Observations from a First-Time Lobbyist

Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. is abuzz with activity, a frenetic and hectic movement of people. I was there speaking to U.S. Congresspersons about the importance of supporting educational access and success for low income and first generation students.

In Congressman Coffman’s high-walled office adorned with photos of veterans and diplomats, I told stories of student success. In a sunlit hall outside of Congresswoman DeGette’s bustling office, I invited her to attend a student roundtable. In the only space we could find available - a basement floor cafeteria - I told Senator Gardner’s legislative aid:  we need to invest in support programs in order to protect Pell.

It was surreal, almost an out of body experience. Governance is far from perfect, but I experienced nothing of the "gridlock" or stasis that you hear about in the media. Progress may or may not be happening as you see fit, but things are certainly happening. And the overwhelming message that I received from the numerous Congresspersons over six days in D.C. was plain and clear: the voice of constituents matters.

Public policy and appropriations play a huge role in impacting higher education and our students. There are a number of effective strategies for communicating your message:

•  Contact the District Office of your Congressperson and invite him or her to attend a roundtable discussion with your students at your campus. Pay attention to the particular interests of the Congressperson, which may be college affordability, student debt, specific student populations (first-generation, Veteran, minority), college completion, et cetera. 

• Identify the Congressperson's Legislative Aid responsible for Higher Education and form a relationship with this person. A phone call or e-mail is appropriate. State the value in supporting specific policies or appropriations for the Congressperson's constituents. 

•  Do not assume that a Congressperson is for or against your position based solely on his or her political affiliation. Again, pay attention to the particular interests of the Congressperson and use these to frame the value in supporting specific policies or appropriations.

• Do not get discouraged by a particular vote or decision by your Congressperson. Nothing happens in a vacuum on Capitol Hill and there are many - yes - political calculations. A Congressperson may support your position even if a particular action seems contrary to your position. 

• Connect with your professional organization or your institution's government relations office to visit Capitol Hill in person. When there, do not get discouraged if you find yourself advocating with a Legislative Aid (who may be half of your age). Legislative Aids meet directly with the Congressperson on a frequent basis. Your meeting with a Legislative Aid is the real deal; don't take your eye of the ball. 

• Position yourself as a content expert in Higher Education. Ask how you can support the policy-making process of your Congressperson. For example, is there a specific type of data that would be useful? 

• Speaking of data, be prepared with both quantitative data that demonstrate program effectiveness as well as qualitative data (e.g. student stories) that provide the context for how the program impacts the lives of constituents. 

• At the end of the day, your Congressperson is just that - a person. Feel confident in your ability to communicate with this person. Accept that each of us have limitations and that the ideal does not always align with the possible. Let your Congressperson know that you value his or her hard work to improve the lives of constituents. 

Education Technology: The Dialectic of Utopia and Dystopia

With advances in education technology, the future of higher education looks great or terrible, depending on whom you read.

In one camp you will find the zealots. This tribe sees education technology producing a grand disruption in which massive online competency-based learning - unbundled from calcified institutions and guided by sophisticated privatized data science - creates robust educational outcomes determined strictly by merit at a fraction of the cost. A true utopia.

In another camp you will find the luddites. This tribe views such a vision of education technology as truly dystopic, as a fanciful illusion so enamored in political expediency and its own zeitgeist that it ignores the social and interpersonal structures long-proven to effectively educate students, in particular those most vulnerable (low-income, first-generation, and non-white students).

In the middle ground stand many others, taking careful stock of the unfolding dialectic.

The technological determinism of the zealot tribe asserts that because we can do something with technology, it is a foregone conclusion that a) the outcome will be better when using technology and b) technology is unstoppable.

The interpersonal determinism of the luddite tribe asserts that because humans are social learners, it is a foregone conclusion that a) the outcome will be better when using personal interaction and b) technology makes us less human.

The dialectic of thesis and antithesis between these two tribes enlivens the potential for evolutionary movement within higher education. Higher education has the opportunity to draw on the strength of its humanistic roots while moving creatively into the future through emergent technologies.

For the dialectic to lead to such a synthesis, those in the middle ground must be careful and balanced arbiters of both evidence and values. What constellation of practices most effectively produces specific educational outcomes? What constellation of practices most effectively enlivens the human experience?

Technology is a human enterprise. There is more to the human enterprise than technology. Education needs neither disruption nor restoration, but - somewhere in the middle - evolution.