Brenda Brooks dropped out of college 40 years ago. Federal rules mean she can’t afford to go back.

Brenda Brooks dropped out of college 40 years ago. Federal rules mean she can’t afford to go back.

Lately, Englewood native Brenda Brooks has had a tough time finding work. The 60-year-old has decades of experience at CVS and the historic Regal Theater in Avalon Park. But recently, prospective employers have told her, “ ‘You have the quali...
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News


Our news, editorial, and analysis on federal policy surrounding higher education’s most pressing issues.

Using Financial Aid Data to Help Students Meet Basic Needs

Using Financial Aid Data to Help Students Meet Basic Needs

Source: Inside Higher Ed
A growing body of research has shown that student persistence and college completion are strongly connected to and determined by whether students’ basic needs are being met. But college administrators are hamstrung by insufficient funding to fully address basic needs insecurity on their campuses and help students in a comprehensive way. A new...
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Idaho Scholarship Program a Boon for Students and State

Idaho Scholarship Program a Boon for Students and State

Source: Inside Higher Ed
A new workforce development scholarship program in Idaho is generating more interest than originally projected, and state officials say the response reflects the demand for education and training needed to fill jobs in the region and an opportunity to get and keep young people employed in the state. The LAUNCH program offers Idaho high school gr...
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Bipartisan Progress on Pell Grant Expansion, but Hurdles Remain

Bipartisan Progress on Pell Grant Expansion, but Hurdles Remain

Source: Inside Higher Ed
As Congress gears up to head home for the holiday season, proponents who have hoped to see a breakthrough on the long-running issue of expanding Pell Grants to career-training programs lasting fewer than 15 weeks have received an early gift—a bipartisan deal in the House. Key lawmakers in both parties have wrangled for years over the expansion,...
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Declare Yourself Independent for Financial Aid

Declare Yourself Independent for Financial Aid

Source: U.S. News & World Report
Before filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, applicants must first determine their dependency status – which dictates whose information needs to be submitted on the form. An undergraduate student can’t simply choose to file as an independent on the FAFSA, the application that most schools use to determine fin...
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The Hidden Financial Aid Hurdle Derailing College Students

The Hidden Financial Aid Hurdle Derailing College Students

Source: The Hechinger Report
At 19, Elizabeth Clews knew attending community college while balancing a full-time job and caring for a newborn would be hard. But she wanted to give it a shot. After a few months, the single mom, who had just exited the foster care system, realized she wasn’t doing well enough to pass her classes at…
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Proposed Welfare Rule Change May Alter State Scholarship Funding Practices

Proposed Welfare Rule Change May Alter State Scholarship Funding Practices

Source: Inside Higher Ed
Colleges and universities in at least eight states could lose a total of between $970 million and $1.3 billion in scholarship funding under a new rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The states have been misusing funds from the federal welfare program Temporary Assistance for Needy Families that were intended to h...
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‘Modernizing Postsecondary Policy to Better Support Adult Learners’: A Special Report

‘Modernizing Postsecondary Policy to Better Support Adult Learners’: A Special Report

Source: Inside Higher Ed
Inside Higher Ed published a new special report, “Modernizing Postsecondary Policy to Better Support Adult Learners,” with insight provided by HLA’s Julie Peller, executive director, and Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield, managing director of policy and research. This free, print-on-demand report explores how current federal and state policies can ...
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Funding for College-Completion Program at Risk in Federal Budget

Funding for College-Completion Program at Risk in Federal Budget

Source: Inside Higher Ed
Fourteen thousand students dropped out of the Austin Community College District in Texas during the last two academic years. But the institution of more than 36,000 students has a plan to get some of them back. Supported by a $770,765 Education Department grant, that plan involves reaching out to students and connecting them with career…
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How to Increase Socioeconomic Diversity at the Ivies

How to Increase Socioeconomic Diversity at the Ivies

Source: Inside Higher Ed
Ivy League colleges are under growing pressure to broaden their student base by using admission policies that increase the proportion of low- and moderate-income students on campuses and raise their rate of socioeconomic mobility. A new report, released Tuesday by the HEA Group, a research and consulting firm focused on college access and success, ...
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Higher Learning Advocates Launches ‘40 Million Reasons’ Campaign to Raise Awareness Around the 40+ Million Americans with Some College, No Credential

Campaign Raises Awareness Around the 40+ Million Americans with Some College, No Credential

WASHINGTON – The population of Americans with some college and no credentials (SCNC) experienced another surge in 2021, rising to 40.4 million – almost 1 in 6 – according to a recent report from the National Student Clearinghouse. The report is released as Higher Learning Advocates (HLA) launches a new campaign to highlight audience demog...
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Debt Ceiling Deal May Endanger Plan to Double Pell Grants by 2029

Debt Ceiling Deal May Endanger Plan to Double Pell Grants by 2029

Source: BestColleges
“President Joe Biden pledged to double the maximum Pell Grant by 2029, but his recent debt ceiling deal is seemingly at odds with that plan. Biden’s deal struck with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy places spending caps on discretionary spending for fiscal years 2024 and 2025. Factoring in projected inflation over the next two years, the ...
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'A Necessary Start': Statement on Release of New Gainful Employment Rule

'A Necessary Start': Statement on Release of New Gainful Employment Rule

WASHINGTON – Higher Learning Advocates (HLA) released a statement in response to the U.S. Department of Education’s recent release of their proposed Gainful Employment Rule.  “Transparency and accountability are pivotal to ensure today’s students finish a program of study financially better off than when they started.  Higher Learning...
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