Author Archives: garverj

Joint WA House Hearing Focuses on Higher Education

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Tuesday morning the Washington House Higher Education Committee joined the House Education Appropriations Committee to discuss several bedrock issues for higher education.

The Committee heard several presentations focused on the state’s current approach to higher education funding, accountability and performance, and the work of the Governor’s Higher Education Task Force.

Ways & Means Committee staff reported that the Legislature will likely need to consider an emerging ARRA Maintenance of Effort (MOE) issue.  Given recent reductions the state is approximately $25-$30 million below the MOE requirement that was tied to the stimulus dollars Washingon received in the 2009-11 biennium.

The accountabilityand performance discussion echoed much of the conversation that has happened over the last several years. Policymakers raised concerns regarding the absence of measurements about the quality of instruction and noted the emphasis on measurements that focus on pushing students through the system. 

Policymakers also dialogued with representatives from the Higher Education Coordinating Board, Council of Presidents, and the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges about the limits of current accountability and performance metrics, such as IPEDs, given the diverse way students approach and interact within the  higher education sector. In addition, policymakers expressed the need for “real” time data and the push to use technology to collect this data.

Finally, questions rose again regarding the use of the six-year graduation rate. Mike Reilly, Executive Director for the Council of Presidents, differentiated between the six-year graduation rate measurement and time to degree and the value of both.  It was also noted that using the 2003 cohort, Washington has the highest completion rate for public baccalaurate institutions in the nation; a rate that has improved by approximatley 9% over the last decade.

The Committees wrapped up their work this morning with a presentation from Governor Gregoire’s staff on the Higher Education Task Force regarding the work to date of the Task Force and next steps.

U.S. Congress to Pass Budget Stopgap Legislation

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Congress is expected to pass a continuing budget resolution in the next week.  The budget resolution is needed to continue government operations after September 30.

Though reports have hinted at the inclusion of extra funding for the Pell Grant or additional funds for implementation of the healthcare overhaul legislation enacted earlier this year, it is unlikely that these measures will be included.

Instead the stopgap legislation will likely be relatively “clean” and limited in duration.

U.S. Subcommittee Passes Loan Bankruptcy Legislation

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Yesterday, the U.S. House Subcommittee on Commerical Adminsitrative Law passed the Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2010 (H.R. 5043).

The Act would allow for privately issued student loans in bankruptcy to be treated the same as other types of private debt. Loans made by governmental agencies or loan programs where “substantially all of the funds arre provided by a non-for-profit entity” would not be dischargeable unless borrowers could show an undue hardship.

The Act would restore language that existed prior to changes to the bankruptcy code in 2005.

Across-the-Board Cuts; State Revenues Decline

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Today Governor Gregoire directed state agencies to reduce their 2009-11 budgets by 6.3% beginning October 1. The Governor did not provide any discretion with regard to how the reductions should or would be applied.

The across-the-board cut imposed by the Governor comes on the heels of this morning’s release of the September state economic and revenue forecast.  The forecast shows the state faces a projected shortfall of $770 million for the 2011 fiscal year.  With $250 million in reserves, this creates an immediate deficit of $520 million for the state.

Washington’s Chief Economist, Dr. Arun Raha set the context for the latest reduction in state revenues. According to Raha, job growth is anemic, the housing market is in search of a bottom, and small businesses are still challenged in the credit environment. 

What the state is facing is not risk (defined as the unknown knowns) but uncertainty which are the unknown unknowns.

“Things will eventually get better, but at a slow and uncertain pace,” Raha said. “That cannot be entirely reassuring, but that is the best that I have at this time.”

Governor Issues Across-the-Board Cuts

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Yesterday, Governor Gregoire issued an executive order directing across-the-board cuts to state programs and agencies.

The level of the reductions, as stated in the executive order, are to be based on the September Economic and Revenue forecast.  As a result, the level of reductions to state agencies will not be revealed unitl after the release of the September Economic and Revenue forecast on Thursday.  The reductions will go into effect on October 1, 2010.

Over the last month, Governor Gregoire informed state agencies to prepare for across-the-board cuts that could range from 4 to 7 percent. However, given the continual decline in state revenues since June,  the Governor warned that the cuts could be even higher.

In addition, the Governor has stated that quick action by the 2011 Washington Legislature will be needed to pass a supplemental budget that reduces state support for public services by $500 million from the last six months of the current fiscal year. 

It is also expected that the 2011-13 budget will need to be reduced by 10 percent to bridge an estimated state shortfall of $3 billion.

Consortium Receives Funds; Benefits Washington

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Washington will benefit from Race to the Top Funds, announced today, as a member of a national consortium.

The federal government awarded the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium – of which Washington is a member – $160 million to build on the fast growing movement toward national learning standards for K-12.

The goal of the Consortium is to ensure that all students leave high school prepared for post-secondary success in college or a career through increased student learning and improved teaching.

