Earlier today, the U.S. Senate voted 61-38 to cut off debate and proceed to a vote on final passage of the Murray-Harkin amendment to H.R. 1586. All the Senate Democrats were joined by Republicans Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins from Maine to obtain the 60 votes necessary to end the filibuster on the amendment. This was a key procedural hurdle and paves the way for likely passage of the bill in the Senate before the end of the week, sending it back to the House of Representatives. Anticipating this Senate action, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has taken the highly unusual step of recalling the House, which had already adjourned for its August recess, for a vote on the bill early next week.
The Murray-Harkin amendment will provide $26 billion to help states deal with the crippling financial situations they are facing. $10 billion of that money is for the education jobs fund, which states can use to retain and hire K-12 teachers and other educational personnel. While the jobs fund does not extend directly to higher education, the maintenance of effort provision that states must comply with to receive these funds does set minimum spending levels for higher education. Many states have reported to AACC that this MOE language was instrumental in avoiding larger cuts to state higher education spending.
The Murray-Harkin amendment also includes $16 billion to extend increases to the federal Medicaid matching funds provided to States that were part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These increases to the federal medical assistance percentage, or FMAP, were scheduled to cease at the end of 2010. The Murray-Harkin amendment will extend the increase for six additional months.
Taken together, the education jobs and FMAP funds will provide crucial fiscal relief to states, relieving the pressure on them to make cuts in other areas such as higher education.
Please call or email your Representative today and urge them to vote "Yes" on H.R. 1586 when they vote on the bill next week.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Education Department Issues Proposed Regulations on "Gainful Employment" and Other Key Issues
This is a brief update on regulatory activity by the U.S. Department of Education that has major implications for community colleges.
On June 18, the Department of Education released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on "program integrity." The regulations cover a wide variety of issues and have generated a great deal of controversy, in part because they are generally targeted at abuses by for-profit institutions. Comments are due on this proposed rule by August 2nd.
AACC has worked closely with the American Council on Education in developing formal comments to be submitted by all of higher education, but it also plans to submit its own comments on issues related to "gainful employment." We encourage you to examine AACC's DRAFT comments and to submit similar comments.
Lastly, earlier today the Department of Education made available a notice of proposed rulemaking that fleshes out its approach on the "gainful employment" issue. This regulation has major implications for community college certificate training programs, and indeed for all of higher education, given that the regulation involves the federal government in new ways in evaluating and determining eligibility for higher education programs. For more information, see Inside Higher Education's story on the regulations and the regulation itself.
AACC will be developing a community college response to this regulation in the coming weeks—comments will be due in early September—and in doing so, will strive to balance the clear need for the Federal government to exert greater quality control over profit-driven institutions, along with the need to ensure that community colleges aren't subject to inappropriate regulations and/or sanctions because of abuses by other institutions.
These issues are complicated and important, and we encourage your engagement with them. Please let us know if you have any questions or comments.
On June 18, the Department of Education released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on "program integrity." The regulations cover a wide variety of issues and have generated a great deal of controversy, in part because they are generally targeted at abuses by for-profit institutions. Comments are due on this proposed rule by August 2nd.
AACC has worked closely with the American Council on Education in developing formal comments to be submitted by all of higher education, but it also plans to submit its own comments on issues related to "gainful employment." We encourage you to examine AACC's DRAFT comments and to submit similar comments.
Lastly, earlier today the Department of Education made available a notice of proposed rulemaking that fleshes out its approach on the "gainful employment" issue. This regulation has major implications for community college certificate training programs, and indeed for all of higher education, given that the regulation involves the federal government in new ways in evaluating and determining eligibility for higher education programs. For more information, see Inside Higher Education's story on the regulations and the regulation itself.
AACC will be developing a community college response to this regulation in the coming weeks—comments will be due in early September—and in doing so, will strive to balance the clear need for the Federal government to exert greater quality control over profit-driven institutions, along with the need to ensure that community colleges aren't subject to inappropriate regulations and/or sanctions because of abuses by other institutions.
These issues are complicated and important, and we encourage your engagement with them. Please let us know if you have any questions or comments.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Final Legislative Alert! Support Funding for Education Jobs and Pell Grants
As early as this week, the House of Representatives will vote on “supplemental” appropriations legislation for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 to appropriate additional funds for various purposes, including national defense. AACC, along with the rest of the education community, is fighting to include vitally important funds for education jobs and the Pell Grant program in this legislation. We need your help.
