Posts Categorized: Student Aid

Maine Legislative Session 2017: Legislature Overturns the Will of the Voters

The first regular session of Maine’s 128th state Legislature was exceptionally challenging, as lawmakers engaged in a bitter fight over the budget while wrestling with four ballot questions approved by voters in the November 2016 election. Lawmakers were divided on Question 2, which was approved by voters and would have imposed a 3% tax on those making $200,000 or more. Funds would be used t...

Massachusetts Legislative Session 2017: Budget Signed But Hot-Button Issues Face Legislators in September

Two weeks into FY 2018, Gov. Charlie Baker signed a $39.4 billion spending package that increases spending by 1.7% over the prior year. He vetoed $320 million from the budget, including $222 million in spending for MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program. Baker has proposed reforms to MassHealth including a “gate” which blocks eligibility for full-time workers who have access to...

Connecticut Legislative Session 2017: Session Ends Without A Budget

On June 7, 2017, Connecticut legislators wrapped up their session without passing a two-year budget. The failure to pass a budget or a provisional budget reflects a deeply divided Legislature with an 18-18 split in the Senate and a slight Democratic majority, 79-72, in the House. As lawmakers adjourned, Gov. Dannel Malloy chastised them for failing to break the deadlock and pass a budget. A big s...

Debunking a Myth about Competency

NEBHE Senior Fellow Stafford Peat teamed up with Sarah Linet, a policy specialist with the Great Schools Partnership, to write a piece for the online collaborative CompetencyWorks titled Debunking a Myth–Competency-Based Transcripts Don’t Disadvantage High School Graduates in the Admissions Process. Peat and Linet note that a focus group of deans and directors of admission from the mo...

Tuition Comes Due

The affordability of public colleges and universities, whose primary mission is to serve state residents, is top-of-mind for students and parents, institutional leaders and state policymakers. NEBHE's 2016-17 tuition & fees report New England Fast Facts: The Price of Public Colleges in New England, 2016-17 shows that since fall 2011, tuition and required fees have risen 16% at community c...

Dates to Save: Thinkers, Entrepreneurs and Innovators

Some dates to save … The New England Council’s Congressional Roundtable Series will feature talks by lawmakers and others in D.C. and New England, including U.S. Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) at the Providence Biltmore Hotel on Monday, June 12 from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thomas College will host an entrepreneur speaker and networking event on Tuesday, June 13 at the Thomas College Auditoriu...

NEBHE Appoints New Senior Director of Policy and Research

The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) announces the appointment of Susan Lane as senior director of policy and research. Lane has more than 35 years of experience working across campuses, P-12 districts, businesses and government to strengthen the reach of education though collaboration around common goals. Most recently, as senior advisor to the commissioner for P-16 access and alig...

Number of New High School Grads in New England Projected to Decline 14% by 2032

By 2032, the number of new high school graduates in New England is projected to decline by 22,000 to a total 140,273, according to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education’s (WICHE) most recent Knocking at the College Door report. New England’s challenge with an aging population and falling birth rates has been well chronicled. With fresh projections and an ever-changing polit...

New England Economists To Prognosticate on Trump Era

Register Today for NEEP Conference, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston! The New England Economic Partnership (NEEP) will explore "What’s Ahead After This Historic Election?" at the group's outlook conference to be held Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Jeffry Frieden, professor of government at Harvard University, will deliver a keynote...

Radio Higher Ed Podcast Explores Student Loans from Borrowers’ Perspective

Through its partnership with RadioHigherEd.com, NEJHE presents the release of Federal Student Loan Servicing: Strengths and Weaknesses/The Borrower Perspective. The podcast features Jennifer Wang, the D.C. Office Director for The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS). It is the fourth in a series of podcasts produced in partnership with the Postsecondary National Policy Inst...