The Office of Postsecondary Education: Shaping the Future of Higher Learning

Introduction

The Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE), a division of the U.S. Department of Education, plays a crucial role in shaping the landscape of higher education in the United States. Established in 1980, the OPE is responsible for promoting and ensuring access to quality postsecondary education, administering programs that support higher education institutions, providing financial assistance to students, and fostering innovation and improvement in postsecondary education. The office also works to ensure equal access to education and to foster educational excellence throughout the nation.

The Role and Responsibilities of the Office of Postsecondary Education

The Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) plays a multifaceted role in the American higher education system. Its primary responsibilities include:

Administering Programs: OPE oversees various programs designed to support higher education institutions and students. These programs range from financial aid initiatives to grants that promote innovation and improvement in educational practices.
Ensuring Access: A core mission of OPE is to ensure that all individuals have equal access to postsecondary education, regardless of their socioeconomic background or other demographic factors.
Promoting Innovation: OPE actively seeks to foster innovation within higher education. This involves supporting institutions in developing and implementing new approaches to teaching, learning, and student support.
Fostering Educational Excellence: OPE strives to promote educational excellence across the nation. This includes setting standards for academic quality and encouraging institutions to meet or exceed those standards.
Financial Aid to Students: OPE provides financial assistance to students through various programs, helping them afford the cost of higher education.

Budget and Spending

In fiscal year (FY) 2024, the Office of Postsecondary Education spent a net total of $3.51 billion. This represented 1.3% of the $268.4 billion spent by the Department of Education, which itself was 4% of all federal spending. The OPE ranked 4th among ED subdivisions in net spending. Adjusting for inflation, the Office of Postsecondary Education’s federal spending has increased from $2.02 billion in 1980 to $3.51 billion in 2024. Since 1980, the Office of Postsecondary Education's spending has increased 73.7%, while overall spending has increased 193.7%. In 2024, OPE accounted for 0.052% of overall federal spending. In FY 2024, the Office of Postsecondary Education transferred 18.2% of its total spending to states and local governments.

Personnel

Approximately 193 of the 2.31 million total civilian federal employees work for the Office of Postsecondary Education as of September 2024. This is 20.9% fewer people than the division staffed in 2010. The Office of Postsecondary Education accounts for 0.0083% of the overall federal workforce. The division constituted a smaller share of the overall federal workforce in September 2024 compared to 2010 (0.012%).

Leadership

The Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) is led by the Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education. This individual is appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. The Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education reports to the Secretary of Education.

Interagency Agreements and Partnerships

The Department of Education has been actively pursuing interagency agreements to streamline operations and improve service delivery. These agreements involve partnering with other federal agencies to leverage their expertise and resources.

Department of Labor Partnership

The Departments of Labor and Education are establishing the Postsecondary Education Partnership to better coordinate postsecondary education and workforce development programs. The Labor Department will take on a greater role in administering most postsecondary education grant programs authorized under the Higher Education Act. This partnership aims to address the nation’s labor shortage and transform the federal government’s approach to workforce development. These grants will help students from all walks of life obtain the credentials and career training they need to prosper and contribute to the American economy, as well as provide institutions of higher education with resources to support innovative strategies for learning and workforce advancement. Following the detail, HEP grantees will transition to DOL’s Grant Solutions and Payment Management System, aligning the grants management and payment systems across ED and DOL’s postsecondary and workforce programs.

Other Interagency Agreements

In November 2025, ED announced six new Interagency Agreements (IAAs) with four agencies to break up the Federal education bureaucracy, ensure efficient delivery of funded programs, and move closer to fulfilling the President’s promise to return education to the states. The ED-DOL partnership follows a common format of an IAA, a tool routinely utilized by government agencies to procure services, share resources, and ensure efficient service delivery. The Education Department also announced that the State Department will monitor foreign donations to universities through a separate interagency agreement.

Focus on Workforce Development

A key emphasis of the OPE and its partnerships is aligning postsecondary education with workforce needs. The goal is to ensure that students are equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in the modern economy. This includes promoting industry-driven training, boosting worker mobility, enhancing accountability, and unleashing innovation to equip millions of students with the skills needed for economic dominance and personal prosperity

Criticisms and Concerns

The Trump administration's approach to education, including the use of interagency agreements, has faced criticism. Some argue that these moves are an attempt to sidestep Congress and dismantle the federal education department. Concerns have also been raised about the potential impact on resources and support for students and families. Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat and vice chair of the Appropriations Committee, called the latest agreements illegal in a press release and lamented that her Republican colleagues won’t constrain the Trump administration’s actions.

Read also: Enhancing Education in Lake County

Inclusive Postsecondary Education (IPSE) Programs

The Office of Postsecondary Education also supports inclusive postsecondary education (IPSE) programs for students with intellectual disabilities. These programs allow students to attend college with their peers, participate in campus life, and work toward earning a certificate or credential. The “Think Higher. Think College.” public awareness campaign is designed to build awareness and expand access to college for students with intellectual disability. Our goals are to increase knowledge of inclusive college options, share information about the benefits and outcomes of students with intellectual disability attending college, and offer people ways to spread the message: “Think Higher. Think College.” Think College is a national technical assistance, research, and evaluation center dedicated to developing, expanding, and improving IPSE options for students with intellectual disability.

The Future of Postsecondary Education

The Office of Postsecondary Education is working to shape the future of higher education in the United States. By promoting access, innovation, and workforce alignment, the OPE aims to create a system that is responsive to the needs of students and the economy. DFI works to nurture a vision for long-term postsecondary education reform that reduces the federal role in financing postsecondary education, protects taxpayers, and meets the demand for alternatives to four-year degrees. America needs a higher education system that is affordable, flexible, and aligned with the real opportunities of today’s economy. DFI supports reforms that lower costs by reigning in federal policies that fuel tuition inflation and by expanding high-value, workforce-aligned alternatives to traditional four-year degrees. Students should have access to skills-based pathways and programs that clearly demonstrate their return on investment. Institutions must share responsibility for student outcomes through stronger accountability and transparency. Our vision is a system of postsecondary education that offers students multiple pathways to success, protects taxpayers, and delivers real value for every learner.

Accreditation Reform

DFI supports policies that increase access to short-term credentials and earn-to-learn programs, including industry recognized apprenticeships, to help workers discover passions, develop talents, and acquire needed skills to thrive in our dynamic, evolving economy. Since launching in 2021, DFI has worked to expose the Federal government’s weakened oversight of efforts by foreign governments and their proxies to use generous gifts and contracts to unduly influence American education at our universities, colleges, and schools.

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