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June 29, 2020

New England higher education institutions that are already are on shaky financial ground could be forced to close altogether due to extended campus shutdowns and pandemic-induced enrollment declines, according to a new brief from the New England Public Policy Center (NEPPC) authored by senior policy analyst Riley Sullivan. The brief examines the COVID-19 pandemic and the cities and towns in...

June 23, 2020

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is currently collecting data for the 2019–20 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:20), which is designed to provide both national and state-level financial aid data. NPSAS:20 will enable researchers, policymakers, and other higher education stakeholders to generate state-representative undergraduate financial aid estimates and compare aid programs at the state level. NEBHE supports NPSAS:20,...

June 22, 2020

DC Shuttle ... Supreme Court Maintains DACA Protections for Immigrants, Students. The U.S. Supreme Court decided, 5 to 4, that the Trump administration cannot end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The decision will enable the more than 450,000 undocumented higher education students, as well as undocumented students and instructors at other levels, to remain in the U.S.,...

June 16, 2020

Comings and Goings ... Robert E. Johnson UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Robert E. Johnson announced he is leaving the South Coast campus in September after three years to become president of Western New England University. He'll succeed Anthony Caprio, who has been president of the Springfield, Mass.-based Western New England for 24 years. Johnson also led Becker College in Worcester for...

June 15, 2020

New England's state budgets are reeling from coronavirus-related shutdowns and fears. Here's an early look ... Connecticut. Gov. Ned Lamont and state lawmakers are facing a $904 million deficit for FY20 and a $2.1 billion deficit for FY21. The general fund shortfall, according to the nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis, will swell to $3.2 billion in 2022. Connecticut’s Rainy Day...

June 9, 2020

Comings and Goings ... Ibram X. Kendi to launch BU Center for Antiracist Research (Photo by Stephen Voss) Boston University announced that American University professor of history and of international relations and author Ibram X. Kendi will join BU’s faculty and launch the BU Center for Antiracist Research. The New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) named Lawrence M. Schall,...

May 26, 2020

Percentage of employed adults who reported an average of less than 6 hours of sleep per 24-hour period in 2008-09: 28% National Health Interview Survey, 2008–2009 and 2017–2018 Percentage who reported that in 2017–18: 33% National Health Interview Survey, 2008–2009 and 2017–2018 Difference in number of U.S. births in 2019, compared with 2007, before the Great Recession: -570,000 UNH Carsey...

May 19, 2020

Comings and Goings ... David Levinson CEOs were named to five Connecticut community colleges and retired Norwalk Community College President David Levinson was named acting president over all 12 of them in a single system under the proposed name: Connecticut State Community College. William “Terry” Brown, currently a special assistant to the president at Nashville State Community College in Tennessee,...

May 13, 2020

The New England Board of Higher Education's Tuition Break, the Regional Student Program (RSP), saw significant growth in enrollment—and in the number of program offerings—during the 2019-20 academic year. Total enrollment in the RSP in 2019-20 was 9,257, up 14% over 2018-19. Of the 81 participating public colleges and universities, 46% reported enrollment increases. About 64% of students were enrolled...

May 5, 2020

Comings and Goings ... Pérez Angel B. Pérez, vice president for enrollment and student success at Trinity College and NEBHE delegate, was named the next CEO of NACAC, effective July 15. He succeeds Joyce E. Smith, who is retiring after more than 30 years as the association’s deputy executive director, executive director and CEO. Pérez authored NEJHE articles on Reexamining...

April 28, 2020

Comings and Goings ... Spaulding Vermont State Colleges Chancellor Jeb Spaulding announced he'd submit his resignation from the post on Wednesday after a backlash over his recommendation to close three state college campuses. A NEBHE delegate at various points in his career, Spaulding has served as state treasurer, secretary of administration for Gov. Peter Shumlin and the chair of the...

April 26, 2020

With the number of new high school graduates in New England projected to decline by 14% between 2017 and 2032, the region's higher education enterprises and employers cannot afford to overlook any New Englanders. That includes the many people whose lives have been derailed by the world's largest incarcerator. Last week, three New England postsecondary institutions—Boston College, the Community College...

