Posts by lcadmin
First-Year Students Struggled With Online Learning Last Year
“Emily Bouck West, deputy executive director for Higher Learning Advocates, which has been lobbying for broadband affordability programs for students, was pleased that the report details students’ struggles with broadband access. ‘It’s great that we have more data about the challenges that so many students are experiencing when trying to access and complete their coursework…
Read MoreInfrastructure Bill Expands Broadband Affordability for Students
“The infrastructure bill would be a really big win for Pell students if it were to be enacted as it is right now,” said Emily Bouck West, deputy executive director at Higher Learning Advocates, which has been lobbying for broadband affordability programs for students. “It will mean greater broadband access and greater success for students,…
Read More‘Second Chance Pell’ will be expanded for 2022 academic year
Deputy Executive Director Emily Bouck West commented on Higher Learning Advocates’ support for expanding Second Chance Pell in a recent Inside Higher Ed article: “Providing education to incarcerated individuals is critically important, as it benefits individuals and society by reducing recidivism and increasing employment rates after release so individuals are able to escape poverty,” Bouck…
Read MoreHigher Learning Advocates Submits Letter for NACIQI Committee Meeting
WASHINGTON — Today, Higher Learning Advocates submitted a letter to NACIQI regarding its upcoming committee meeting later this month. In order to ensure the quality of distance education programs, HLA recommends that NACIQI work with accreditors and that accreditors conduct a survey of institutions under their portfolio to assess how institutions handled the switch to…
Read MoreHelp for Community College Students
In Inside Higher Ed, Deputy Executive Director Emily Bouck West commented on Higher Learning Advocates’ support for the Community College Student Success Act: “It would be a good first step to helping community colleges that have faced enrollment declines as a result of the pandemic not only get students back into the classroom but also…
Read MoreHigher Learning Advocates Submits Comments on Department of Education’s Negotiated Rulemaking
WASHINGTON — Today, Higher Learning Advocates submitted comments regarding the Department of Education’s intention to establish negotiated rulemaking committees to establish updated regulations on certain Title IV Higher Education Act matters. Read HLA’s full comments here.
Read MoreEsuring Quality of Online Education Programs
In spring 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic swept across the country, colleges and universities swiftly shuttered their campuses to students, unsure of for how long or what was coming next. As faculty scrambled to continue their courses virtually, they utilized emergency remote learning to deliver course content like lectures and seminars, facilitated online assessments, and…
Read MoreHigher Learning Advocates Testifies on the Department of Education’s Negotiated Rulemaking
WASHINGTON — Today, Higher Learning Advocates’ Senior Advocacy Director Tanya Ang delivered testimony regarding the Department of Education’s intent to establish negotiated rulemaking. You can read Tanya’s comments below. “Good afternoon. My name is Tanya Ang, and I am the Senior Advocacy Director at Higher Learning Advocates—a nonprofit advocacy organization working toward bipartisan federal policies…
Read MoreThe Two-Faced Promise of Higher Education
The four-year college degree has long been the gold standard and the surest gateway to economic opportunity in the United States. But while the four-year degree provides access to the entry-level work and graduate education that lead, in turn, to the best-paying jobs, it starkly divides Americans by race. Often lauded as the great equalizer,…
Read MoreCampus Mental Health Awareness Leads Policy Efforts at the Federal and State Level
The mental health crisis on college campuses, prior to 2020, often referred to the overwhelming demand on campus mental health centers and their frequent inability to meet that demand. Waiting lists and inadequate staffing levels to support student mental health needs were often at the center of the discussion. Along came the COVID-19 pandemic, which…
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