid to the students that .ill make the best use of it it,if we're serious about

when he did curb the predatory institution that targets them and promotes meaningful literacy training. george state university still .as more work to do dramatic gains can be made even in the context of resources. it is time we made it the normal. >> good morning, chairman alexander. the queue for inviting me to testify on what we are told is improving academic success. our organization is known for

conducting large-scale evaluations and demonstration projects. it is the most rigorous method for assessing such programs. as was mentioned earlier today, a challenge is to develop more opportunities for low-income to attend and succeed institutions of higher learning. research is beginning to point the way where it becomes solutions for primary areas. comprehensive and integrated reforms. structured pathways, and innovations in financial aid. i will share some of the main lessons for this existing research. in terms of comprehensive programs, we learned from the that such in new york

integrated and copperheads of programs can make a sizable difference and graduation rates. studentsigned to help double the rate at which they graduate. components.of four .equirements, messages including career advisement. and financial support including financial incentives. these components resulted in very large impacts. the largest among any assignment study of secondary intervention.

the program graduated at a rate of 18.3 percentage points higher than their control group counterparts. almost a doubling of the graduation rate in three years among community college students. most of whom were students of color. it lower the cost per degree at the three-year point lower than the control condition meaning that the program was also cost-effective. students actually requires -- outcomes making gaps.

several random assignments have been conducted that suggest a modest impact is possible through such interventions. including new ways to assess incoming students. accelerateand education teaching that are evaluated. structured pathway approaches have been shown to have some promises. is one example of a program that is touted in the research being useful. studies demonstrate that incentive-based grants and innovation on traditional financial aid results in a academicoponent of

benchmarks, a greater number of credits earned, and effects on gpa. building on what we already know, my written testimony offers a number of recommendations into broad categories. replicate proven programs. spread ofupport the other interventions. encourage innovation and with research. identify programs that make a real difference. the on programs, year-round financial aid, and innovations in work-study programs. you for the opportunity to testify today and i look toward the questions you may have.

>> we begin with the questions now and five-minute questions for senators. you say, that sounds good, let's make everybody do it. and that usually isn't the right thing to do, even as impressive as georgia states progress has been. one question might be, should we require or encourage and change something about the federal requirement? that you have to qualify for student grant or student loan when there is so much evidence that it puts you on track to taking more time to get your certificate.

withere something wrong requiring federal student aid to be based on 15 credits in sit of 12? why aren't more colleges and institutions doing that? know once they have focused on student success, they were wise enough to let other campuses do it a different way. , they told students that you may take 12 hours if you want to but you will pay for 15. and they began to see in immediate increase in the number of students that took 15 hours. grant not only has , but has theitself

effect of changing every university's financial aid program. have a huge ripple effect. startedeges that have in hawaii have had their incoming freshman double the numbers of students in one year. it would be to not necessarily raise the 15, but students get so many semesters. it off thet take back end of what you might've been eligible for years later. andould benefit the student benefit the taxpayer as well. year spend $130 billion a in grants and loans so we make a single change that affect millions of students. what is the downside of that?

>> don't think it takes much research to say that students going full-time or more likely to complete. i worry that so many students work. when students are working, if the choice is between working and going to college, they will choose to work, not because they want to, but because they have to. and so my great fear is how you structure incentives that would challenge students that must work to further their college education. leave that to the state system? >> i think that is why the push towards year-round hell grant is so important. movement is continuous. but i would be cautious about anything that would discourage students that are working being

able to pursue college. >> it has been a shift over the last 30 years that i have seen. we thought we made great progress to stay -- to say that you may come to community college, but if you are not prepared for it, you do not get credit of the courses you take. testimony, mr. jones, only one in 10 remedial student will ever graduate. there is a different approach, as i understand it and said come on and if you need remedial help and we will find other ways to help you succeed. what is your advice about how we deal with remediation and if there are changes in the federal

policy or incentives we should include in the higher education act? >> is always a risk if we try to mandate one path forward. i think we have been seeing increasingly convincing evidence -- some of the questions about if it should be funded or not become far less central. things are in college level horses and are getting the support system they need it to be able to increase their reading or writing ability or whatever deficiencies they currently have. -- raceipline placed has been much more effective like georgia state and institutions like the georgia perimeter.

we will absolutely require it for all remedial programs over the next 12 months. >> following on your first question, i think sometimes our higher education policy is driven by our own memories of our own college experience rather than what is happening today when more and more students are worrying about college classes. they might be working two or three jobs. i want to make sure we don't .isenfranchise those students i think we have the be very careful with that. i am very interested in the results of the program that you talk about that doubled graduation rates for community college.

can you talk to us about the inport services you provided getting the impressive results from that program? basically in broad categories. students were invited to the program and told that they needed to enroll full-time, being 12 credits. they were allowed to make up this full-time enrollment through the normal academic terms. the intensity of enrollment was based on the accumulation of credit across the academic year. inns received a comprehensive advisers, them study that is one advisor per 80 students.

