Washington, DC. - U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the appointment of the 15 members and chairperson to serve on the Committee on Measures of Student Success (CMSS). Created under the Higher Education Opportunity Act, the committee will develop recommendations for two-year degree-granting institutions of higher education to comply with the law's graduation and completion rate disclosure requirements. The committee will also develop recommendations regarding additional or alternate measures of student success that are comparable alternatives to the completion or graduation rates, taking into account the mission and role of two-year degree-granting higher education institutions.

"These individuals have a diverse background in higher education, and I value their expertise and experience as we move forward on this important issue," said Duncan.

The Committee members include experts in the field of higher education policy, state higher education officials, students and other stakeholders in the higher education community. The members are appointed by the Secretary of Education in consultation with the Commissioner of Education Statistics. Meetings of the Committee will be announced in the Federal Register and will be open to the public. The Committee is to submit its recommendations to the Secretary no later than 18 months from the date of its first meeting.

Duncan has appointed Thomas Bailey, a professor of economics and education at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, to serve as chair of the committee. Bailey is also director of Teacher College's Community College Research Center as well as its National Center for Postsecondary Research.

The other 14 appointed members of the CMSS are:

• Margarita Benitez, senior associate, Excelencia in Education, Washington, D.C.
• Wayne Burton, of Durham, N.H.; president, North Shore Community College, Danvers, Mass.
• Kevin Carey, policy director, Education Sector, Washington, D.C.
• Alisa Federico Cunningham, vice president, Institute for Higher Education Policy, Washington, D.C.
• Jacob Fraire, assistant vice president, Educational Alliances, Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation, Austin, Texas
• Isabel Friedman, student, University of Pennsylvania, Phila., Pa.
• Millie Garcia, president, California State University at Dominguez, Calif.
• Sharon Kristovich, higher education consultant, Champaign, Ill.
• Harold Levy, managing director, Palm Ventures, New York, N.Y., and former chancellor of New York City Public Schools
• Geri Palast, executive director, Campaign for Fiscal Equity, New York, N.Y.
• Patrick Perry, vice chancellor, California Community College System, Sacramento, Calif.
• Lashawn Richburg-Hayes, deputy director, MDRC, New York, N.Y.
• Linda Thor, chancellor, De Anza College, Cupertino, Calif.
• Belle Wheelan, president, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools' Commission on Colleges, Decatur, Ga.

All the members, including the chair, have been appointed for terms ending Dec. 31, 2011. A notice will be posted in the Federal Register about the first CMSS meeting, which is expected to be scheduled in the fall.