State and Federal Cooperation Can Improve Higher Education Quality

Texas State building ceiling

A truth that many of us are taught from a young age is the ability to work well with others is a critical component to success. One consistent life lesson is to develop and nurture a skill set and internal compass that allow us to collectively assemble multiple parts and skills for the benefit of…

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Aaron Thompson’s Journey from Childhood Poverty to Kentucky’s SHEEO

Aaron Thompson

“Too many of our students see college as a foreign place that wasn’t designed for them. They hear about it, they went to many schools that they felt disenfranchised in. College just becomes a bigger foreign place to feel disenfranchised in. We need students to feel empowered to maneuver, to self-advocate and put themselves in…

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Balancing Quality with Innovation: Key Issues at Stake in Negotiated Rulemaking

Cliff over looking valley

This month, watchers of higher ed policy were busy with talk of negotiated rulemaking (or “neg reg”), as the U.S. Department of Education kicked off a series of significant proposed regulatory changes with far-reaching consequences. Federal law requires the Department to follow this complicated process in order to make any regulatory changes to programs authorized…

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101: Negotiated Rulemaking

The Higher Education Act (HEA) requires the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to use the negotiated rulemaking process in order to make any changes to programs authorized under Title IV of the HEA, the section that administers more than $130 billion annually through federal student financial aid programs. Starting January 15, 2019 ED will begin…

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Overhauling Rules for Higher Ed

Julie Peller was quoted in Inside Higher Ed on the Department of Education’s intention to encourage more innovation in higher education without addressing the quality of such programs.

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An Inspired Community College Leader’s Rise from Poverty to the Presidency

Dr. Williams speaking at Graduation

With more than 30 years of experience in higher education, Dr. Tonjua Williams is recognized nationally as an expert in student development. She has a passion for helping others realize their potential and has made it her personal mission to do so through her community outreach and higher education career. “I believe everybody’s worth the…

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A Year in Review: Reflections on 2018 and the Year Ahead

Sunset on the Horizon

As 2018 comes to a close, I can’t help but look back at what turned out to be a dynamic and fascinating year of developments in higher education policy and practice and look forward to the year ahead. As federal policymakers and advocates are working toward updating major laws—including the Higher Education Act—and regulations, consider…

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My First-Gen Story: Navigating the College Experience and FAFSA

Stephanie Shaw portrait

Editor’s Note: In this video narrative, University of Michigan graduate student and Georgetown University graduate Aya Waller-Bey discusses her experience as a first-generation student and navigating the federal student aid application process. This story is Aya-Waller-Bey’s video submission to Voices of Today’s Students,  a national campaign to educate policymakers about the demographic shift and experiences of the modern higher learning…

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