Tag Archives: federal

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.

New Financial Reform Law Affects Higher Education

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At the end of July the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was signed into law. The law impacts higher education in many ways.

The law creates a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that specifically has jurisdiction over any person or entity that offers “private education loans”. The CFPB will be a part of the Federal Reserve System  and has the power to issue and enforce regulations to protect consumers from abuses. The jurisdiction of the CFPB also covers entities that offer “private education loans”.

In addition, the law creates a Private Education Loan Ombudsman in the CFPB to resolve private education loan borrowers’ complaints. The Ombudsman is authorized to collaborate with the U.S. Department of Education, institutions, lenders, loan servicers, and guaranty agencies to resolve complaints.

The law also directs the Federal Reserve to  issue rules by April 21, 2011 to ensure that debit card interchange fees charged to debit-card-accepting merchants are reasonable and proportional to the cost of processing those transactions. This is a big benefit to university and college bookstores.

Finally, the law prohibits card networks from keeping any merchant, including universities, from setting minimum transaction amounts for credit card payments. However, the minimum transaction cannot be greater than $10. The card network also cannot prohibit any institution of higher education or federal agency from setting maximum transaction amounts or prevent any merchants from offering discounts for certain forms of payment.

Governor Says No to Federal Position

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 Governor Gregoire will not be moving to D.C. anytime soon. 

This afternoon the spokeswoman for Governor Gregoire announced that the Governor informed the White House that she did not want to be considered for the job of solicitor general. 

“She (the Governor) explained that she does not want to be considered. She mentioned it is not the right time for here and it is not the right time for the state”, stated Karina Shagren, spokeswoman for the Governor.

It was announced earlier this summer that Governor Greogire was on a list of individuals to be considered for the position of solicitor general which was vacated by Elean Kagan upon her appointment to the Supreme Court last week.

Senate Committee Moves Veterans’ Education Legislation

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Yesterday the U.S. Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee approved S. 3447 to expand benefits in the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

The bill would increase the number of people who could receive benefits and expand the list of programs/training for which veterans could use the aid.

In addition, the bill changes how allowances for textbooks and housing are calculated and provides in-state tuition/fees at public colleges or up to $20,000 adjusted annually and based on the national average cost.

In the U.S. House similar legislation is scheduled to be considered on September 16.

State’s Budget Gap Shrinks Thanks to Federal Funds

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Today, the U.S. Senate took the necessary final vote to provide $26 billion to states for Medicaid and education.

The bill extends programs enacted in last year’s stimulus law to help preserve the jobs of teachers and other public employees and provides an extension of federal Medicaid funds to states.

The U.S. House will return from their August recess to take a vote on the bill next Tuesday.

Once the House passes the bill and the legislation is signed by the President, 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.  

The influx of federal dollars does stave off a special session for now. However, Washington policymakers are now focused on the latest revenue forecasts, expected August 10, to gauge the health of the state budget.

Special Session Unlikely

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It is unlikely that Washington will experience another special session this year. Early this week, Democratic leaders in the Washington Senate and House ruled out holding a sepcial legislative session to fill budget gaps related to a lack of federal aid and declining state revenues.

Governor Gregoire had set a noon deadline on Monday for Democratic leaders to determine whether or not they could bring their caucuses for a short special session to remedy the looming budget gap.

Though the spokeswoman for the Governor did not announce how the budget gap will be bridged, the alternative is to require across-the-board cuts of up to 4 percent to solve the budget gap.

The question of whether to hold a special session or implement across-the-board cuts would be eliminated if Congress acts. The U.S. Senate is considering an extension of $16.1 billion in federal medical assistance funding and $10 billion in aid for schools to avert teacher layoffs for states.

Action on the added funding was delayed from Monday to tomorrow (Wednesday). Even if the Senate approves the funding it is required to go to the U.S. House for final approval.

U.S. Senate Committee Passes Education Spending Bill

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Yesterday the full U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee approved a $169.6 billion appropriations bill for FY11 funding for the Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.

The bill as passed by the Senate Committee maintains a level discretionary funding base for the Federal Pell Grant program of $4,860. This amount combined with a mandatory add-on from the Healthcare and Education Reconciliation Act provides a maximum award of $5,550 in the 2011-12 year.

