NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Austin Peay State University's effort to advise student course selection through a software program called Degree Compass is winning praise from education experts.
At a higher education forum on Tuesday sponsored by Gov. Bill Haslam, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Bill Tucker pointed to Degree Compass as one of several things the state is doing to provide more Tennesseans with quality postsecondary education.
Tucker and other experts said Tennessee needs to broaden access to higher education in order to have a better educated and better paid workforce. At the same time, schools must not sacrifice quality, even as state funding for higher education decreases.
Tucker said that innovative technical solutions like Degree Compass can help campuses meet those challenges even without a big increase in funding.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
