Obama Budget Holds Key Education Provisions; On Hill, Lawmakers Still Debating How to Leave No Child Behind

DC Shuttle ... Education Priorities in President Obama's Budget. President Obama released his fiscal year 2016 budget request. Among his requests were many provisions for education. For higher education, the budget proposals include: Proposals to change some benefits in the income-based repayment program (IBR) for student loans Tuition free community college for responsible students whose fam...

Capital Sorts Through Obama Proposals

DC Shuttle ... White House Drops Plan to Tax 529 College Savings Accounts. White House officials announced that President Obama would drop his proposal to tax 529 college savings accounts, just a week after the proposal was first made in the president's State of the Union. Revenues from the 529 taxes would have been used to offset the cost of the president's American Opportunity Tax Credit. The a...

New Chair at UMass; Rose Rambles to Bowdoin; Changing Principals at Exeter

Woolridge Comings and Goings ... Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker appointed Victor Woolridge to chair the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees. A vice president of Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers and current UMass trustee, Woolridge will succeed Henry M. Thomas III, as chair. Thomas, president of the Urban League of Springfield, will stay on the UMass board. Woolridge's first prio...

Obama Urges Free Community College, Tripled Child Care Tax Credit, Student Digital Privacy

DC Shuttle ... Education priorities outlined in State of the Union. President Obama addressed several education initiatives in his State of the Union address, stating, "In a 21st century economy that rewards knowledge like never before, we need to up our game." He touted positive education statistics, including higher graduation rates and test scores, but emphasized that there is still room to ...

New Leader of Educause; Slaughter at Tuck; Maine CCs Appoint System Lawyer as Interim Chief

Comings and Goings ... Educause named Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Senior Vice Chancellor John O'Brien to be its next president and CEO, O'Brien succeeds Diana G. Oblinger, who has led the the higher education technology association since 2008. In October 2012, Oblinger addressed more than 400 New England educators gathered by NEBHE on the topic of Game Changers Revolutionizin...

NCLB Not Left Behind?

DC Shuttle ... NCLB reauthorization debate heats up. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan gave remarks regarding the reauthorization of the now-expired No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. He said that the administration would not back away from annual testing as it works to reform K-12 education, according to a report in the New York Times. Annual testing was enshrined in NCLB to provide benchmark mea...

Longtime Maine CC Leader Resigns Under Pressure from Guv

Comings and Goings ... John Fitzsimmons, president of the Maine Community College System for almost 25 years, resigned under pressure from Gov. Paul LePage, who criticized him for being unresponsive to the governor’s higher education priorities. System trustees expressed support for Fitzsimmons shortly before he stepped down. The Connecticut Board of Education named Dianna Wentzell to le...

Reactions Swirl Ahead of SOTU Pitch for Tuition-Free Community College

President Obama will outline a plan during next week's State of the Union address to make the first two years of community college tuition-free. The president's proposal—if adopted by the Republican Congress—could smooth America's notorious educational inequity while acknowledging that some college education is as important economically today as high school education was nearly a cent...

Obama Calls for Free Community College

DC Shuttle ... President proposes free community college. President Obama announced a plan to make two years of community college free, called America's College Promise. The first question asked by proponents and opponents alike was how funding for the proposal would be found. The administration has not said how much the program will cost or where it will find the money. The president intends to ...

Caret Leaving UMass for Maryland; Charter School Advocate Named Mass Ed Secy

Comings and Goings ... The University of Maryland confirmed that Robert Caret will resign as president of the University of Massachusetts system to take over as the new Maryland chancellor. Massachusetts Gov.-elect Charlie Baker named James A. Peyser, a charter school advocate and former chair of the state Board of Education, to be his secretary of education. The 17-campus University of North C...