Posts Categorized: Schools

Massachusetts Legislature Ends Session Able to Continue Tuition Freeze at UMass, but not Elsewhere

State Capital Notes ... In 2013, Gov. Deval Patrick was often at loggerheads with legislators on big-ticket items, including education funding and transportation. In 2014, the atmosphere was more cordial. Just prior to the close of the 2013-14 legislative session, lawmakers sent a $36.5 billion FY 2015 budget to the governor. The governor and legislators agreed on a spending plan with no new ta...

RI Governor, Lawmakers Take Steps to Boost Ocean State’s Economy, Extend Tuition Freeze

State Capital Notes … Gov. Lincoln Chafee and state legislators closed out the six-month legislative session by approving an $8.7 billion budget for fiscal year 2015, taking steps they believe will turn the state’s economy around and put people back to work. Rhode Island has the highest unemployment rate in the U.S. at 8.3%. The budget plan fills a $67 million gap, which includes $24...

New Hampshire Legislative Session: Bipartisan Efforts Produce Results in Healthcare

State Capital Notes … In the 2014 session, the second year of the biennium, not a budget-writing year, two issues that were holdovers from the first session, commanded the attention of the governor, lawmakers, attorney general, state healthcare agencies, hospitals and other healthcare providers. Gov. Maggie Hassan and state lawmakers reached agreement on the Health Care Protection Program...

Closing Time?

Much of NEBHE's Higher Education Innovation Challenge is based on fears that economic and demographic pressures will make the current number of degree-granting institutions (about 250 in New England and 4,600 nationally) unsustainable—especially for those that rely heavily on tuition, have low endowments and are not well-differentiated. This fear has lurked in various guises for decades. In 1...

New England’s High “Average Net Prices” and Why We Should Care (or Not)

The University of Southern Maine and Maine Maritime Academy were recently identified as Maine’s most expensive public colleges as measured by average net price in 2011-12 based on a recent update to the U.S. Department of Education’s College Affordability and Transparency Center. The College Affordability and Transparency Center’s interactive search tool highlights institutions ...

Vermont Lawmakers Boost Economic Development

State Capital Notes … Vermont lawmakers passed a $5.5 billion budget along with $5.5 million in new taxes. Property taxes were raised 5%. Spending overall increased by 4.1% over the prior year. The budget included a 1.6% increase in reimbursement rates for health care providers who accept Medicaid payments, which will cost $2.6 million. Lawmakers also increased the cigarette tax by 13 cen...

Connecticut Enacts $19 Billion Budget

State Capital Notes … In the second session of the biennium, Connecticut legislators approved a $19 billion budget for FY15 that increases spending by 2.5%. Toward the end of the session, revised revenue forecasts forced lawmakers to scale back in a number of areas. Gov. Dannel Malloy’s promise to provide Connecticut taxpayers with a $55 rebate was put on hold as projections for dec...

Excellence 2015!

Now accepting nominations ... The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) is now seeking nominations for our twelfth annual New England Higher Education Excellence Awards. Five regional awards and six state merit awards will be presented to the recipients on the evening of Friday, March 13, 2015 in Boston. Nominees should be individuals, programs or organizations i...

SARA … SARA …

Register today for webinar on the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA)! The SARA initiative has made significant progress since the first NC-SARA meeting in November 2013. As we continue to organize meetings and garner support in the Northeast, it's important to connect with all stakeholders and address any questions or concerns. Please join us for our second webinar to review the SA...

Higher Ed Begins to Unite Behind Common Core

Across more than 40 states, teachers are aligning their curricula to the Common Core State Standards—K-12 education standards in Mathematics and English Language Arts. A state-led effort often believed to be a federal initiative (it’s not), the Common Core has come under increasing scrutiny this past year. According to Stateline, 65 bills have been introduced across the country to dela...