April 21, 2020

Comings and Goings ... Leigh Saufley, dean of the University of Maine School of Law The University of Maine System named Maine Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Leigh Saufley the new dean of the University of Maine School of Law. Saufley resigned from the Supreme Judicial Court on April 14 to begin her responsibilities as dean April 15. The Champlain...

April 17, 2020

John J. Bonanno Maguire Associates announced the appointment of John J. Bonanno as CEO, succeeding Linda Cox Maguire in a long-planned leadership transition at the world-renowned enrollment management firm based in Concord, Mass. Bonanno is the former president of ESM Digital, a digital marketing firm serving higher education. He held several leadership positions at Boston University, including president of the...

April 7, 2020

Comings and Goings ... Susan Huard The Community College System Board of Trustees named recently retired Manchester Community College President Susan Huard to lead the system as interim chancellor for one year after the departure of Chancellor Ross Gittell later this year. Brian Bicknell was appointed to permanently replace Huard at Manchester Community College, where he has been serving as...

March 31, 2020

Comings and Goings ... Barabino Gilda Barabino, dean of the Grove School of Engineering and the Daniel and Frances Berg Professor at ghe City College of New York, was named president of Olin College of Engineering, effective July 1. While a faculty member at Northeastern University, Barabino served on NEBHE's Advisory Committee on Equity and Diversity from 2000 to 2007...

March 31, 2020

DC Shuttle ... Stimulus Package Includes Some Relief for Higher Education. The $2 trillion financial stimulus package passed on Friday affords about $14 billion to colleges and universities as they navigate closing campuses and remote learning. The funds dedicated to higher education represent about 46% of the education stabilization measures in the package. Although higher than the original $6 billion...

March 24, 2020

The 2020 state legislative sessions started off “business as usual,” but this legislative year has quickly become anything but usual. The recent state-by-state implementation of aggressive social distancing measures to mitigate the further spread of COVID-19 effectively ended most states’ 2020 legislative sessions. Massachusetts—the only New England state legislature that continues to meet—is focusing its efforts almost exclusively on bills...

March 24, 2020

Comings and Goings ... Deborah Hedeen The University of Maine System named Deborah Hedeen, currently provost and vice chancellor for academic and student affairs at the University of Montana Western, to be president/provost of the University of Maine at Fort Kent, effective July 1. Simmons University appointed Ray Pfeiffer, a CPA who formerly held faculty positions at Texas Christian University...

March 23, 2020

DC Shuttle ... New England Council Calls on Senators to Provide COVID-19 Relief to Colleges. The New England Council sent a letter calling on Congress to provide relief to colleges and universities in light of the COVID-19 public health crisis that has forced them to close their campuses to students. In a letter sent to each New England senator, as...

March 16, 2020

DC Shuttle ... U.S. Education Department Eases Regulations as Colleges Move to Online Learning. A new guidance document released by the Department of Education granted "broad approval" to schools as they transition to digital learning amid the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Per the document, the department will still allow schools to qualify for Federal Work Study and Pell...

March 10, 2020

Comings and Goings ... Gittell The Bryant University Board of Trustees announced that after an extensive national search it has appointed distinguished economist and economic development expert Ross Gittell, who is currently chancellor of the Community College System of New Hampshire, as the university’s next president. Gittell will succeed Ronald K. Machtley, a former member of Congress, who has served...

March 9, 2020

DC Shuttle ... Senators Write to Education Department Over Racial Disparities in Student Borrowing. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Kamala Harris (D-CA), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) wrote to the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) asking how the office plans to address racial disparities in federal student loans. The letter cites studies that have shown black students are 20%...

March 3, 2020

Nearly 1.3 million students were enrolled exclusively in distance education programs at institutions participating in National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) in fall 2018, according to new data from NC-SARA’s fourth annual enrollment report. That’s a 5% increase over fall 2017 data, illustrating continued growing demand for postsecondary distance education opportunities. The data provide a more complete national...

