New England Public Policy Center Reports on College Towns and COVID-19: The Impact on New England

New England higher education institutions that are already are on shaky financial ground could be forced to close altogether due to extended campus shutdowns and pandemic-induced enrollment declines, according to a new brief from the New England Public Policy Center (NEPPC) authored by senior policy analyst Riley Sullivan. The brief examines the COVID-19 pandemic and the cities and towns in the...

NEBHE Supports the 2019–20 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:20)

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is currently collecting data for the 2019–20 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:20), which is designed to provide both national and state-level financial aid data. NPSAS:20 will enable researchers, policymakers, and other higher education stakeholders to generate state-representative undergraduate financial aid estimates and com...

Supreme Court Maintains DACA

DC Shuttle ... Supreme Court Maintains DACA Protections for Immigrants, Students. The U.S. Supreme Court decided, 5 to 4, that the Trump administration cannot end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The decision will enable the more than 450,000 undocumented higher education students, as well as undocumented students and instructors at other levels, to remain in the U.S.,...

UMass Dartmouth Chancellor to Skipper Western New England University

Comings and Goings ... UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Robert E. Johnson announced he is leaving the South Coast campus in September after three years to become president of Western New England University. He'll succeed Anthony Caprio, who has been president of the Springfield, Mass.-based Western New England for 24 years. Johnson also led Becker College in Worcester for seven years. He recently w...

The Impact of COVID-19 on State Revenues in New England

New England's state budgets are reeling from coronavirus-related shutdowns and fears. Here's an early look ... Connecticut. Gov. Ned Lamont and state lawmakers are facing a $904 million deficit for FY20 and a $2.1 billion deficit for FY21. The general fund shortfall, according to the nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis, will swell to $3.2 billion in 2022. Connecticut’s Rainy Day Fund curren...

BU Hires Scholar to Launch Antiracist Research Center; NECHE Names Successor to Brittingham

Comings and Goings ... Boston University announced that American University professor of history and of international relations and author Ibram X. Kendi will join BU’s faculty and launch the BU Center for Antiracist Research. The New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) named Lawrence M. Schall, president of Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, to be the new president of the re...

Data Connection: B.C. (Some Facts and Figures From Before Coronavirus)

Percentage of employed adults who reported an average of less than 6 hours of sleep per 24-hour period in 2008-09: 28% National Health Interview Survey, 2008–2009 and 2017–2018 Percentage who reported that in 2017–18: 33% National Health Interview Survey, 2008–2009 and 2017–2018 Difference in number of U.S. births in 2019, compared with 2007, before the Great Recession: -570,000 ...

New Leaders Named at Connecticut Community Colleges, Interim Tapped at Westfield State, URI’s Dooley To Retire Next Year

Comings and Goings ... CEOs were named to five Connecticut community colleges and retired Norwalk Community College President David Levinson was named acting president over all 12 of them in a single system under the proposed name: Connecticut State Community College. William “Terry” Brown, currently a special assistant to the president at Nashville State Community College in Tennessee,...

NEBHE Regional Student Program Enrollment Grew by 14% in 2019-20, Saved Families $64 Million on Tuition

The New England Board of Higher Education's Tuition Break, the Regional Student Program (RSP), saw significant growth in enrollment—and in the number of program offerings—during the 2019-20 academic year. Total enrollment in the RSP in 2019-20 was 9,257, up 14% over 2018-19. Of the 81 participating public colleges and universities, 46% reported enrollment increases. About 64% of students we...

Trinity College’s Angel Pérez Tapped to Lead National Admissions Group, Plus More Turnover in Vermont

Comings and Goings ... Angel B. Pérez, vice president for enrollment and student success at Trinity College and NEBHE delegate, was named the next CEO of NACAC, effective July 15. He succeeds Joyce E. Smith, who is retiring after more than 30 years as the association’s deputy executive director, executive director and CEO. Pérez authored NEJHE articles on Reexamining Our Approach to C...