Please email, call or fax your Representative today and urge their support for the education jobs fund and $5.7 billion for the Pell Grant program in the FY 2010 supplemental appropriations bill.
Background Information:
Legislation has been introduced in both the House and Senate to provide $23 billion in aid to states for the purpose of hiring and retaining teachers and other educational staff. These funds would essentially be a more focused extension of the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund created in last year’s economic stimulus legislation. The Senate supplemental appropriations bill, which is the bill that the House will take up, does not include this jobs fund. The House needs to hear strong support from the education community for adding the jobs fund to the supplemental appropriations bill. Furthermore, the latest version of the jobs fund only included K-12 education, and not higher education. While any education jobs fund would likely help community colleges, at least indirectly, higher education should be part of the jobs fund.
AACC is also urging the House to include $5.7 billion to retire a shortfall in the Pell Grant program that has arisen because of the tremendous increase in demand for the grants brought on by the recession. The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, passed as part of the health care reconciliation bill earlier this year, retired most, but not all, of this shortfall. Without this additional $5.7 billion in this legislation, the maximum Pell Grant could fall as much as $845 in the 2011-12 academic year.
Talking Points (please tailor to the situation at your institution):
• The Education Jobs Fund is vital to community colleges. These institutions have been squeezed by shrinking state support and increased enrollments, forcing them to layoff faculty, reduce class sections and/or increase class sizes, and slash support services. In many places, thousands of students have been prevented from enrolling in the classes that they need.
• An education jobs fund of any kind helps community colleges by relieving pressure on state budgets in other areas. However, higher education should be explicitly included in a final jobs fund, just as it was in the Jobs for Main Street Act passed by the House last December.
• More than 2.5 million community college students rely on the Pell Grant to help make their education possible. $5.7 billon is desperately needed to ensure that these students do not see a significant cut in their grants, as much as $845.
• Failing to fix the Pell Grant “shortfall” may result in future reductions not only to Pell Grants, but also other student aid, job training and institutional support programs that are vital to community colleges and their students.
Help in contacting your Representatives is available on the AACC website. If you have any questions, please email David Baime, Senior Vice President of Government Relations and Research, or call 202-728-0200 x224; Jim Hermes, Director of Government Relations, x216; or Laurie Quarles, Legislative Associate, x249.
Please email, call or fax your Representative today and urge their support for the education jobs fund and $5.7 billion for the Pell Grant program in the FY 2010 supplemental appropriations bill.
Background Information:
Legislation has been introduced in both the House and Senate to provide $23 billion in aid to states for the purpose of hiring and retaining teachers and other educational staff. These funds would essentially be a more focused extension of the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund created in last year’s economic stimulus legislation. The Senate supplemental appropriations bill, which is the bill that the House will take up, does not include this jobs fund. The House needs to hear strong support from the education community for adding the jobs fund to the supplemental appropriations bill. Furthermore, the latest version of the jobs fund only included K-12 education, and not higher education. While any education jobs fund would likely help community colleges, at least indirectly, higher education should be part of the jobs fund.
AACC is also urging the House to include $5.7 billion to retire a shortfall in the Pell Grant program that has arisen because of the tremendous increase in demand for the grants brought on by the recession. The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, passed as part of the health care reconciliation bill earlier this year, retired most, but not all, of this shortfall. Without this additional $5.7 billion in this legislation, the maximum Pell Grant could fall as much as $845 in the 2011-12 academic year.
Talking Points (please tailor to the situation at your institution):
• The Education Jobs Fund is vital to community colleges. These institutions have been squeezed by shrinking state support and increased enrollments, forcing them to layoff faculty, reduce class sections and/or increase class sizes, and slash support services. In many places, thousands of students have been prevented from enrolling in the classes that they need.
• An education jobs fund of any kind helps community colleges by relieving pressure on state budgets in other areas. However, higher education should be explicitly included in a final jobs fund, just as it was in the Jobs for Main Street Act passed by the House last December.
• More than 2.5 million community college students rely on the Pell Grant to help make their education possible. $5.7 billon is desperately needed to ensure that these students do not see a significant cut in their grants, as much as $845.
• Failing to fix the Pell Grant “shortfall” may result in future reductions not only to Pell Grants, but also other student aid, job training and institutional support programs that are vital to community colleges and their students.
