Posts Categorized: Student Aid

New England Higher Ed Group to Honor Head of New England Council Among Annual Excellence Awardees

New England Council President James T. Brett will be among luminaries recognized by the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) in March 2015 at the regional organization's 13th annual New England Higher Education Excellence Awards. Each year, NEBHE presents Regional Excellence Awards to individuals and organizations that have shown exceptional leadership on behalf of higher education and th...

Remedying NEBHE’s Journal Piece on Developmental Math: A Letter to the Editor

Mike Winders and Richard Bisk raise many important points in their recent article for the NEBHE Journal, but curiously choose to ignore the substance of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education’s (BHE) policy on developmental math that followed a careful review of task force recommendations. Their characterization of the BHE policy is simply misleading. I believe we would agree, however, ...

Underemployed? Key Labor Market Think Tank at Northeastern Shuts Down

The influential Northeastern University think tank that authored several NEJHE articles in recent decades ended it operations this month. The closing of the Center for Labor Market Studies follows the retirement last summer of its director Andrew Sum, who had launched the center in 1979 with a U.S. Department of Labor grant. In 2011, Paul Harrington, who co-directed the center from 1980 to 2010, ...

Lumina to Hold Webcast on New “Degree Qualifications Profile”

Lumina Foundation will convene education experts nationwide for a webcast on Wednesday, Oct. 8, marking the launch of a new version of the Degree Qualifications Profile (DQP). The profile defines clear learning outcomes for associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees that reflect a quality postsecondary education which will serve students well as they prepare for further educ...

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...