they were also able to talk to career advisement. they also received automatic course enrollment with block scheduling available the sums, and students in limited majors were available for this row graham. nursing, it'ske not possible to graduate given practical and other rook wire meant of the major. teens were given financial support including tuition gap coverage. applyts were required to for all aid through which they were eligible and if there should be an unmet need for tuition and fees. in addition to incentivizing students, providing use of free textbooks. >> we have worked to try to recognize what is tripping up students overall. and we found it has a

disproportionate positive impact. not think we appreciate how much institutional know-how it takes to navigate a secondary institution. you hand students and their families these forms and put them through a process of registering for classes. and we are surprised when some students that don't have family support systems go off half. we're trying to recognize it takes a combination of technology and personal contact. we have put technology in the hands so they can reach out to students in the most personal and timely way imaginable. >> i wanted to ask you. i said in my opening statement

that i think it is integral that we have the right ada on student outcomes if we want to make sure we are targeting our intervention to make sure we are successful. you noted that less than a third of the students are included in the current federal completion data. this datalk about how might help us better inform what policy we should be pursuing? >> it is only been full-time students counted. mr. jones pointed out that if federal data,e the national average for community college completion is 21%. at the national student clearinghouse data, after six years, 57% have earned

a bachelor's degree or a community college degree. it's a lot more than 21% and illustrates defining success. many students are part-time and takes 300% to succeed. so many students leave with alternative credentials. the welding instructor said i need to give you some supplemental data. all of those students had -- those of the

factors that we have to look at the totality of student success. the obvious one is hell grant graduation rates. why the federal government would not collect data on it is beyond my comprehension. but they don't. there is a back-and-forth about if we graduate veterans are not. it is pretty obvious. use have been adopted by the national governors association. of small metrics important to collect. these things send signals across the whole united states.

colleges and universities. >> senator collins? >> my concern is focused on that end up in debt and with no degree. it is the worst possible combination. and we have a whole category of people in that situation. we also know that if students don't graduate, that they are three times more likely to default on their student loan debt. to describe a program going on at a college in maine and get your reaction to it, but also run by you suggest in debt has been made to be by the director of that program. student success center has two

main components. first, for incoming students, it has intensive two-week remedial course in mathematics and writing. helped improve the retention rate. second, there is a student success center where students can come for p or mentoring, tutoring, counseling, small grants that may help them out if they are having child care problems or transportation looks at the it whole person and the barriers to completion.

and that combined with academic advisement. rate ofe high default students that don't complete college, and given the fact that if we know they do complete college, they're going to have lifetime earnings that are a million dollars higher than someone with just a high school diploma and that if we had some sort of incentive in the form of very small loan forgiveness, it would help provide the incentive that students need to complete college. and i would like to get your reaction to that idea. >> i want to pick up on your point right before classes start.

example where they connect a class with remediation support and tennessee is now going to do that statewide starting in the fall. they are doubling the success rate in english, or tripling the success rate in math. provide money that can be remediation, for you can strengthen that by encouraging that money to be used and programs like you suggested in that fashion, programs they are doing in georgia or tennessee and you will get more bang for your buck , more success than traditional remedial programs that are not connected. . there is no one magic things like how we look at

remediation. for many students, we were over medicating them. there are students that have not learned the material the first time through. we know that mentor ship and having students makes the difference. we also need to create structures that are not so complex and complicated. often they don't do optional as well. i think your comments are right. working students live on the edge. sometimes a student would drop out two weeks from completing because their transmission died. >> our approach to getting

students off to a great start is slightly different. they attend the seven weeks and are taking bachelors level courses and getting the kind of remedial support on the perimeter. rates are now very close to 90%. getting students off to a head start is great. i think it is a wonderful idea to have these microloans in micro grants available to meet the student where they are. the reality is that $200 or $300 and make a difference. it is sometimes hard for us to recognize. it when you have an annual household income that you're not getting from a bank or relative, it can be a cost saver for the tax payer because students can cross the finish line.

>> i am trained by nature to be skeptical. program sounds very interesting and a lot of the component seem to be based on research. thisld be concerned that program is not necessarily one that could at all. towe said here, there needs be targeting involved and some reflection of what students are needed. in addition, it seems like the engagement nature of this program is something that would need to be shored up to make sure the students that needed it most are the ones participating in the success centers. they work when students attend. solution, there has been research that suggests

you can generate the desirable so comes that you want, pulling in behavioral concepts and being privy to those incentive structures is very important. types of ideas that need themselves to be studied before they are scaled up and required and mandated. >> schools are making decisions about programs based on what is best for students. i don't think that schools can completely ignore the financial what yous that dictate invest in and what you don't invest in. .

gets you inng that trouble is a massive default that puts you on the far edge of your cohort. there is nothing that provides a financial incentive for schools to graduate more kids on time or to invest in these kind of support for remedial coursework. you can argue it's actually a financial and active not to invest in those things. . don't you think it would make reworkor us to try to the way in which we send billions of dollars schools through the hell grant program and the stafford program such that we provide at least a small financial incentive for students -- schools to invest in all these programs and it might be a way of addressing this

legitimate concern that many have about being overly prescriptive. and expectthe money them to do a little bit better. it left it up to them to follow the evidence, wouldn't that get us faster where we want to go? there were only three states in the country six years ago. washington was one of them, ohio was one of them. now there are 15 states. my projection in 10 years will be 40 or 45 states that will have their own performance funding. what you can do in providing incentives is providing incentives to graduate more low income students or incentives to get students through remediation in a more timely way or incentives to graduate students on time. as you pointed out, all the other federal grant programs you have as well as the health program would be very powerful.