In the final days of 2020, Congress gave the country a long-overdue Christmas present with the passage of a new COVID-19 relief bill. Known as the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA), the bill is a whopping 5,500 pages long. But for higher education institutions, the real action starts on Page 1872 with the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (known as HEERF...
The number of students nationwide enrolled in distance education programs rose to nearly 3 million in fall 2019, a 7.5% increase over 2018 enrollment data, according to a new report by the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). And that’s before the COVID-19 pandemic prompted an unprecedented shift to virtual course delivery.
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Faculty diversity. In the early 1990s, NEBHE, the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) collaborated to develop the first Compact for Faculty Diversity. Formally launched in 1994, with support from the Ford Foundation and Pew Charitable Trust, the compact focused on five key strategies: motivating states and universities to inc...
In October 2019, NEBHE called together a group of economists and higher education leaders for a meeting at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston to discuss the future of higher education (Preparing for Another Recession?). No one suspected that just months later, a global pandemic would turn the world upside down. Today, the same challenges highlighted at the meeting persist. The pandemic has only am...
Sadly, the number of COVID-19 cases across the globe is rising. And while vaccines are in the offing, we may have many weeks between now and their availability, time in which more individuals can become infected and too many will die. In absolute terms, the numbers are staggering in the U.S. and around the world.
It is against this background that we should be concerned about superspreader even...
Last week, Inside Higher Ed reported that "President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team is drawing significantly [from] the nation’s colleges and universities to prepare to take the reins of government on Jan. 20."
A bit of déjà vu ... In Spring 2009, when Barack Obama was stocking his first administration, NEJHE ran an item headlined "New England Goes to D.C.," noting: "As they form t...
The majority of college students were largely disappointed by remote learning this past spring, with many reporting a strong preference for in-person instruction. Bearing in mind the low expectations that many students carried into online courses this fall, what advice can we give to help them succeed in this final month? As colleges across New England and the country continue to announce spring p...
In New England, as with the rest of the country, the price of tuition is one of the main factors that goes into students’ higher education enrollment decisions. As the coronavirus wreaks havoc on both our New England and national economies and people reckon with job losses and wage cuts, this factor seems more relevant than ever. NEBHE’s recently released report “Published Tuition and Fees a...
Takeaways from NEBHE's Legislative Advisory Committee ...
The economic fallout of the layoffs and business closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc for New England workers—especially those who were already facing a structurally vulnerable workforce and employment system before the pandemic. What can state governments do to stimulate job creation and make New England’s econ...
The shift to online learning has challenged instructors to create courses that are as engaging online as they are in person. As many faculty prepare for online learning again this fall, open educational resources (OER) can be part of the solution to help students stay safe and be successful.
OER are free and openly licensed online teaching and learning materials that support instructors and stu...
Interested in learning about the future of high school graduates in New England & the effect the declining number might have on our regional #highered space & economy? Register for our webinar to address these questions & more! https://bit.ly/2Nn4IKH
In new #nebhe journal piece, former UMaine System Chancellor Pattenaude explains that latest federal #COVID19 funds can offer immediate financial support to students and also help institutions improve effectiveness of #online programs https://bit.ly/2Y8isuK