Headlines
The need for student services at community colleges has changed dramatically since the 1960s. Has state law kept up? CalMatters State law requires community colleges to spend at least half of their general fund on…
Government
AI and … short-term Pell?
Advocates for extending Pell Grant eligibility to short-term workforce education programs may have a new ally: artificial intelligence (AI). At a Senate hearing Tuesday on AI and the future of work, lawmakers and witnesses noted…
Two-thirds of two-year grads don’t borrow
About two-thirds of community college students earning an associate degree or certificate in 2019-20 didn’t take loans to cover their studies, according to an annual report on trends in college pricing and student aid from…
This week’s poll: FAFSA form delay
A delay in releasing the simplified 2024-25 FAFSA form is causing some concerns among students, families, college advisors, student aid officials and others. The U.S. Education Department (ED) intended to post its revamped Free Application…
Insight into CHIPS, and parting words on AI
Community college educators have the potential to be part of big opportunities from the CHIPS and Science Act’s workforce development funding and advancements in artificial intelligence (AI). However, accessing new large sources of federal funds…
Washington Watch: Bipartisan bill supports community college nursing
Bipartisan legislation introduced last week in the House and supported by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) aims to enhance the participation and funding of community colleges in federal nursing education programs. Reps. Juan…
DataPoints: Public support and perceptions
Americans are much more comfortable with their tax dollars going to support community colleges than any other higher education sector, and many also feel they are underfunded by states and the federal government, according to…
Pitching block grants for workforce training
The jobs are there, as are the programs to train workers for those middle- and high-skill jobs. But there’s only a trickle of skilled workers entering the workforce development pipeline. A House Oversight and Accountability…
Reflecting on 30 years of ATE
Speakers at Wednesday’s opening plenary of the 2023 Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Principal Investigators’ Conference in Washington, D.C., praised the highly collegial community of two-year college educators who received National Science Foundation (NSF) grants to…
Washington Watch: ED releases further final rules on program and institutional eligibility
The U.S. Education Department (ED) on Tuesday released a new set of final regulations that make a number of important changes to procedures and standards that institutions must meet in order to qualify for federal…