Posts Categorized: Schools

New England Legislative Sessions: Priorities Shift Amid COVID-19 Outbreak

The 2020 state legislative sessions started off “business as usual,” but this legislative year has quickly become anything but usual. The recent state-by-state implementation of aggressive social distancing measures to mitigate the further spread of COVID-19 effectively ended most states’ 2020 legislative sessions. Massachusetts—the only New England state legislature that continues to meet...

Distance Ed Enrollments Under National SARA Grow by 5%

Nearly 1.3 million students were enrolled exclusively in distance education programs at institutions participating in National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) in fall 2018, according to new data from NC-SARA’s fourth annual enrollment report. That’s a 5% increase over fall 2017 data, illustrating continued growing demand for postsecondary distance education ...

National College Transition Network Launches College Success for Single Mothers

Single mothers make up an increasing part of the postsecondary student population in the U.S., and a growing movement has emerged to better understand and address their unique set of challenges and experiences. The National College Transition Network (NCTN) at World Education launched College Success for Single Mothers, a three-year project that will help eight community colleges identify the n...

Tuition Break Offerings Reach New High

The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE)'s Tuition Break has announced a record number of programs approved for the 2020-21 academic year–a total of more than 1,200. Through Tuition Break, aka the Regional Student Program (RSP), students become eligible to pay a significantly lower tuition rate, instead of the regular out-of-state tuition, when they enroll in approved programs at out...

NEBHE to Launch New England-Wide Initiative on “Upskilling Adult Workers” with Support from Strada Education Network

The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) is launching “Upskilling New England: Bridging the Gap Between Workers, Educators and Employers,” with support from Strada Education Network (Strada). For more information, contact Candace Williams, NEBHE's director of policy research & strategic initiatives, at cwilliams@nebhe.org  617-533-9530. The three-part initiative will begin ...

Briefly Noted … Complete the FAFSA

New NEBHE brief explores "Closing the FAFSA Gap: FAFSA Completion Rates Among New England’s Low-Income Students" ... Students in the U.S. who do not file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) miss out on $24 billion of federal aid every year, despite being eligible for that assistance. First-generation, low-income students are more likely to pass up this support because they ha...

Maine’s 2019 Legislative Session Produces Less Rancor, More Healthcare

Maine lawmakers adjourned the 2019 legislative session, passing a two-year budget of $8 billion for FY20 and FY21, absent the partisan rancor of previous years. The budget contains no tax increases or tax cuts. Senate Majority Leader Nate Libby (D-Lewiston) noted the budget committee cast more than 1,100 votes on budget line items with 99% being unanimous. The budget was the first for new Demo...

New Hampshire Scholars: Ready to Succeed

A former NEBHE chair reflects on a pathway to success ... As a father of three and a grandfather of nine, I could not be prouder of the accomplishments of my loved ones. I am blessed with a tremendous family and it seems like only yesterday my grandchildren were taking their first steps. The milestones come quickly and memories of birthday parties, kindergarten, graduations and learning to ride...

Connecticut Makes Community College Free, while Raising Minimum Wage and OK’ing Paid Family and Medical Leave

Connecticut lawmakers ended their session and sent a balanced budget of $43 billion for FY20 and FY21 to Gov. Ned Lamont. Democrats, who hold a majority in both legislative branches, said the budget erases a deficit without raising tax rates. Progressive Democrats in the General Assembly unsuccessfully pushed to tax the wealthiest Connecticut residents on investment income. The effort to tax th...

Vermont 2019 Session Ends with Wage, Paid Leave Deliberations To Be Continued …

The Vermont General Assembly adjourned the 2019 session in stages as the House and Senate, both with Democratic majorities, were unable to resolve their differences on two major proposals. At issue were proposals to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour and a plan to provide paid family and medical leave to Vermonters. Despite broad agreement among Democrats to approve both measures, final agreeme...