This week in legislative affairs...

Week of March 28

·       This week, both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate are on recess for the Easter holiday. The U.S. Senate will return on Monday, April 4, and the U.S. House will return on Tuesday, April 12.

·       Today at 10:00 a.m., New America hosts a discussion entitled, “The Future of College Assessment,” which will examine whether college assessments can reduce the growing public anxiety about higher education prices and student debt where colleges and universities are facing pressure to show results. The event will highlight a new generation of standardized assessments designed to measure the critical thinking, analytic reasoning, and communication skills and feature a new white paper titled “Standardized Assessments of College Learning: Past and Future” by Purdue University scholar Fredrik deBoer. Panelists include: Kevin Carey, Education Policy Program Director, New America; Alberto Acerada, Senior Director of Business Development and Global Education, Education Testing Service; and Roger Benjamin, President, Council for Aid to Education and Publisher, Collegiate Learning Assessment.

·       On Tuesday at 9:00 a.m., Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White gives the keynote address at the Mutual Fund Directors Forum’s 2016 Policy Conference in Washington, DC.

·       On Tuesday at 12:20 p.m., Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen gives a speech on “Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy” at the Economic Club of New York luncheon. 

·       On Tuesday at 2:00 p.m., the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation release their analysis of the President’s proposed fiscal year 2017 budget. Each year, CBO and Joint Tax estimate the budgetary effects of the changes to the tax code and spending programs proposed in the President’s budget.

·        On Thursday at 9:30 a.m., New America hosts a discussion titled, “The Index Card: Rules of Thumb and the Future of Financial Education,” which will provide a number of ideas designed to give the public the tools to improve their financial health and well-being and discuss research on consumer knowledge of and attitudes toward rules of thumb. Panelists include: Justin King, Policy Director, Asset Building Program, New America; Helaine Olen, Co-Author, The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn’t Have to be Complicated and Columnist, Slate; and Irene Skricki, Senior Financial Education Program Analyst, CFPB.

·       On Thursday at 2:00 p.m., the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships, ACT, and Jobs for the Future hold a Congressional briefing titled, “Showcase of Dual and Concurrent Enrollment Programs and Policies: Innovative Approaches to College Access and Affordability.” Participants include: Zephranie Buetow, Office of Senator Gary Peters (D-MI); Patrick Cannon, Purdue University North Central; Scott Frein, ACT; Elizabeth Grant, Jobs for the Future; Adam Lowe, National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships; Armella Smith, Shelby County Schools; Loralee Stevens, Johnson County Community College; and Amy Williams, Montana University System.

·        On Thursday at 2:00 p.m., the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) and Coalition of Urban Serving Universities host an event to launch Collaborating for Change, an initiative working to promote and assist public urban research universities as they plan and implement transformational approaches to advance student success. Participants include: Peter McPherson, President, APLU; Mark Becker, President, Georgia State University; Mark Rosenberg, President, Florida International University; Sukhwant Jhaj, Vice Provost for Academic Innovation and Student Success, Portland State University; and Thomas Moss, Associate Vice Provost, University of Illinois at Chicago. 

Shared by NCHER and SASFAA's Legislative Relations' Committee.