March 3, 2020

Doran Comings and Goings ... Sandra J. Doran, NEBHE's first director of the New England State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), was named the sixth president of Bay Path University, succeeding Carol Leary, who retires in June following her 25-year presidency. Doran has recently been serving as interim president of Salem Academy and College, a private women’s school in Winston-Salem, N.C....

March 2, 2020

A few years back NEJHE featured Boston freelance writer Matt Robinson on a program called "Training Transformational Teachers" that uses research from various fields to help teachers understand the ways the brain learns best, then shows them classroom-tested strategies to boost student interest and retention and creative applications of what they're learning. Now, Robinson has authored Lions, Tigers, and…Bulldogs? An...

March 2, 2020

DC Shuttle ... Democratic Lawmakers and Attorneys General Demand Education Department Withdraw Religious Exemption Draft Rules. Sixteen Democratic senators wrote a letter to U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos over her proposed draft rules in relation to Title IX and religious institutions and groups. The proposed rules would expand eligibility for institutions claiming a religious exemption from parts of Title IX,...

February 25, 2020

Comings and Goings ... Katherine Newman Katherine Newman, who served as interim chancellor of UMass Boston in 2018 and 2019, was named to the new UMass position of system chancellor of academic programs in the system president's office, overseeing teaching and research and economic development. She is expected to begin in the new role when Marcelo Suárez-Orozco starts as chancellor...

February 18, 2020

Lynn Perry Wooten Comings and Goings ... Simmons University named Lynn Perry Wooten, a crisis leadership expert who served on the faculties at Cornell University and the University of Michigan, to be the next president of the private Boston university, succeeding Helen G. Drinan, who ends her term in June after 12 years as president. Katie Conboy, who has held...

February 18, 2020

February 12, 2020

Percentage of Massachusetts adults who are women: 52% MassForward: Advancing Democratic Innovation and Electoral Reform in Massachusetts Percentage of seats in the Massachusetts Legislature held by women: 29% MassForward: Advancing Democratic Innovation and Electoral Reform in Massachusetts Number of votes by which Boston elected its first Latina city councilor in 2019: 1 Boston Elections Commission Percentage of U.S. labor force...

February 11, 2020

Torrecilha Comings and Goings ... Westfield State University President Ramon Torrecilha announced he will retire in August. The Coalition for College named University of Vermont Vice President for Enrollment Management Stacey Kostell to be the new CEO of the group that brings together colleges and universities to improve college access and success....

February 11, 2020

DC Shuttle ... U.S. Education Secretary Threatened with Subpoena by House Oversight Committee. House Oversight Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) threatened to subpoena U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, citing her activities on the campaign trail for President Trump and her office having "stonewalled and delayed" when the committee tried to confirm a date for her testimony. In the letter sent to...

February 4, 2020

The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) and its sister regional higher education compact organizations—the Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC), Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) as well as the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (WCET)—are exploring the development of a national network to support scaling and adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER)...

February 4, 2020

Comings and Goings ... Photo of Marcelo Suarez-Orozco courtesy of Harry Brett. The committee searching for the next permanent chancellor of UMass Boston voted to recommend only one candidate, Marcelo Suárez-Orozco. Since 2012, Suárez-Orozco has been dean of UCLA's Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. Among previous positions, he has been a professor at New York University and at...

February 3, 2020

DC Shuttle ... House Passes Holocaust Education Bill. The U.S. House voted 393 to 5 to pass the Never Again Education Act, a bipartisan bill granting $10 million over five years to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. The bill (HR 943) provides the funds to the museum in order to expand resources and programming to teachers for education about the...

January 28, 2020

Single mothers make up an increasing part of the postsecondary student population in the U.S., and a growing movement has emerged to better understand and address their unique set of challenges and experiences. The National College Transition Network (NCTN) at World Education launched College Success for Single Mothers, a three-year project that will help eight community colleges identify the needs...

January 28, 2020

Comings and Goings ... Paul Grogan Boston Foundation President and CEO Paul Grogan, one of New England's most influential foundation leaders, announced he’ll step down after 19 years leading the foundation with net assets of $1.3 billion. Grogan will continue in the job until a successor is named. The foundation has been a key contributor to civic life in Massachusetts,...

