Universities need shared standards and infrastructure without giving up the local relationships that make service effective.

Education Department officials call the move "premature" and an effort to "sabotage" the agency's mission to eliminate bureaucratic barriers.

Without disparate impact provisions, a school that disciplines higher rates of minority students will face less federal scrutiny.

Workforce development has become the driving force behind some of the nation's most significant education reforms. One major higher ed initiative beginning July 1 is accelerating the trend.