Posts Categorized: Economy

DC Shuttle: Obama Moves to Ease Student Loan Debt

On Wednesday, President Obama announced a new proposal to ease the burden of student loan debt. The "Know Before You Owe" initiative will allow students with multiple government-backed loans to consolidate them into one loan under the federal Direct Loan program with an interest rate reduction of 0.25% to 0.5%. The administration estimated that about 5.8 million students could be eligible for loan...

DC Shuttle: Congress Still Trying to Fix No Child Left Behind

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair Tom Harkin (D-IA) released his draft of legislation to update the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) education law on Tuesday. The legislation frees states from NCLB's strict requirement that all children be proficient in reading and math by 2014, a standard which the Department of Education has estimated that 80% of schools woul...

Higher Ed Prices Still Going Up: NEBHE Releases 2011 Report on Tuition and Mandatory Fees at Public Postsecondary Institutions

NEBHE released its 2011 report on tuition and mandatory fees at public postsecondary institutions available online. In an effort to inform the decision-making of state policymakers as well as public higher education leaders and trustees, this report provides details of public postsecondary tuition and mandatory fee rates for the past five years, collected during the summer of 2011.Questions about ...

Conn. Gov. Malloy to Speak at Conference on Growing Economic Divide and Implications for Ed

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy will be among speakers at “To Have and Have Not: The Growing Economic and Social Divide and its Implications for Educational Leaders,” a conference scheduled for Monday, Oct. 3, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., at Boston University’s Metcalf Trustee Center.The conference sponsored by Concord, Mass.-based Maguire Associates will also feature Barry Bluestone...

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs: NEBHE Collaborates with New England HERC to Introduce Constantly Refreshing “Joblink” for Higher Ed

As part of its mission to tie higher education to the economic well-being of New England, NEBHE has partnered with the New England Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (NE HERC) to provide access to recruitment and employment resources to address faculty and staff hiring needs.The mission of the NE HERC, which was founded in 2006, is to advance the efforts of member institutions to recruit ...

DC Shuttle: Debt Deal Boosts Pell Grants

The debt-ceiling deal signed by President Obama last week will cut over $900 billion in federal funding over the next 10 years. Yet even in an extremely budget-conscious atmosphere, members of Congress singled out the Pell Grant program for an increase in funding to guarantee college access for low-income students. Under the terms of the new law, the Pell program would receive $10 billion in FY 20...

NE Budget Math: Two More Plus Four Equals All Six NE States with Budgets Passed

All six New England states have completed the initial step in their budget processes in this very difficult fiscal year.In mid-June, we reported that Connecticut and Vermont had completed budgets in record time, followed by completions in Maine and New Hampshire. Now, Massachusetts and Rhode Island ...Massachusetts BudgetTo the consternation of labor leaders, Democratic lawmakers in Massachusetts,...

DC Shuttle: Duncan Defends Ed Budget Request … and Other Higher Ed News from Washington

Editor's Note: A reminder that our DC Shuttle column has changed gates. Our news from Washington will now appear in Newslink, rather than the Journal section, of https://www.nebhe.org.On Wednesday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan defended the department's budget request for FY 2012, including a 10.7% increase over 2011 funding levels, to the Senate Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Labor, ...

DC Shuttle: White House Meeting with CEOs Spawns New Ed Grants … and Other Higher Ed News from Washington

Editor's Note: Our DC Shuttle column has changed gates, so to speak. With frequent arrivals of higher ed news from our partner The New England Council, DC Shuttle will now appear in Newslink, rather than the Journal section, of  https://www.nebhe.org. President Obama hosted an education roundtable on July 18 with Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Domestic Policy Chair Melody Barnes and busines...

Two More NE States Close Books on Tough Budget Year

In mid-June, we reported that Connecticut and Vermont had completed budgets in record time. Now it's Maine and New Hampshire's turn in this very difficult budget year. Maine State Budget After a rocky start, Maine's newly elected Republican Gov. Paul LePage got much of what he asked for, as the Republican-controlled Legislature approved a $6.1 billion two-year budget, which included the eliminatio...