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...

Teachers Sue DeVos for Deliberately Mismanaging Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

DC Shuttle ... Lawsuit Filed Against Secretary DeVos. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) filed a lawsuit against U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, alleging deliberate mismanagement of the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. The PSLF program, authorized by Congress in 2007, was designed to enable qualifying public service workers to discharge the balance on their stu...

Prez Changes and Female Firsts

Comings and Goings ... Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) appointed management consultant and college trustee Leslie Ward to be its interim president, succeeding Thomas Greene, the novelist who founded VCFA in 2006 by combining the old Vermont College campus with three MFA programs from Union Institute and University. The Connecticut Board of Education appointed Desi Nesmith, currently ...

Lawmakers Create Separate Board for URI, Reject Expanding College Promise to Four-Year RIC

Rhode Island lawmakers tackled education reform and OK'd a separate board of trustees for URI even as they erased a $200 million budget gap. Gov. Gina Raimondo signed a $9.9 billion budget for FY20, which avoids new taxes, strengthens PreK-12, continues the phase-out of the car tax (auto excise tax) and closes a $200 million budget gap. She praised lawmakers for their hard work but criticized a...

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...

Education Dept Ends Obama-Era Gainful Employment Reg Meant to Hold Low-Quality Career Ed Programs Accountable

DC Shuttle ... Education Department Ends Gainful Employment Regulation. The U.S. Education Department rescinded the gainful employment rule, which had been implemented by the Obama administration aimed at protecting students from schools that leave them with high debt and insufficient job prospects. The rule is no longer in effect as of July 1, the department posted. The rule had mostly affecte...

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...

Former SVC Prez Takes Over at Bulgarian University Developed in ’90s by UMaine System’s Woodbury

Comings and Goings ... David Evans, the last president of the now-defunct Southern Vermont College, was named interim president of the American University in Bulgaria, succeeding Steven Sullivan, who will return to teaching full time. The Eastern European campus was developed in the early 1990s, partly by the University of Maine System under the late Chancellor and NEBHE Chair Robert Woodbury. ...

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...