January 21, 2020

Comings and Goings ... Jose Fuentes Hampshire College named technology entrepreneur and alumnus Jose Fuentes as the new chair of the 20-member board of trustees, succeeding Luis Hernandez. Originally from Guatemala, Fuentes oversees Maison, an educational technology company that helps community colleges retain and graduate more students using online services. He was a managing partner at Savory, a food and...

January 21, 2020

DC Shuttle ... New Data Released on Returns of a College Degree. A report released this week showed new findings on the return-on-investment of a college degree. The report, released by the College Board, shows, amid other research indicating that students and their families are questioning the worth of a college education, that a bachelor's degree significantly increases median lifetime...

January 14, 2020

Comings and Goings ... Fithian Clark University named University of Chicago Executive Vice President and Clark alumnus David Fithian to be the Worcester, Mass. university's 10th president, succeeding David P. Angel, who retires in June after 10 years as Clark’s president. Katie Stebbins left her post as vice president of economic development at the University of Massachusetts to start her...

January 13, 2020

DC Shuttle ... State Funding for Higher Education Increases 5% in 2020. The latest Grapevine report, released by the Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University and the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, shows an increase in state appropriations for public higher education of 5% in fiscal 2020. While all but three states (New York,...

January 7, 2020

Comings and Goings ... Caprio Western New England University President Anthony S. Caprio announced he'll retire at the end of June 2020 after 24 years of leadership. The university's longest-serving president, Caprio oversaw the launch of its first doctoral program and 2011 transition from Western New England College to Western New England University. The Vermont College of Fine Arts Board...

December 23, 2019

DC Shuttle ... New Data Shows Higher Education Enrollment Reaches 10-Year Low. The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center published a study showing the number of students enrolled in college has fallen below 18 million for the first time in a decade. Overall higher education enrollment for the fall 2019 semester fell 1.3%. Four year, for-profit schools posted the biggest drop,...

December 19, 2019

2019 was a great year for NEBHE! As we look back over the past year, here are some of the highlights. UPSKILLING NEW ENGLAND We launched an upskilling initiative, with support from Strada Education Network, to build collaboration and alignment between New England’s educators and employers As part of this project, we hosted nearly 40 employers, education providers and policymakers...

December 16, 2019

DC Shuttle ... Trump Signs Executive Order on Campus Anti-Semitism. President Donald Trump signed an executive order focused on anti-Semitism on college campuses. The order threatens to cut off federal funds to schools that don't curb discrimination against Jewish individuals. The Anti-Defamation League, a group that fights anti-Semitism, welcomed the executive order citing their reports of an increase in anti-Semitic...

December 9, 2019

DC Shuttle ... DeVos Calls for Federal Student Aid Office to Spin Off into a New Agency. U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos pitched a proposal for federal student loans to be operated by "a stand-alone government corporation, run by a professional, expert and apolitical board of governors," instead of by the Education Department's Office of Federal Student Aid. At the...

December 4, 2019

The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) received a three-year implementation grant co-funded by the Teagle Foundation and the Davis Educational Foundation to develop systematic transfer pathways between community colleges and four-year independent colleges in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, with a focus on the liberal arts. NEBHE is grateful for the continued support of the Teagle Foundation, which...

December 4, 2019

Kelly Comings and Goings ... Sterling College named Maxine Kelly, formerly finance & human resources director at Vermont Studio Center, to be Sterling's dean of finance & operations. Michelle Elias Bloomer, formerly of the division of professional studies at Bunker Hill Community College, became associate dean for undergraduate programs at Boston College’s Woods College of Advancing Studies. Bay Path University...

November 25, 2019

DC Shuttle ... Ed Dept Updates College Scorecard Database to Include Average Debt, Earnings of Specific College Programs. The U.S. Department of Education announced that its database College Scorecard will now let users compare data on the average student loan debt and postgraduate earnings by program of students within institutions. The site's new update reflects the bipartisan push for transparency...

