U.S. Education Acting Under Secretary James Bergeron on Friday sent a letter to education stakeholders addressing concerns over the massive layoffs — officially called “Reductions in Force” (RIFs) — that occurred at the Education Department…
President Donald Trump on Friday night signed a year-long continuing resolution (CR) for fiscal year (FY) 2025, ensuring funding for federal agencies through September 30. The bill made it through the Senate with several key…
The ultimate effect of last Friday’s executive order (EO) — “Restoring Public Service Loan Forgiveness” — is unclear, but it could well affect both community college students and employees. Despite the president’s executive branch action,…
House Republicans this weekend released a continuing resolution (CR) to extend fiscal year 2024 (FY 24) funding levels through September and avoid a partial government shutdown. In December, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved 12 bipartisan…
The shaping and adoption of a fiscal year 2026 budget resolution by congressional Republicans has huge implications for community colleges and their students. Baked into the discussions of broad fiscal policy are assumptions about the…
As campus officials are aware, the U.S. Education Department’s (ED) Office of Civil Rights (OCR) sent a “Dear Colleague” letter on February 14 to institutions of higher education to “clarify and reaffirm the nondiscrimination obligations…
Federal budget scorekeepers have just provided both good news and bad news for the Pell Grant program. The good news is that more students are qualifying for grants, and many are receiving larger ones. These…
President Donald Trump this week released a directive to the heads of executive departments and agencies to pause all spending on federal grants, loans and financial assistance programs to evaluate whether they are “implicated by” the…
The U.S. Education Department (ED) published a December 31 Federal Register notice that specifies the “earnings threshold” by state that gainful employment (GE) program completers must meet or exceed on average in order for the…
Just before the new year, the U.S. Education Department (ED) released final rules on program integrity and institutional quality that reflect the positions of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) in key areas. In particular,…