Brenda Brooks dropped out of college 40 years ago. Federal rules mean she can’t afford to go back.
Lately, Englewood native Brenda Brooks has had a tough time finding work. The 60-year-old has decades of experience at CVS and the historic Regal Theater in Avalon Park. But recently, prospective employers have told her, “ ‘You have the qualifications...
News
Our news, editorial, and analysis on federal policy surrounding higher education’s most pressing issues.
Powerful Together: Competency-Based Education and Online Delivery
Higher education—and sweeping aspects of American life—were upended seemingly overnight in March. Millions of students started the month on campuses across the country and ended it on computers at home. Now, after institutional leaders have absorbed the initial shock and navigated through the spring and into summer, they’re looking to map out...
Press
Texas A&M wants a more diverse student body
Source: NPR Marketplace
Executive Director Julie Peller appeared on NPR’s Marketplace to discuss Texas A&M’s $100 million scholarship fund to address diversity on its campuses. Hear the interview here.
Higher Learning Advocates & Sixty Partner Organizations Urge Congress to Include the Supporting Connectivity for Higher Education Students in Need Act in the Next Relief Package
WASHINGTON — Sixty-one organizations came together today to urge Congress to include the Supporting Connectivity for Higher Education Students in Need Act in the next relief package. The Supporting Connectivity for Higher Education Students in Need Act, which would provide college and university students with much needed internet connectivity s...
Promoting Equity for Black Lives in Postsecondary Education
It has been inspiring and hopeful to see higher education leaders, including those who lead large community college systems, speaking out about systemic racism against the Black community and the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and several other African Americans who became the latest victims of our country’s original sin....
For the Next Stimulus Package, Direct Aid to States for Public Higher Education
As Congress prepares for another round of stimulus legislation this summer, the unprecedented financial challenges confronting public colleges and universities remain a pressing issue facing lawmakers. There have been a host of disagreements on the best federal policy approach to help higher education, such as the appropriate funding levels and use...
Higher Learning Advocates & 50 Organizations Submit Testimony on CCAMPIS to Senate LHHS Subcommittee
WASHINGTON — Higher Learning Advocates and fifty partner organizations submitted testimony on the Child Care Access Means Parents in Schools (CCAMPIS) program to the Senate LHHS Subcommittee. Specifically, the organizations expressed their strong support for increasing funding for CCAMPIS to $200 million, the amount needed to provide child care s...
Today’s Students Didn’t Need a Pandemic
Today’s students didn’t need a pandemic. They didn’t need the added financial pressures, their kids at home, and their lives interrupted. They also didn’t need a pandemic to know that higher education wasn’t built for too many of them, or that changes need to happen to support their success. Today’s students—adult students, student pa...
Working Together During the Crisis
When I was asked to contribute to this blog, I wanted to sit down and write a piece full of professional assurance and effortless insight. Something pithy and quotable that captures a moment in higher education. But then I thought a little bit more about this particular moment in higher education and I am equal…
The Future Economic Stability Depends on How Well Higher Education Can Adapt
The great pandemic of 2020 has unarguably changed the way we do business and function in our day to day lives. Routines have been disrupted, and nothing feels “normal.” Higher education is no exception. After our governor issued a stay-at-home order, Colorado’s institutions quickly made the difficult decision to extend spring break; send...
Q&A with CUNY Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost José Luis Cruz
The Higher Learning Advocates team sat down with José Luis Cruz, Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost at The City University of New York, to learn more about CUNY’s response to COVID-19 in New York City, previously the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S. Q: The coronavirus pandemic has affected colleges, and students, across&he...
Does Covid-19 Hurt College Dreams Too?
There is no playbook for how to best respond to a global pandemic, and while it is virtually impossible to predict the lasting impact that COVID-19 will have on our students and the State of California, the Campaign for College Opportunity is pivoting our work to ensure students remain front and center. As one of the…
Students, Colleges Adapt to COVID-19 in the “Ground Zero” State
On March 3, Dr. Amy Morrison, president of the Lake Washington Institute of Technology, gave her fellow presidents a blunt warning about COVID-19: “Mentally prepare yourself; it’s coming your way.” Sadly, she was in the position to know. Her college was the first in the nation to close for cleaning and disinfection after students and…