November 19, 2019

International student enrollment grows modestly in Massachusetts, declines across the rest of New England ... The total number of enrolled international students at New England colleges and universities increased by 2.2% at all academic levels in academic year (AY) 2018-19, according to the 2019 Open Doors Report on International Education Exchange. The study, published annually by Institute of International Education...

November 18, 2019

DC Shuttle ... Supreme Court Hears DACA Case, Reveals Little Hope for Program's Survival. The U.S. Supreme Court heard the oral arguments of a case to evaluate whether the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) decision to shut down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy is lawful. The conservative majority on the bench expressed little to no support of...

November 12, 2019

Comings and Goings … Nitin Nohria Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria announced he will step down from the post in June 2020, after more than 30 years at the B-school, including 10 as dean. U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa Scott Brown—who had defeated Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley in 2010 to become a U.S. senator from Massachusetts,...

November 12, 2019

DC Shuttle ... DeVos Declines to Testify Before House Panel; Subpoena Possible. U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos turned down House Education Committee Chair Bobby Scott's (D-VA) request that she testify in front of the committee in regard to the Education Department's role in the erroneous collection of student loans from former Corinthian College students. House Democrats scheduled a hearing for...

November 5, 2019

Mary K. Grant Comings and Goings ... The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate announced that Mary K. Grant will step down as its president and CEO and return to higher education. She will be succeeded on an interim basis at the institute by entrepreneur and turnaround specialist Art Buckland. Grant was awarded a 2014 New England...

November 4, 2019

DC Shuttle ... Bipartisan Senate Bill Introduced to Expand Dual Enrollment. U.S. Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Todd Young (R-IN) introduced the Fast Track To and Through College Act that would create a grant program to help more students earn college credits while still in high school. Under the bill, states would be able to compete for grants to implement...

October 28, 2019

DC Shuttle ... Alexander Introduces Bipartisan Standalone FAFSA Bill. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Lamar Alexander (R-TN) outlined a new higher education strategy on the Senate floor, introducing a bipartisan bill with Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) to simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). FAFSA simplification has been a top priority for the chair, however...

October 22, 2019

Comings and Goings ... Roger H. Brown Berklee College of Music President Roger H. Brown announced he will leave the post he has held since 2004 on May 31, 2021. The third president in Berklee's nearly 75-year history, Brown oversaw opening a campus in Valencia, Spain, the launch of the college's first master’s programs, and the 2016 merger with the...

October 21, 2019

DC Shuttle ... B-School Deans, CEOs Send Trump Letter About Immigration. More than 6o top business school deans and CEOs published an open letter to the White House and Congress asking for changes to immigration policies and visa laws. The letter warns that the U.S. is falling behind in global competition for highly skilled workers. The deans and CEOs ask...

October 8, 2019

As a follow up to our recent report Published Tuition and Fees at New England Public Colleges and Universities, 2018-19, this article explores out-of-state tuition and required fees in New England ... Imagine a prospective student living in Vermont. Their most affordable college option is a public university in Vermont. By staying in-state and attending the University of Vermont, this...

October 8, 2019

Santiago Comings and Goings ... Massachusetts Higher Education Commissioner Carlos Santiago was named chair of the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) Executive Committee, effective Oct. 1. The committee shapes the group's federal priorities and strategies for communications with Congress, the U.S. Department of Education and other federal agencies. Before assuming the Massachusetts commissioner's post four years ago, Santiago was...

October 4, 2019

The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE)'s Tuition Break has announced a record number of programs approved for the 2020-21 academic year–a total of more than 1,200. Through Tuition Break, aka the Regional Student Program (RSP), students become eligible to pay a significantly lower tuition rate, instead of the regular out-of-state tuition, when they enroll in approved programs at...

October 3, 2019

The population of students pursuing postsecondary education in New England is not what it used to be. Fewer individuals fit the traditional profile of the 18- to 24-year old student who lives on campus and attends class full-time. Increasingly, adults are seeking higher education. These students include those who: Are aged 25 or older (who account for 33% of the...

