This Week in Legislation

Week of December 5 This week, both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate are in session for legislative business. While neither chamber is expected to consider student financial aid-related legislation, Congress is expected to pass a Continuing Resolution to provide discretionary funding to the U.S. Department of Education through May 2017. On Tuesday at 9:00 a.m., the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics holds a public meeting to discuss the transition of the Obama Administration as it pertains to Hispanics and education-related issues and provide recommendations for the initiative in 2017. On Tuesday at 9:30 a.m., the Urban Institute holds a discussion titled, “Community Colleges since the Great Recession,” which will highlight variation among institutions and differences across state systems, along with tested policy and institutional solutions that bolster student success and economic development. Participants include: David Baime, Senior Vice President for Government Relations and Policy Analysis, American Association of Community Colleges; Sandy Baum, Senior Fellow, Income and Benefits Policy Center, Urban Institute; Lauren Eyster, Senior Research Associate, Income and Benefits Policy Center, Urban Institute; Dan Phelan, President, Jackson College; Margery Austin Turner, Senior Vice President for Program Planning and Management, Urban Institute; and moderator David Wessel, Director, Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Senior Fellow in Economic Studies, Brookings Institution. On Wednesday at 10:00 a.m., the House Agriculture Committee holds a hearing entitled, “1890 Land-Grant Institutions: Recruitment Challenges and Scholarship Opportunities.” Witnesses will be announced at a later date. On Wednesday at 2:00 p.m., New America hosts an event titled, “Beyond the Classroom: Strategies for Integrating the Worlds of Work and School,” which will highlight the release of a new report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that explores strategies for building effective work-based learning systems. Commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education, Work-based Learning for Youth at Risk: Getting Employers on Board draws on the OECD’s extensive international research to identify best practices in work-based learning and strategies for overcoming one of the key challenges to scaling: engaging employers. Participants include: Andreas Schleicher, Director, Directorate of Education and Skills, OECD; Johan Uvin, Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education; Portia Wu, Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor; Crystal Bridgeman, Senior Director, Workforce Development Programs, Siemens Foundation; Thaddeus Ferber, Vice President, Policy Advocacy, The Forum for Youth Investment; Angela Hanks, Associate Director, Workforce Development Policy, Center for American Progress; Cassius Johnson, Senior Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs, Year Up; and moderator Mary Alice McCarthy, Director, Center on Education and Skills, New America. On Wednesday at 3:00 p.m., the Federal Reserve releases its “Consumer Credit – G.19” report, which includes the amount of outstanding federal and private student loans. On Thursday at 2:00 p.m., Neustar hosts a free webinar titled, “Achieving Communication Efficiencies in a Changing TCPA and Regulatory Environment.” Participants will learn from a panel of experts about the latest Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) rulings and the impact on organizations that call and text consumers, as well as the effects the Trump administration could have on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and TCPA regulations. Participants include: Becky Burr, Chief Privacy Officer, Deputy General Counsel, Neustar; Mark Brennan, Partner, Hogan Lovells; Brad Day, Principal/Chief Executive Officer, Dey’s End Consulting; and Mitchell Young, Executive Director, Fraud, Risk, and Compliance, Neustar. To register, visit the Neustar website. On Friday at 1:00 p.m., Academic Impressions hosts a webinar titled, “Strengthening Admissions and Financial Aid Partnerships,” which will take a strategic approach to partnering admissions and financial aid offices to better serve prospective students and families. The webinar will share two practical and proven partnership models between admissions and financial aid, take an in-depth look at each model, and discuss next steps for implementation on campuses. For details and to register, visit the Academic Impressions website.     