For Student Loan and Grant Recipients, a Right to Counsel

DC Shuttle ... U.S. House Passes Loan Counseling Legislation. The House passed legislation, the Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act, which would require in-person or online counseling before students accept federal student loans or Pell Grants. The bipartisan bill (H.R. 1635) had passed the House twice before, in 2014 and 2015, and was passed this time by a ...

NH Community Colleges Add Addy

Addy Comings and Goings ... The board of trustees of the Community College System of NH (CCSNH) appointed Cathryn Addy as interim president of NHTI, Concord’s Community College, for the duration of the academic year, Sept. 10, 2018 to May 2019, while the system searches for a successor. Addy is president emeritus of Tunxis Community College, the Farmington, Conn., community college she...

Ombudsman Leaves Bureau He Says Protected Financial Companies, not Students

DC Shuttle ... Student Loan Ombudsman Resigns Over Policy Differences. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Student Loan Ombudsman Seth Frotman resigned, citing political differences at the agency under Acting Director Mick Mulvaney. In a resignation letter addressed to Mulvaney, Frotman said his resignation was effective Sept. 1, adding "Unfortunately, under your leadership, the Bureau h...

Career Services Guru Brennan Joins MIT, Plus a First at Brown U and a Massport Departure

Brennan Comings and Goings ... Susan Brennan left Bentley University where she was associate VP for career services to become assistant dean of career development at MIT Sloan School of Management. Brennan served as co-chair of NEBHE's Commission on Higher Education & Employability and authored a key article on career services for NEJHE. Brown University named Jennifer Hunter its firs...

U.S. Senate Passes its Bill to Fund Ed; Accreditor Places NE Colleges on Probation

DC Shuttle ... Senate Passes Education Funding. The U.S. Senate voted 85 to 7 to pass an $857 billion spending package to fund two-thirds of government operations. The legislation (H.R. 6157) would boost funding for the Education Department by $541 million to $71.4 billion, while rejecting many of the education cuts sought by President Donald Trump. The Senate adopted a manager's amendment, b...

Student Transfer: A Check on New England Progress

Higher education students in the U.S. have been transferring at record levels. Today, more than two-thirds who earn bachelor's degrees from four-year institutions have changed colleges at least once, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. However, the U.S. Department of Education reported in 2015 that on average, students who transfer lose 13 credits already earned and pa...

Paying Pentagon to Rob Pell?

DC Shuttle ... U.S. Senate Debates Education Appropriations with Focus on Pell Funds. The Senate began debate on an $857 billion spending bill for the departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, as well as Education and other agencies. It is the first time education appropriations had been debated on the Senate floor since 2007 and the amendment process is expected to be tedious...

Environmentalist to Lead Center at Vermont Law School

Rushlow Comings and Goings ... Vermont Law School announced that Conservation Law Foundation senior attorney Jennifer Rushlow will direct the South Royalton school's Environmental Law Center. She'll succeed David Mears, the former commissioner of Vermont’s Department of Environmental Conservation, who announced in June he will leaving the post. Facing a budget deficit estimated around ...

Announcing the NEBHE-Chinese Government Scholarships for 2018-19

The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) is pleased to announce awarding of six NEBHE-Chinese Government Scholarships for the program's inaugural 2018-19 academic year. Through the generosity of the Chinese government, this scholarship offers qualified New England students the opportunity to study at Chinese universities with a full scholarship. After a competitive awarding process...

Leave Season in Vermont … Plus

Sullivan Comings and Goings ... University of Vermont President Tom Sullivan announced he will step down in summer 2019 after leading UVM for seven years. Before joining UVM, he served eight years as senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of Minnesota. An attorney by training, Sullivan has published extensively on antitrust law, including a NEJHE piece on "N...