Help in contacting your Representatives is available on the AACC website. If you have any questions, please email David Baime, Senior Vice President of Government Relations and Research, or call 202-728-0200 x224; Jim Hermes, Director of Government Relations, x216; or Laurie Quarles, Legislative Associate, x249.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
AACC Policy Brief: Moving Success from the Shadows
The need for better data on the performance of higher education has become a major focus of education policymakers, and this has been reflected in federal legislation. Community colleges are appropriately held accountable for the workforce outcomes of their students, but the data that are gathered to evaluate those outcomes must reflect the post-college occupational experiences of their students. The latest AACC policy brief “Moving Success From the Shadows: Data Systems That Link Education and Workforce Outcomes” examines the current state of linkages between education and workforce outcomes.
Visit http://www.aacc.nche.edu/Publications/Briefs/Pages/rb03162010.aspx for more information and the full report.
Visit http://www.aacc.nche.edu/Publications/Briefs/Pages/rb03162010.aspx for more information and the full report.
Friday, March 12, 2010
AGI in Jeopardy
Congress is now finalizing how they are going to move forward on the health care bill, having finally decided to use a process called budget reconciliation to pass the plan. The student loan bill, which passed the House last year as the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA) will likely be part of this package. From the community college point of view, the two most important parts of SAFRA are the American Graduation Initiative and the money it would provide for Pell Grants.
Over the last few days, the landscape has changed dramatically. First, the estimated savings generated from ending the Federal Family Education Loan program in favor of direct lending by the Education Department fell by $20 billion over 10 years, to $67 billion rather than the $87 billion estimated last year. Since SAFRA would use these savings to pay for the AGI, the Pell Grant increases, and other programs, this created a problem for Congressional leaders. Furthermore, the cost of increasing the Pell Grants has risen dramatically. As a result, we are now hearing that the AGI and most other new programs have been stripped from the bill.
AACC has sent an alert to all of its members asking them to weigh in with Democratic Senators to reverse this outcome, and restore AGI to the student loan legislation. The Pell Grant funds are vitally important, but so, too, are the resources that would be provided to community colleges through the AGI. Final decisions on this matter will likely be made today - so time is of the essence for action.
Over the last few days, the landscape has changed dramatically. First, the estimated savings generated from ending the Federal Family Education Loan program in favor of direct lending by the Education Department fell by $20 billion over 10 years, to $67 billion rather than the $87 billion estimated last year. Since SAFRA would use these savings to pay for the AGI, the Pell Grant increases, and other programs, this created a problem for Congressional leaders. Furthermore, the cost of increasing the Pell Grants has risen dramatically. As a result, we are now hearing that the AGI and most other new programs have been stripped from the bill.
AACC has sent an alert to all of its members asking them to weigh in with Democratic Senators to reverse this outcome, and restore AGI to the student loan legislation. The Pell Grant funds are vitally important, but so, too, are the resources that would be provided to community colleges through the AGI. Final decisions on this matter will likely be made today - so time is of the essence for action.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
President Obama Reflects on H.R. 1, One Year Later
On the one-year anniversary of the signing of H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), President Obama publicly announced that it has been a success, stating that it has saved millions of jobs and raised the percentage of domestic product growth.
Included in the legislation last year was an increase of the Pell Grant Maximun to $5,350 and an increase in Federal Work-Study funding by $200 million. The bill also provided $3.95 billion for training and employment services administered by the Department of Labor and granted $1.25 billion for dislocated workers, $500 million for adult workers and $1.2 billion for youth programs.
Click here for the full article in the Washington Post to view Obama's thoughts on the year following the signing of H.R 1 .
Included in the legislation last year was an increase of the Pell Grant Maximun to $5,350 and an increase in Federal Work-Study funding by $200 million. The bill also provided $3.95 billion for training and employment services administered by the Department of Labor and granted $1.25 billion for dislocated workers, $500 million for adult workers and $1.2 billion for youth programs.
Click here for the full article in the Washington Post to view Obama's thoughts on the year following the signing of H.R 1 .
Monday, February 1, 2010
AACC Releases Summary of Key Aspects of the Obama Administration's FY11 Budget
The administration released its FY11 budget earlier today, and AACC has just posted this summary of the budget's highlights to its website. The summary covers funding requests for the most important programs to community colleges, including student aid, institutional assistance, job training and others. We will continue to update and expand on this information, but wanted to make sure that you had the basic information as soon as possible. Please let the AACC government relations team know if you have any questions.
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