Submit Your Nomination for the 2013 NE Higher Education Excellence Awards

The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) is pleased to announce its 11th annual New England Higher Education Excellence Awards. We are seeking nominations for individuals, programs or organizations in New England higher education, government or business that exemplify excellence in leadership, innovation, diversity and partnerships and collaborations.Four Regional Awards The Governor Walt...

DC Shuttle: STEM’ing Immigration; Measuring Higher Ed Productivity; Funding Upward Bound

Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) introduced legislation Wednesday to create a new category of student visas for those studying in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. The bill would create a new category of non-immigrant visa for foreign students pursuing a master's degree or doctorate in the STEM fields in the U.S. Those students would have one yea...

A Few More Caps and Gowns

Ronald Noble, the first American to head the international policing organization INTERPOL, will keynote the University of New Hampshire's 142nd commencement ceremony on Saturday May 19 at 10 a.m. on Memorial Field.Paul S. Grogan, president of The Boston Foundation, will deliver the commencement address at the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology's 104th commencement ceremony on Saturday, Ma...

Common Core Backer to Lead College Board; Maine Development Foundation Prez Heads to Thomas; Former UMass Amherst Chancellor Ousted at LSU

David Coleman, a former McKinsey & Co. consultant and co-founder of Student Achievement Partners, will become president of the College Board in October 2012, succeeding Gaston Caperton, who announced plans to step down.Maine Development Foundation President Laurie Lachance announced she would leave the position to become president of Thomas College in Waterville, Maine, effective July 1. The...

Mass. Rehab Commission to Hold NE Symposium on Vets and Higher Ed Success

The Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission will hold a symposium on Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury Ensuring Success in Higher Education, at Salem State University on Wednesday, June 6 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.The symposium is designed to educate college and university staff who work with veterans to ensure their success in pursuing higher education. The event is open to all colleges and uni...

No Vacancy (Survey, That Is)

NEBHE conducted a Student Vacancy Survey every spring from 1960 to 2009 as a public service for New England residents still looking for college space as of the traditional May 1 admissions deadline and as a measure of college application trends. A few years ago, we determined to ease out of the vacancy survey business and its vagaries; some respondents had noted that even if there were X-number...

DC Shuttle: How to Pay for Student Loan Interest Rate Extension

On Tuesday, Senate Republicans blocked a motion to proceed on the Senate Democrats' bill (S. 2343) to extend current interest rates on federal student loans for one year. With a vote of 52-45, the cloture motion failed to garner the needed 60 votes to proceed. Republicans objected to Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-NV) refusal to allow a vote on the Republicans' alternative legislation (S. 2366). ...

For Students, These Are Borrowed Times

It was quite a week for student financial aid news.On the very day that a Republican filibuster halted a Democrat-backed student loan bill that would have extended the 3.4% interest rates on subsidized Stafford loans, a key administration official went to Boston to pitch the president's goals on higher ed funding and a national think tank delivered recommendations on refocusing aid.On th...

Great NE Lecture Series (aka Spring Commencement Season) Hits Homestretch

We began covering Spring 2012 commencements back in December 2011, when Northeastern University announced (via Twitter no less) that former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell would keynote Northeastern's 110th commencement on May 4. ... From there, we reported on Gov. Malloy, Sen. Kerry, Victoria Reggie Kennedy Among Newly Announced NE Commencement Speakers (before, that is, the Catholic college w...

DC Shuttle: To Hold Down Student Loan Interest Rates, Congress Weighs Cuts to Health Law, Closing Tax Benefits for Oil and Gas Cos.

On Wednesday, Senate Democrats introduced a bill (S. 2343) to extend the current interest rate on subsidized student loans for one year beyond the July 1 expiration date. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated the cost of a one-year extension to be $6 billion, which the bill would pay for by ending a tax benefit for S corporations. Under the bill, shareholders of these corporations w...