Last Week in Congress and the Administration

HOUSE and SENATE

The House and Senate will be in recess until after the September 5^th Labor Day Holiday.

Senate Help, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said that Tennessee’s free community college program is a model for other states.

ADMINISTRATION

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton named Ann O’Leary, who has been Clinton’s senior adviser and has been heavily involved in education policy on the campaign, to her transition team.

The U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Labor (DOL) have published several final rules pertaining to the implementation of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.

ED selected eight partnerships between institutions of higher education and non-traditional providers as eligible to participate in the Educational Quality through Innovation Partnerships (EQUIP) experiment, which makes federal financial aid available for programs by non-traditional training providers.

ED denied a request from the Center for Excellence in Higher Education, a chain of for-profit colleges, to convert to non-profit status.

Education News Headlines
[Click on the link to read the article online]

Research points to crucial role of dual-career programs for recruiting female academics [Article 13 – Inside Higher Ed]

Dramatic differences in how states fund community colleges [Article 1 – Inside Higher Ed]
Urban Institute Report: “Community Colleges: Multiple Missions, Diverse Student Bodies and a Range of Policy Solutions”

Top U.S. Higher-Education Official Says Innovation Will Best Serve the ‘New Normal’ Students [Article 2 – The Chronicle of Higher Education]

The push for tuition-free public colleges could have some problems [Article 9 – The Atlantic]

Victims, advocates worry about bias in campus hearings [Article 11 – Inside Higher Ed]

Veteran Hillary Clinton Education Adviser Named to Candidate’s Transition Team [Article 1 – Education Week]

Feds unveil details of experiment with alternative providers and accreditors [Article 4 – Inside Higher Ed]

Advocacy Group Puts Spotlight on Debt Relief Companies [Article 5 – Inside Higher Ed]

Education Department Picks Nontraditional Partners for Student Aid [Article 2 – The Chronicle of Higher Education]

Op Ed: Free College? The U.S. Should Look at State Models That Are Already Working [Article 4 – The Chronicle of Higher Education]

U.S. Department of Education and the Administration

Department of Education

• Press Release: Fact Sheet: ED Launches Initiative for Low-Income Students to Access New Generation of Higher Education Providers
• Press Release: U.S. Education Secretary King, Sen. Brown, Rep. Fudge and Tri-C President Johnson Hold Roundtable Discussion on College Access, Affordability

Department of Labor

• Blog: Smart Investments for a Stronger Workforce

Federal Education Training and Grant Opportunities, Notices

ED Comment Request: Guaranty Agency Financial Report. Comments due September 21, 2016. 

ED Comment Request: Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) Annual Performance Report. Comments due September 19, 2016.

ED Comment Request: Application for Grants Under the Upward Bound Program. Comments due September 16, 2016.