doi:10.7916/5dxm-e562Oral history interview with Martha J. Kanter, 2020Kanter, Marthaoral historiesmixed materialPresidents--United StatesEducation, Higher--Costs.--United StatesStudent loans--Law and legislation--United StatesCommunity colleges--United StatesGlobal Financial Crisis, 2008-2009--United StatesKanter, MarthaObama, BarackRace to the Top (Program : U.S.)United States. Department of EducationUnited StatesPatient Protection and Affordable Care ActMartha Kanter discusses her contribution to the education policy of the Obama administration, in which she served as under secretary of the Department of Education from 2009 to 2013. Kanter focuses on efforts to expand access to and increase the affordability of higher education, and provides details about major policies, programs, and initiatives with which she was closely involved, including Race to the Top, the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant program, the American Graduation Initiative, the White House Summit on Community Colleges, student loan relief programs, and the educational provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Kanter also reflects on efforts to improve the evaluation of educational institutions through the administration's College Scorecard, the financial crisis's damage to higher education and the insufficiency of relief financing, Republican opposition to the administration's legislative initiatives, the importance of community colleges for economic and social mobility, and the centrality of diversity to the administration's higher education agenda