Aim Higher and PROSPER on the table: What’s the takeaway for higher ed leaders?

Dive Brief: Democrats on Tuesday unveiled a bill summary of the Aim Higher Act, their stance on how to comprehensively reauthorize the Higher Education Act, a critical piece of legislation guiding federal higher education policy, which due to lack of bipartisan agreement has not been renewed since 2008. Even with the unveiling, Robert Kelchen, assistant professor…

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Higher Learning Advocates Responds to House Democrats Higher Education Bill

For Immediate Release: July 24, 2018 Contact: teismeier@higherlearningadvocates.org WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 24, 2018) — Today, Julie Peller, executive director of Higher Learning Advocates, released an initial statement responding to the Aim Higher Act, a bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) introduced by Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-Va.) of the U.S. House Committee…

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Reclaiming Degrees, Restoring Opportunity: A Student-Centric Policy Idea

Three Students Graduation

Good policy creates the conditions in which all people and communities can thrive. Good higher education policy creates the conditions that help all hardworking students succeed, regardless of race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status. Put simply, good higher education policy puts students first. These policies include investments in targeted need-based aid, supports for working students and…

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Parent, Provider, Employee and Student: Making it All Work

Editor’s Note: This article is an expanded story based on John Englehart’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 student, highlight their needs, and discuss policy barriers and solutions to increasing student success. My story as a non-traditional…

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Changing Higher Education Means Changing the Dialogue

Credit: NASA/GSFC Too much of the debate over higher education has devolved into whether “college is worth it.”  That conversation misses a key fact: higher learning is no longer bound by quads and ivy and the traditions of the past. The landscape for learning and opportunity beyond high school is vast and growing, with millions…

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The Big Fix: Rethinking Education and Workforce

Construction Worker placing rebar for building next to a highway

By all accounts, our country needs a trillion dollars or more to rebuild crumbling highways, bridges, and other infrastructure. We also need a plan to shore up education and training after high school— but this is one area we can improve with the resources already there. Last month the Trump administration, as part of a…

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Necessity to Invention: Beyond the “Toggle Switch” Approach to Accreditation

As the curtain raised, the theater went pitch black with only the light from the stage casting dimly into the audience. Patrons found themselves fumbling in the darkness trying to read their playbills and the latecomers interrupted the mood, unable to find their seats. In 1896, Granville Woods invented the “Safety Dimmer” so theater patrons—himself included—would…

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Strategic Coalitions Key to Improving South Carolina’s Workforce Readiness

South Carolina's Ribbon Cutting

The Boeing Company’s opens its Commercial Airplane Decorative Paint Facility in North Charleston, SC, USA. Source: Flickr. South Carolina’s current economic climate is undeniably one of growth.  The South Carolina Department of Commerce is projecting solid growth for 2018 and the transportation, manufacturing, and education sectors, among others, are all showing net gains. This level…

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