higher education

November 17, 2009 -- ST. LOUIS - For the second year in a row, in-state, undergraduate students at Missouri's four-year, public colleges and universities won't see tuition or academic fees rise by a penny.

That's the good news Missouri Governor Jay Nixon announced today during visits to the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Missouri State University in Springfield.    » read more »

Berkeley, CA - 10/08/2009 - Nearly one in 10 community college students in the U.S. cannot get a federal student loan – the safest, most affordable way to borrow for college – because their schools choose not to participate in the federal loan programs.

A new issue brief from the Project on Student Debt found that more than 20 percent of the community college students in seven states have no access to federal loans, including six states (AL, GA, NC, LA, TN, VA) in the southern U.S. African-American and Native-American students were twice as likely as other students to lack access to federal student loans.    » read more »

September 17, 2009 -- “Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to give America's college students the biggest increase in financial aid since the GI Bill. The bill will guarantee increases for the Pell Grant program for the 2010-11 year and beyond. It will overhaul federal student loans to make them more efficient while saving taxpayers billions of dollars over the next decade.

A share of the savings will also help reduce the deficit and promote high quality early childhood programs. It will support Historically Black Colleges and Universities, ensuring that these critically important institutions are integral to institutional improvement efforts at both the national and state levels.    » read more »

Income-based repayment available starting July 1

July 1, 2009 -- Starting July 1, a new repayment option is available that makes monthly payments more affordable for Americans with heavy federal student loan burdens. The new Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan protects borrowers by linking payments to income and family size. A related new program offers additional benefits to those working in public service jobs.

"We know many graduates are concerned about their ability to repay student loans in the current economic environment," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "This new plan addresses the issue head on by giving them the option of a monthly payment tied to their income."    » read more »

Passage of the DREAM Act will allow next generation of leaders to achieve their own American dream

June 23, 2009 -- Washington, DC --Today, with the U.S. Capitol's Statue of Freedom reaching to the sky behind them, more than 500 students from across the country took part in a symbolic graduation ceremony to urge Congress to support our nation's future leaders by passing the DREAM Act. The National DREAM Graduation ceremony was hosted by labor organizations like SEIU, education, faith, business, immigrant and civil rights groups through the United We Dream Coalition.    » read more »

Legislation expands grants for families of soldiers killed in action and helps students who have defaulted on their student loans

June 23, 2009 -- Washington, D.C.—The House today unanimously approved legislation that expands grants for survivors of veterans killed in action and reduces credit problems by enabling the Department of Education to purchase rehabilitated loans from guaranty agencies. The bill, H.R. 1777, passed unanimously by the Senate this morning, also includes a number of technical amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1965.    » read more »

June 17, 2009 -- Education programs in seven states—Arizona, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon and South Dakota—have been selected to receive nearly $3.8 million to provide training programs to recruit and graduate new American Indian teachers and school administrators, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced today.

“These professional development grants will help us find, train and retain the very best teachers and administrators within American Indian communities,” said Duncan. “These grants represent opportunity, both for teachers and their students.”

The grant award is part of the Office of Indian Education’s Professional Development program, which trains qualified individuals to become teachers and administrators in Indian communities.    » read more »

Governor Rell Signs Bill to Help More Students Get Higher Ed Loans

June 10, 2009 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell has signed a bill that will help more students get access to low-interest loans for higher education through a financing partnership the Governor helped establish last year with Connecticut credit unions. (Senate Bill 842: An Act Concerning A Student Loan Guarantee Program Reserve Fund.)    » read more »

Interested Colleges and Universities Must Sign Up for Yellow Ribbon Program before June 15 Deadline for 2009-2010 Term

June 5, 2009 -- WASHINGTON - The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today that it has entered into more than 700 agreements with institutions of higher learning across the nation to participate in the Post-9/11 GI Bill’s “Yellow Ribbon Program.”

Many schools signed agreements for participation in not only undergraduate programs, but graduate and doctoral programs as well. Some schools entered into one agreement that covered all their campuses throughout the United States.    » read more »

Report Contains 27 Major Recommendations to Help Create Jobs, Generate Economic Activity, Benefit Colleges and Universities across New York State

June 1, 2009 -- New York Governor David A. Paterson today accepted the final report from the New York State Commission on Asset Maximization. The Commission was charged with broadly examining whether asset maximization can benefit the State, as well as whether any specific New York assets are suitable candidates for Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).    » read more »

May 28, 2009 -- United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has issued the following statement in response to "The Condition of Education" report for 2009 released today by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES):    » read more »

May 22, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) and Congressmen Tim Bishop (D-NY) and Vern Ehlers (R-MI) introduced bipartisan legislation today to help improve college access for low-income students. The Pathways to College Act would create a competitive grant program to help low-income school districts implement programs designed to increase the number of students who are entering and succeeding in college.    » read more »

Task Force Will Bring Together State Leaders in Industry and Higher Education to Generate Ideas on the Future of New York State’s Economy

May 14, 2009 -- New York Governor David A. Paterson today issued an executive order creating a task force that will bring together State leaders in industry and higher education to generate ideas to diversify the New York State economy through industry-higher education partnerships.

The Task Force on Diversifying the New York State Economy through Industry-Higher Education Partnerships, established by Executive Order No. 19, will study best practices and generate recommendations on fostering business incubation, growth and emerging technology commercialization.    » read more »

Governor Culver signs I-JOBS bills into law with $100 million for UI disaster efforts

May 14, 2009 -- IOWA CITY – Nearly one year after record floods destroyed many landmark buildings on campus, Iowa Governor Chet Culver today traveled to the University of Iowa, where he signed Senate File 474, which provides $100 million for the University’s disaster recovery efforts as part of the Governor’s $830 million I-JOBS Program.    » read more »

Washington, DC - 05/12/2009 - Many low-income students miss out on college because they don’t know how much it actually costs or how to get access to billions of dollars in financial aid, according to a report released today by Pew’s Economic Mobility Project.

This matters, say the report's authors, because postsecondary education is among the most important factors in determining whether a person achieves the American Dream of upward economic mobility. The report, Promoting Economic Mobility by Increasing Postsecondary Education, emphasizes that America is no longer a country where a high school diploma is the reliable gateway to getting a decent job and building a good life. It has become increasingly difficult to advance in society without some level of higher education.    » read more »