This academic year marks the third consecutive year of record-high enrollments in the New England Regional Student Program (RSP), Tuition Break.The New England Board of Higher Education’s program provided 9,293 New England residents with an estimated total savings of $53 million on their 2011-12 out-of-state tuition bills. The average savings for a full-time RSP student was $6,900. Meanwhile...
The Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy hired Chad d’Entremont as its new executive director. A former research and policy leader at Teachers College of Columbia University and Strategies for Children, d’Entremont managed Massachusetts’ successful application for a $50 million Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge award. At Rennie, he succeeds Jill Norton, who ov...
Southern Vermont College President Karen Gross was named a senior policy advisor to the U.S. Department of Education for one year, starting Jan. 17.SVC trustees granted Gross a one-year leave of absence from the college, during which time chief operating officer James Beckwith will be acting president.A NEBHE delegate since 2010, Gross has authored several articles for NEJHE, including: Helicopter...
On Thursday, the White House National Science and Technology Council released a report detailing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education spending across all federal programs. According to the report, 13 federal agencies spent about $3.4 billion on STEM programs in 2010, 80% of which was split between the National Science Foundation ($1.2 billion), the Education Department...
On Dec. 5, President Obama held a meeting with Education Secretary Arne Duncan, university presidents and higher education policy experts which focused largely on the issue of college affordability and productivity. Participants discussed how new strategies for increasing affordability and producing more graduates at individual institutions could be scaled up to the state or national level. Jamie ...
Trustees of the Community College System of New Hampshire (CCSNH) appointed University of New Hampshire economist Ross Gittell to be the system's new chancellor.Gittell will assume the post in February, succeeding J. Bonnie Newman, who has served as interim chancellor since August, while the national search for a permanent chancellor was underway.A distinguished professor at the University of New ...
After decades of debate, the Massachusetts Legislature passed and Gov. Deval Patrick signed legislation providing for casino gambling in the Bay State. The law creates the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to regulate casino gambling and authorizes three licenses for a resort casino in three regions of the state: Eastern Massachusetts between Boston and Worcester, Western Massachusetts which encompa...
A look at recent developments in New England higher education shows a region struggling to hold onto its historical research prowess and adding new health programs, but also facing rising costs and declining funds.Holding onto research power University of Connecticut Vice President for Research Suman Singha reported to university trustees that research dollars are drying up. Resear...
As part of the Campaign to Cut Waste, the Obama administration cut erroneous Pell Grant payments to 2.7% in 2011, the lowest it has been since 2005. White House officials estimate that reform measures saved $300 million in overpayment through the Pell Grant student aid program. The 2011 payment errors totaled $1 billion, approximately the same as the payment errors for 2010, but an increase in the...
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...