This week saw the end of the Perkins Loan Program following the blockage of a funding bill by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Also in higher ed, we took a look at efforts by institutions like the University of Oklahoma to provide "authentic" approaches to engage students with mobile content, as well as increased support for accreditors following the latest round of criticism from a Wall Street Journal editorial.

How can K-12 schools and districts re-engage high school dropouts beyond traditional cutoff ages? We spoke with the Graduation Alliance's Rebekah Richards for pointers. And on the ed tech front, can Amplify, under new ownership by its existing leaders, establish itself in a crowded space now that it's out from under the NewsCorp umbrella?

Check out our look at outgoing U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's legacy and what his successor, John King Jr., might bring to the table — and more — in this week's most-read Education Dive posts!

• Perkins Loan Program dies as Alexander blocks funding bill: An extension to the program passed in the House, but Alexander blocked its advance out of the Senate’s education committee.
• Thinking beyond the traditional high school dropout: How can states best serve people who have long passed the cutoff for traditional programs?
• Campuses strive for 'authentic' mobile approaches: The University of Oklahoma is among colleges rethinking their content for mobile apps.
• After layoffs, News Corp sells Amplify to current leaders: The long-anticipated sale of Amplify ended up being to a group that includes familiar faces like original Amplify leader Joel Klein.
• Support for accreditors follows latest criticism from WSJ: An editorial arguing accreditation bodies operate like a cartel prompted a wave of support and a call for a halt to name-calling.
• With Duncan heading out, what will John King Jr bring to the table?: The outgoing secretary leaves a contentious legacy as debate over an NCLB rewrite continues.

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