A team of students from the University of Massachusetts Lowell will receive up to $90,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop nontoxic, biodegradable "surfactants" from fruit peels and algae and potentially bring the invention to market.
Surfactants are cleaning agents used in soaps, inks and other products to help them apply more easily to surfaces. Many surfactants ar...
ESEA reauthorization approved by committee. At a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) markup on Tuesday, lawmakers considered the Senate Democrats' proposal, the Strengthening America's Schools Act, to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). A bill (S. 1094) introduced by Committee Chair Tom Harkin (D-IA) advanced by a party-line vote of 12-10 des...
Student loan rates. The Senate rejected two proposals to extend low interest rates on student loans after they expire on July 1. Without legislation, interest rates will double from 3.4% to 6.8% with the expiration of the one-year fix put in place last summer. Movement to proceed with a Senate Democratic bill (S. 953) to extend the current 3.4% fixed interest rate for two additional years was reje...
WGBH Boston is creating a Higher Ed Desk to help enrich its award-winning radio, television and online stories with angles from Boston and New England's famed postsecondary education.
America’s largest producer of PBS content for TV and the web, WGBH hired Vermont Public Radio's Kirk Carapezza as managing editor and lead correspondent of the Higher Ed Desk.
The desk is supported through m...
Wednesday is May 29 ... 5/29 ... and the folks behind 529 college savings plans are milking the connection for all it's worth.
The College Savings Plans Network (CSPN) and various states have declared May 29 National “529 College Savings Day” in recognition of the the tax-advantaged investment plans named for Section 529 of the tax code and designed specifically to save for higher edu...
STEM education. On Thursday, Rep. Bill Foster (R-IL) introduced the 21st Century STEM Competitive Jobs Act, cosponsored by Representatives Joe Courtney (D-CT), Elizabeth Esty (D-CT), Joe Kennedy (D-MA), Jim Langevin (D-RI), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-CA), Jared Polis (D-CO), Tim Ryan (D-OH) and Louise Slaughter (D-NY). The bill would su...
Student loan interest rates. On Thursday, the House Education and the Workforce Committee approved legislation (H.R. 1911) by a vote of 24-13 that would tie the interest rate on federal student loans to market rates. The interest rates on Stafford Loans are set to double on July 1 to 6.8%. The bill, the Smarter Solutions for Students Act, would set the interest rate at the 10-year Treasury note ra...
Rewriting K-12 law. On Tuesday, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing on state and local accountability systems for education. Chair John Kline (R-MN) outlined four Republican priorities for rewriting the nation’s K-12 education law, known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) or No Child Left Behind: restore local control, reduce the federal footpr...
The traditional May 1 deadline arrived last week. That's the date many colleges require students who have been accepted for admission to pay a deposit indicating their commitment to enroll in the fall. Based on the number of commitments they receive, the colleges then decide whether they are in a position to consider additional applications for the fall.
That's an important piece of informat...
Financial literacy hearing. On Wednesday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee's Subcommittee on Children and families held a hearing on financial literacy education for students. Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) told the Subcommittee that Americans owe more than they make and must have better financial literacy education. He added that better financial education would benefit the econo...
A team of students from the University of Massachusetts Lowell will receive up to $90,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop nontoxic, biodegradable "surfactants" from fruit peels and algae and potentially bring the invention to market.
Surfactants are cleaning agents used in soaps, inks and other products to help them apply more easily to surfaces. Many surfactants ar... 
ESEA reauthorization approved by committee. At a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) markup on Tuesday, lawmakers considered the Senate Democrats' proposal, the Strengthening America's Schools Act, to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). A bill (S. 1094) introduced by Committee Chair Tom Harkin (D-IA) advanced by a party-line vote of 12-10 des... 
Student loan rates. The Senate rejected two proposals to extend low interest rates on student loans after they expire on July 1. Without legislation, interest rates will double from 3.4% to 6.8% with the expiration of the one-year fix put in place last summer. Movement to proceed with a Senate Democratic bill (S. 953) to extend the current 3.4% fixed interest rate for two additional years was reje... 
WGBH Boston is creating a Higher Ed Desk to help enrich its award-winning radio, television and online stories with angles from Boston and New England's famed postsecondary education.
America’s largest producer of PBS content for TV and the web, WGBH hired Vermont Public Radio's Kirk Carapezza as managing editor and lead correspondent of the Higher Ed Desk.
The desk is supported through m... 
Wednesday is May 29 ... 5/29 ... and the folks behind 529 college savings plans are milking the connection for all it's worth.
The College Savings Plans Network (CSPN) and various states have declared May 29 National “529 College Savings Day” in recognition of the the tax-advantaged investment plans named for Section 529 of the tax code and designed specifically to save for higher edu...