September 30, 2019

Shutterstock.com DC Shuttle ... Alexander's HEA Proposal Garners Mixed Reviews. U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair Lamar Alexander (R-TN) blocked a bill passed by the House that would extend funding for historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) two years beyond its expiration date on Sept. 30. Instead of allowing a clean passage of the bill through...

September 24, 2019

Comings and Goings ... Stewart Lasell University appointed Basil Stewart, recently CFO at Merrimack College, to be Lasell's vice president for finance & administration, serving as CFO of both Lasell and its onsite senior living community, Lasell Village. Roger Williams University School of Law announced that Michael J. Yelnosky will step down as dean when his contract expires at the...

September 23, 2019

DC Shuttle ... Ed Dept Orders Two Universities to Overhaul Middle East Programs. The U.S. Department of Education ordered Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to remake their Middle East studies program run jointly between the two schools. The letter sent to the universities reveals that the Education Department found the program to have a...

September 16, 2019

DC Shuttle ... Senate Panel Cancels Education Funding Bill Markup. The Senate Appropriations Committee canceled a scheduled markup of legislation to fund the U.S. Education Department for the 2020 fiscal year. A vote on Health and Human Services (HHS)-Labor-Education has been a major priority for Democrats, but is now facing partisan controversy as Congress returns from recess. The top Democrat...

September 10, 2019

Average price for state residents reaches $5,466 at New England’s public two-year colleges, $11,845 at public four-year institutions ... NEBHE has created an interactive data interface to publish regional data corresponding with NEBHE reports. Click below to explore state-by-state tuition and fees data as well as regional averages year-to-year. Click here for interactive tuition and fees data! Since the 2013-14...

September 3, 2019

Tompkins Comings and Goings ... Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker appointed Suffolk County Sheriff Steven W. Tompkins as the new chair of the Roxbury Community College Board of Trustees. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont named Wall Street executive and former chair of the UConn Foundation Board of Directors Dan Toscano to be the new chair of the University of Connecticut Board of...

August 28, 2019

Change in overall postsecondary enrollment between spring 2018 and spring 2019: -1.7% National Student Clearinghouse Research Center Change at four-year private nonprofit institutions: +3.2% National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (The center attributes this increase largely to the recent conversion of a large for-profit institution to nonprofit status.) Change at four-year for-profit institutions: -19.7% National Student Clearinghouse Research Center Change at...

August 27, 2019

Morrice Coming and Goings ... Pelema I. Morrice stepped down as president of Great Bay Community College in New Hampshire after one year in the position. Community College System of NH Chancellor Ross Gittell was expected to recommend Cathryn Addy as interim president, subject to approval by the system's board of trustees. Addy served one year as interim president of...

August 27, 2019

The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) is pleased to announce the awarding of three NEBHE-Chinese Government Scholarships for the 2019-20 academic year. Through the generosity of the Chinese government, this scholarship offers qualified New England students the opportunity to study at Chinese universities with a full scholarship. After a competitive awarding process, three New England students have officially...

August 14, 2019

Seven months into the 2019 session and three weeks into the new fiscal year, Massachusetts lawmakers completed work on the FY20 budget. The spending package of $43.1 billion represents a 3.3% increase over the prior year’s budget and contains no new taxes. Revenue collections at the end of FY19, totaled more than $29.6 billion, exceeding projections by $1.9 billion, which...

August 6, 2019

The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) received a seven-month planning grant in March 2019 from the Teagle Foundation to formulate plans for a new transfer initiative between community colleges and independent colleges. The initiative, known as the New England Independent College Transfer Guarantee (Guarantee), is laying the foundation for a systematic transfer pathway from community colleges to four-year...

August 6, 2019

DC Shuttle ... House Passes Bill to End Sexual Harassment in Science - On Tuesday, July 23rd, the House passed the Combating Sexual Harassment in Science Act by voice vote. Introduced by House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Chair Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK), the bill takes recommendations offered in a National Academies of...

