- White House roundtable on higher ed
- House member seeks review of NJCAA policy on trans athletes
- ED’s new acting COO of student aid
White House roundtable on higher ed
The White House on Wednesday held a roundtable with a small group of university and community college leaders, think tank officials and education advocates about value and efficiency in higher education.
The discussion, led by Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent, covered ways the Trump administration is trying to curb college costs, mainly through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which created Workforce Pell grants, reforms to student loan repayment, new borrowing caps on federal lending and more.
The roundtable participants included Casey Sacks, president of BridgeValley Community and Technical College (West Virginia) and senior advisor on workforce and AI for the U.S. Education Department (ED). She previously served during the first Trump administration as ED’s assistant secretary for community colleges.
In his comments to the group, Kent noted that state and institutional leaders in Indiana, Ohio and Utah are working to streamline, consolidate or eliminate certain degree programs to ensure their offerings are more responsive to student demand and workforce needs. He also noted new funding models and gave kudos to institutions that are freezing tuition for in-state undergraduates. In addition, he called for more transparency on tuition, fees, and room and board, as well as improvements to transfer policies, which can affect college competition and student debt.
BridgeValley Community and Technical College is among the colleges that pivot quickly when needed.
“When enrollment in a program declines, we don’t wait years to make a decision. We quietly close low-enrollment programs and reinvest those resources where employers are hiring,” Sacks shared with the group. “That responsiveness is part of our culture, and it’s one reason our college continues to thrive even as many institutions are shrinking.”
But running lean has its challenges, she said, noting it’s often hard to compete with industry when seeking instructors needed for popular programs, such as auto mechanics.
Other ways the college is efficient: It shares a financial aid director with two other colleges, a chief information officer with another institution, and before it posts any non-student-facing role, the college asks other community colleges in the state if they can share staff for that position.
Sacks said community colleges are already efficient, accountable and yield a return on investment.
“The question isn’t whether we can operate more efficiently; it’s whether we can sustain that efficiency while still attracting the talent required to teach the next generation and the workforce that we need today,” she said.
House member seeks review of NJCAA policy on trans athletes
A House Republican is asking the Trump administration to review the policies of several college athletic organizations regarding transgender athletes.
Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-Georgia) this week sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Education Secretary Linda McMahon, urging them to review the policies of the National Junior College Athletic Association, California Community College Athletic Association and Northwest Athletic Conference that he says allow biological males to compete in women’s sports.
In the letter, Carter cited a Washington Times article that reports community colleges “still welcome transgender athletes” in women’s divisions, even as the National Collegiate Athletic Association and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics have adopted stricter policies that bar male participation in female categories. He said this would violate Title IX rules and the president’s executive order banning men from playing on women’s college sports teams.
“These policies raise substantial concerns regarding fairness, safety, and equal athletic opportunity for women,” he said in the November 17 letter.
ED’s new acting COO of student aid
Richard Lucas will serve as acting chief operating officer of Federal Student Aid (FSA) at the U.S. Education Department. He previously served as chief financial officer of FSA.
The department said in a release that Lucas will help implement key reforms established under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to “deliver a truly exceptional federal student financial assistance experience.”