To achieve this goal the Consortium is expected to use the funds over the next four years to develop an assessment system with the following major deliverables:

  • Online computer adaptive summative assessments that give a snapshot of student performance without a “one size fits all approach.” This assessment can be used to describe student achievement and growth of student learning as part of program evaluation and school, district and state accountability systems. This assessment will measure English language arts and mathematics in grades 3-8 and 11 across the full range of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).
  • Optional interim and formative assessments that help teachers identify the specific needs of each student so that they can help the students progress toward being career and college ready.
  • Opportunities for Professional Development. Teachers will be involved at all stages of item and test development, including item writing, scoring, and the design of reporting systems. This will ensure the system works well and that teachers can learn from national experts and from each other as they evaluate students’ performance.
  • An online tailored reporting system that supports educators to access information about student progress toward college and career readiness

The SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) is a collection of 31 states that have been working collaboratively since December 2009 to develop a student assessment system aligned to a common core of academic content standards to apply for a Race-to-the-Top Assessment grant.

Federal Credit Card Law Phased-In

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The last parts of the 2009 federal legislation that overhauled the credit card history will be phased in this year.

Over the last year, as a result of the legislation, credit card companies are banned from raising interest rates on existing balances and prohibiting issuers from raising rates when customers miss payments on an unrelated account.

This year other portions of the bill, specifically relevant to college students will be phased-in. These include banning credit card issuers from providing credit cards to people under age 21 unless another adult co-signs for it or the student can show an independent source of income.

In addition, credit card companies are prohibited from offering free incentives in exchange for signing up for a card on campus or at institution events. Colleges are also required to make public any partnerships they have with card issuers.

Finally, credit card issuers must submit any contracts they have with collegiate groups to the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve will compile a report with this information, detailing the nature of these relationships.

Comments Requested on Financial Literacy Competencies

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The Financial Literacy and Education Commission is requesting comments on a proposed set of financial education core competencies.

As a part of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, the Commission is required to review the national strategy to promote basic financial literacy and education. As a part of this review the Commission determined that there is a need to develop core competencies for consumers and financial education providers.

The development of core competencies is a fundamental step in establishing a clear understanding about what individuals should know and the basic concepts program providers should cover. In addition the competencies should establish a baseline of knowledge.

The intention of the competencies is to define what consumers should know and be able to do to successfully understand and make informed decisions about their personal finances. To this end, the Commission has identified five core concept areas: (1) earning, (2) spending, (3) saving, (4) borrowing, and (5) protecting against risk as well as specific core competencies for each area.

The deadline for comments regarding whether the list of Core Competencies is complete and whether there are portions that should be deleted, revised, or expanded is September 12.  The request for comments is one of several steps in the validation phase of the development of the competencies.

Jobs Bill Saves Thousands of Washington Teacher Positions

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Last week President Obama signed into law the Jobs Bill. The bill provides $26 billion to states to support education jobs and fund Medicaid budgets.

The U.S. Senate approved the bill on August 5, followed by the U.S. House of Representatives on August 10.

Washington is expected to receive $530 million. The state will receive $320 million for Medicaid and $208 million to pay salaries for 3,000 teachers who were in line to lose their jobs.

According to the U.S. Deparment of Education over the last two years the federal government has been able to support 300,000 education jobs through stimulus funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

To date, seven states have drawn down 100% of previously allocated funding under the State Fiscal Stabilizatioon Fund, while 18 states have drawn down 80% or more. According to the Center on Education Policy 75% of school districts that received stimulus funds expect to cut teaching positions in the upcoming school year.

Guidance and applications for the federal dollars have been sent to Governors.

Obama Delivers Major Higher Education Speech

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Last week President Obama delivered a major speech on higher education at the University of Texas on Austin.

The speech restates the President’s commitment to increasing the attainment of postsecondary education credentials by more Americans and highlights the steps the Administration has taken to move in this direction.

As stated by the President, “I want you to know we have been slipping…In a single generation, we’ve fallen from 1st place to 12th place in college graduation rates for young adults….  Now, that’s unacceptable, but it’s not irreversible.  We can retake the lead.  If we’re serious about making sure America’s workers — and America itself — succeeds in the 21st century, the single most important step we can take is make sure that every one of our young people has the best education that the world has to offer.” 

“Now,” he continued, “when I talk about education, people say, well, you know what, right now we’re going through this tough time….  So, Mr. President, you should only focus on jobs, on economic issues.  And what I’ve tried to explain to people…is that education is an economic issue.  Education is the economic issue of our time.  It is an economic issue when the unemployment rate for folks who’ve never gone to college is almost double what it is for folks who have gone to college.  It is an economic issue when almost eight in 10 new jobs will require workforce training or higher education by the end of this decade.  And it is an economic issue when we know, beyond shadow of a doubt, that countries that out-educate us today will out-compete us tomorrow.”

To support the comments expressed by the President in Austin the Obama Administration has launched a comprehensive plan to address college affordability, access and success, to help regain the nation’s standing as a world leader in higher education by the end of the next decade.

Among the steps in the Admininstration’s plan are investing in college access and completion, strengthening and stabilizing the Pell Grant, strengthening minority serving institutions, and simplifying the federal applicatin for financial aid.