The bill passed out of Committee, however, did not include the $5.7 billion to fill an estimated Pell Grant shortfall in the 2011-12 year.  Senate Democrats on the committee stated that addressing the shortfall will have to wait until the bill is either considered by the full Senate or during conference committee with the House.

In addition, the bill maintains level funding for the majority of other student aid programs. This includes Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Federal Work-Study, and Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnerships.

Finally, funding for TRIO would increase by $15 million and Perkins cancellations would receive no funding.

The bill now goes to the full Senate for consideration.

Compromise Veterans’ Education Bill to be Introduced

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Late this week, a compromise veterans’ education bill is expected to be introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Sponsored by Rep. Minnick (D-ID), the bill is an agreement between major veterans’ service organizations and the Veterans Affairs Department on ways to fix, improve or otherwise modify the benefits program that was launched in August 2009.

The changes proposed in the bill would not take effect until 2011.

  • Tuition and fee calculations will be simplified so that Veterans Affairs will pay full tuition and full fees for any eligible veteran who is a full-time student at a public college or university. Tuition and fees at private institutions would be capped at $20,000 a year per student.
  • Active-duty service members and spouses of active-duty members using transferred benefits would become eligible for the $1,000 book allowance that already goes to other student veterans using the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
  • Living stipends would be available to people taking distance learning classes without the current requirement that they must take at least one classroom course to qualify.
  • Service members transferring GI Bill benefits to a spouse or children would include the right to transfer any so-called “kickers” that increase payments so that family members could use the money.
  • For National Guard and reserve members, the bill gives credit for full-time active service in the Active Guard and Reserve program and time mobilized for natural disasters toward earning benefits, service that currently does not count.
  • On-the-job training and apprenticeships programs could be covered .

Many of the provisions in the compromise bill are similar to provisions in S. 3447.  Senate Bill 3447 is being refined and is expected to be brought to a vote in the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee in early August.

The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, which will receive the compromise bill, has scheduled a hearing on veterans’ education benefits on September 16.

U.S. Senate Committee Takes Action on FY11 Appropriations Bill

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Yesterday, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Humans Services, Education, and Related Agencies approved a $169.6 billion FY11 appropriations bill. 

The bill would seek to maintain a level appropriated base for the Federal Pell Grant program of $4,860. That amount, combined with a mandatory add-on from the Healthcare and Education Reconciliation Act (HCERA), would provide a maximum Pell Grant of $5,550 in the 2011-12 year. However, the Senate appropriation markup did not include $5.7 billion to plug an estimated Pell Grant shortfall in the 2011-12 year. The House version did include the $5.7 billion.

In addition to Pell appropriations, the spending bill would maintain level funding for the majority of the other student aid programs. The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG) program, the Federal Work-Study (FWS), program, and the Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnerships (LEAP) program in fiscal year (FY) 2011 would all be level funded under the appropriations bill. TRIO would be increased by $15 million under the bill and Perkins cancellations would receive no funding.

The full appropriations committee is expected to take up the bill this Thursday.

U.S. Drops Lead in Young College Graduates

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The United States has fallen from 1st place to 12th place in the share of adults ages 25-34 with postsecondary degrees.

According to a recent report released by The College Board, Canada is now the global leader in higher education among young adults, with 55.8 percent of that population holding an associate degree or beyond as of 2007, the year of the latest international ranking.

Though the United States’ ranking improves when older adults are added to the equation among all nations – he U.S. ranks 6th – the report focuses on younger college students because there is great concern that this will be the first generation in the modern era that will be less well-educated than their parents.

In response the College Board’s Commission on Access, Admissions, and Success in Higher Education and the National Confernce of State Legislatures has  produced a pratical 10-part  action agenda to increase the number of Americans who attain a postsecondary degree and empower  legislators to be an even more positive and active force.

The 10-part action agenda calls for policymakers to undertake the following recommendations which are considered investments that might raise college completion rates.

  • Provide a program of voluntary preschool education, universally available to children from low-income families
  • Improve middle and high school college and career counseling
  • Implement the best research-based dropout prevention programs
  • Align the K-12 education system with international standards and college admission expectations
  • Improve teacher quality and focus on recruitment and retention
  • Clarify and simplify the admission process
  • Provide more need-based grant aid while simplifying and making financial aid processes more transparent
  • Keep college affordable
  • Dramatically increase college completion rates
  • Provide postsecondary opportunities as an essential element of adult education programs.