August 2, 2019

In May, NEJHE posted A Modest Proposal to Save the Planet, in which a lawyer, an environmentalist and a college success expert called on nonprofit organizations with endowments over $1 billion to invest 10% of their endowments in corporations whose primary business activity is building and operating alternative energy systems based upon the endless supply of the sun's energy and...

July 30, 2019

Ali Coming and Goings ... Carbonite CEO Mohamad Ali, a key member of NEBHE's Commission on Higher Education & Employability, stepped down as CEO and board member of the Boston-based data protection company to lead International Data Group, a technology media, events and research company. Angela M. Salas, former associate vice chancellor for academic affairs at Indiana University Southeast, began...

July 29, 2019

DC Shuttle ... Warren and Clyburn Introduce Bicameral Student Debt Relief Bill. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) introduced bicameral legislation that would expand student loan forgiveness to 42 million federal and private borrowers. The Student Loan Debt Relief Act would automatically cancel up to $50,000 of debt for households with an income under $100,000....

July 23, 2019

Comings and Goings ... Miller Olin College President Richard K. Miller announced he will step down on June 30, 2020, after 21 years leading the unique engineering college, where he was the first employee. Miller was appointed in 1999 after the F.W. Olin Foundation announced plans to create a college from scratch and began an experiment to educate engineers differently,...

July 22, 2019

DC Shuttle ... House Adds Amendments to Defense Act Targeting For-Profit Universities. The U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment to its version of the National Defense Authorization Act for the 2020 fiscal year that would increase the Pentagon's scrutiny of for-profit colleges. The amendment would require the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to audit for-profit colleges that enroll military...

July 16, 2019

The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) is launching “Upskilling New England: Bridging the Gap Between Workers, Educators and Employers,” with support from Strada Education Network (Strada). For more information, contact Candace Williams, NEBHE's director of policy research & strategic initiatives, at cwilliams@nebhe.org 617-533-9530. The three-part initiative will begin with the first-ever regional analysis of data from the Strada-Gallup...

July 15, 2019

DC Shuttle ... Lawsuit Filed Against Secretary DeVos. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) filed a lawsuit against U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, alleging deliberate mismanagement of the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. The PSLF program, authorized by Congress in 2007, was designed to enable qualifying public service workers to discharge the balance on their student loans after...

July 15, 2019

New NEBHE brief explores "Closing the FAFSA Gap: FAFSA Completion Rates Among New England’s Low-Income Students" ... Students in the U.S. who do not file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) miss out on $24 billion of federal aid every year, despite being eligible for that assistance. First-generation, low-income students are more likely to pass up this support...

July 9, 2019

Rhode Island lawmakers tackled education reform and OK'd a separate board of trustees for URI even as they erased a $200 million budget gap. Gov. Gina Raimondo signed a $9.9 billion budget for FY20, which avoids new taxes, strengthens PreK-12, continues the phase-out of the car tax (auto excise tax) and closes a $200 million budget gap. She praised lawmakers...

July 9, 2019

Ward Comings and Goings ... Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) appointed management consultant and college trustee Leslie Ward to be its interim president, succeeding Thomas Greene, the novelist who founded VCFA in 2006 by combining the old Vermont College campus with three MFA programs from Union Institute and University. The Connecticut Board of Education appointed Desi Nesmith, currently a...

July 8, 2019

Shutterstock.com Maine lawmakers adjourned the 2019 legislative session, passing a two-year budget of $8 billion for FY20 and FY21, absent the partisan rancor of previous years. The budget contains no tax increases or tax cuts. Senate Majority Leader Nate Libby (D-Lewiston) noted the budget committee cast more than 1,100 votes on budget line items with 99% being unanimous. The budget...

July 3, 2019

DC Shuttle ... Education Department Ends Gainful Employment Regulation. The U.S. Education Department rescinded the gainful employment rule, which had been implemented by the Obama administration aimed at protecting students from schools that leave them with high debt and insufficient job prospects. The rule is no longer in effect as of July 1, the department posted. The rule had mostly...