Gov. Christie Signs Legislation That Forgives HESAA Loans After Student Death Politico reports that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation today that forgives Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA) loans of students who die or are permanently disabled. The new law also grants loan deferments in the case of temporary disabilities. According to the Office of Legislative Services, the law will mean a “minimal loss” of state revenue, costing $1.4 million the first year, $1.5 the second, and $1.6 the third. Student Debt Activists Appeal One Last Time to Obama In a video released today by the Debt Collective, student activists are giving one final push for the U.S. Department of Education to complete group discharges of the debt owed by those who took out federal loans to attend for-profit schools such as Corinthian Colleges and ITT Tech. Activists are not confident that the Trump Administration will be as forgiving or receptive to their claims and are requesting that President Obama erase their debts before leaving office. As previously reported in the Daily Briefing, the Department said it will take until at least spring to wade through its backlog of tens of thousands of debt relief claims. Pamela Hunt, a former Corinthian Colleges student, appealed directly to President Obama in the video and pleaded that he forgive her debt and the debt of other defrauded students. “I believe that as a parting good faith gesture, that you forgive us of this debt,” she said. “We’re appealing to you this one last time. This is our last chance to get the justice we deserve.” Memorandum: An Overview of the Budget Reconciliation Process As the Obama Administration winds down and the Trump Administration and 115th Congress gear up for a new beginning, several pieces of legislation will no doubt be reviewed as the next budget comes into play. The Penn Hill Group has written a memorandum to provide an overview of the budget reconciliation process and its use in moving major spending and revenue-related legislation. The memorandum also touches briefly on the Congressional budget resolution process, in order to explain how Congress begins the process of establishing and moving reconciliation measures. Congressional leaders have announced the possibility of using the budget reconciliation process to address several major legislative efforts in 2017, including the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), major tax changes, and modifications to education and workforce programs. The Penn Hill memo is included in the expanded version of today’s Daily Briefing. Fall 2010 Cohort Outcomes: Decline in College Completion Rates Reverse and Lead to Upward Trajectory According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center’s Signature Report, Completing College: A National View of Student Attainment Rates – Fall 2010 Cohort, recent declines in the overall national six-year completion rates have reversed and are now on an upward trajectory. The effects of the Great Recession on higher education included enrollment surges, followed by declines in completion rates, for the 2008 and 2009 entering cohorts. Even though each of these cohorts had more students graduating than the prior cohort, completion rates had declined at the national level for every institution type and all student subgroups. The data shows that for the fall 2010 cohort, the overall national six-year completion rate rebounded to 54.8 percent, an increase of 1.9 percentage points from the 2009 cohort. This comprehensive rate includes all students, including those enrolling part-time and full-time at all two-year and four-year institutions. The fall 2010 cohort’s completion rate resulted in 55,000 more graduates six years later than that for the fall 2009 cohort. Furthermore, increases in completion rates occurred for students in all categories of enrollment intensity (exclusively full-time, exclusively part-time and mixed enrollment). Increases also were observed in completion rates of both traditional-age students and adult-learners. Other key data points include: ·         For students who started at four-year public institutions, the completion rate for the fall 2010 cohort increased 1.2 percentage points to 62.4 percent, compared to that of the fall 2009 cohort. The increase was mostly attributable to larger numbers of students graduating from their starting institution. ·         The total completion rate for two-year starters, regardless of whether the completion occurred at a two-year or four-year institution, increased from 38.1 percent for the fall 2009 cohort to 39.3 percent for 2010 students. Sixteen percent of the two-year starters had completed a degree at a four-year institution by the end of the study period, up from 15.1 percent for the fall 2009 cohort and very close to the completion rate for the fall 2008 cohort, 16.2 percent. ·         The completion rate for students who started in four-year, private, nonprofit institutions increased to 73.9, from the fall 2009 cohort’s 71.5 percent. Much of the improvement was attributable to older students. ·         The rate rebounded for those who started in four-year, for-profit institutions, after dramatic declines of the previous two cohorts. In last year’s report, the research showed a 5.6 percentage point decrease for the fall 2009 cohort from that of the previous year, from 38.4 to 32.8 percent. The completion rate went up to 37.1 percent for the fall 2010 cohort. ·         The share of students who had earned no degree and were no longer enrolled in the final year of the study period decreased by 1.1 percentage points, from 33.0 percent for the fall 2009 cohort to 31.9 percent for the fall 2010 cohort. ·         The overall completion rate for full-time students starting at four-year institutions (including public, private non-profit and for-profit) was 81.3 percent, if they stayed full-time.

This information is shared by SASFAA's Legislative Affairs' Committee and NCHER.