Federal

By Lyndsey Layton

By Lyndsey Layton and Emma Brown

The Department of Education unveiled a slate of executive actions it’s taking to beef up accountability in the higher education accreditation system, which Education Secretary Arne Duncan said is filled with “watchdogs that don’t bite.”

By Lauren Camera

Education secretary takes aim at low graduation rates while student debt is rising fastEducation Secretary Arne Duncan is preparing to unveil a package of proposals aimed at forcing colleges that receive federal money to improve graduation rates and to provide students with job skills. The proposals will be aimed at accreditors, the not-for-profit agencies that must give their seal of approval so schools can take part in the federal student-loan system. The overhaul effort comes as student debt has climbed to $1.2 trillion, but graduation rates remain not much better than a “coin toss,” Mr. Duncan has said.

By Griselda NevarezThe U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday released a resource guide to help undocumented students and educators ensure that young people are on a path to academic success regardless of their immigration status. 

Hoping to offer more alternatives, particularly to low-income students considering substandard for-profit colleges, the Education Department is unveiling a pilot program on Wednesday to allow students to use federal loans and grants for nontraditional education like boot camp software coding programs and MOOCs, or massive open online courses.

Last week, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan shocked the education world and announced he’ll be resigning in December. Riding out the rest of the Obama administration as acting secretary will be John King, who is currently the No. 2 at the department. Here’s what you need to know about him.

(CNN) President Barack Obama praised Arne Duncan’s service as secretary of education on Friday, hours after Duncan said he would step down in December.