June 27, 2019

A former NEBHE chair reflects on a pathway to success ... As a father of three and a grandfather of nine, I could not be prouder of the accomplishments of my loved ones. I am blessed with a tremendous family and it seems like only yesterday my grandchildren were taking their first steps. The milestones come quickly and memories of...

June 25, 2019

Connecticut lawmakers ended their session and sent a balanced budget of $43 billion for FY20 and FY21 to Gov. Ned Lamont. Democrats, who hold a majority in both legislative branches, said the budget erases a deficit without raising tax rates. Progressive Democrats in the General Assembly unsuccessfully pushed to tax the wealthiest Connecticut residents on investment income. The effort to...

June 25, 2019

Comings and Goings ... David Evans, the last president of the now-defunct Southern Vermont College, was named interim president of the American University in Bulgaria, succeeding Steven Sullivan, who will return to teaching full time. The Eastern European campus was developed in the early 1990s, partly by the University of Maine System under the late Chancellor and NEBHE Chair Robert...

June 24, 2019

DC Shuttle ... House Passes Education Funding Bill. The House passed legislation containing an almost $1 trillion minibus spending package (H.R. 2740) that includes funding for the U.S. Education Department. The bill would provide a 6% funding boost in education spending for the coming fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. The package now goes to the Senate, where work has not...

June 18, 2019

Comings and Goings ... Favazza Saint Anselm College named Joseph Favazza, a former Stonehill College administrator, to succeed outgoing president Steven DiSalvo, who departed Saint Anselm to become president of Endicott College in Beverly, Mass. New Hampshire Institute of Art President Kent Devereaux announced he is leaving the Manchester college he has led since 2014 to become the 12th president...

June 17, 2019

DC Shuttle ... Legislation Would Require Reporting of Donations to Colleges. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced legislation that would eliminate tax deductions for donations made to colleges unless the institutions have policies asserting that family donations don't influence admissions. The bill, the College Admissions Fairness Act, would amend the Higher Education Act to require colleges receiving federal aid to...

June 10, 2019

DC Shuttle ... China Warns Students of Risk in US. China warned students about the "risks" of going to the U.S. China warned students to think about the risks associated with attending college in the U.S., the Washington Post reported. Speaking to reporters in Beijing on Monday, Xu Yongji, an official from the Education Ministry, said that the Trump administration...

June 7, 2019

The Vermont General Assembly adjourned the 2019 session in stages as the House and Senate, both with Democratic majorities, were unable to resolve their differences on two major proposals. At issue were proposals to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour and a plan to provide paid family and medical leave to Vermonters. Despite broad agreement among Democrats to...

June 4, 2019

Malloy Comings and Goings ... The University of Maine System Board of Trustees appointed former Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to be the next chancellor of the University of Maine System, succeeding James Page, who will retire on June 30. The Chronicle of Higher Education characterized Malloy's new challenge this way. After declining to seek reelection as governor in 2018,...

May 29, 2019

DC Shuttle ... Student Tax Fix Passes House. The U.S. House passed a measure by a 417 to 3 vote that would fix a provision in the 2017 GOP tax law that taxes low-income college students like high-income individuals. Senate leaders are checking if a retirement security bill that passed the House on Thursday could pass the chamber by unanimous...

May 28, 2019

NEBHE examines how more education means more benefits for individuals who earn postsecondary credentials and for the general public ... Despite the alarming and unsustainable rise of college tuition and fee rates, the greatest cost associated with higher education is still the opportunity cost in terms of lost wages, according to NEBHE’s latest report What’s the Value of Higher Education?...

May 22, 2019

Approximate amount physicians in New England received in payments from drug and medical device companies for speaking, travel, education and food and beverages from August 2013 to December 2016: $620,000,000 NEBHE Analysis of ProPublica data Number of New England states among the 20 U.S. "States with the Biggest Drug Problems in 2019," based on 22 key metrics, including arrest and...

May 21, 2019

Williams Comings and Goings ... The National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) selected Lori Williams, a 25-year veteran of online higher education, as its president and CEO, succeeding the group's founding president, Marshall Hill, who will retire in August. Williams most recently served as vice president of the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), an accrediting body...