Higher Education Act Reauthorization Negotiations
HEADLINES
Key Takeaways on Higher Education Act Negotiations (Politico “Morning Education” [after opening link, scroll down to see item, March 1, 2019) "Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the Senate education committee, outlined her priorities [on February 28] for overhauling federal higher education policy this year as she begins ‘good-faith negotiations’ with HELP Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and committee Republicans over a bill. Murray said she wanted to see colleges held accountable for their student outcomes.”
One Size Does Not Fit All: Bennett’s Accreditation Problem (Diverse Issues in Higher Education, February 28, 2019) “SACSCOC claims to serve as the “common denominator among diverse institutions in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Latin America and other international sites.” We must acknowledge that there has never been an equal starting line or “common denominator” between Black and White education.”
Wolf, State System Leaders Agree to Give Embattled Cheyney University More Time (The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 27, 2019) “Cheyney University, facing continued enrollment struggles and a nearly $10 million cash-flow problem, got a little more breathing room Wednesday after Gov. Tom Wolf met with leaders of the state university system. They decided to continue to support the school’s efforts to transform, and postponed any decision on whether the system would make Cheyney another loan. The meeting followed a Senate budget hearing last week, during which Greenstein said the historically black university was “highly likely” to lose its accreditation this year.”
Education Dept. Cuts Off Student-Aid Funds for Argosy U. (The Chronicle of Higher Education [subscription required], February 27, 2019) “The department wrote that it was revoking Argosy’s eligibility for federal Pell Grants and student loans, effective immediately, unless the university appeals the decision successfully.”
Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit over D.C. Rule Requiring Child-Care Workers to Get College Degrees (The Washington Post, February 26, 2019) “A federal judge on [February26] dismissed a lawsuit intended to block controversial D.C. regulations requiring many of the city’s child-care workers to earn associate degrees. The lead plaintiff, Altagracia Yluminada Sanchez, has run a licensed day care since 2006 out of her Northeast Washington home, where she cares for nine children. While Sanchez earned a law degree at a university in her native Dominican Republic, her credentials do not meet the D.C. rules, which require Sanchez to have an associate degree from an institution ‘accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, with a major in early childhood education, early childhood development, child and family studies or a closely related field.’”