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...
News
Our news, editorial, and analysis on federal policy surrounding higher education’s most pressing issues.
News Releases
Higher Learning Advocates Statement on the Passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill
WASHINGTON — Today, the president signed the Infrastructure and JOBS Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework, into law, a bill that includes critical provisions to ensure that today’s low-income college students continue to have access to broadband internet. Higher Learning Advocates’ Executive Director Julie Peller made t...
Making College Work for Working People
The COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the vital role that working people play in our nation and economy. Working people prepare hospital equipment and treat patients; they manufacture and distribute essential goods; they keep the internet and other critical utilities operating. While scores of working people have kept our country running during the pa...
New Players are Emerging to Serve Returning Adult Learners—Federal Policy Needs to Reflect That.
2021 should be an eventful year for federal policy conversations related to postsecondary access and completion. However, much of the national discussion has centered on removing barriers to traditional higher education. Such approaches rarely account for the needs of the adult learners that are now the majority on college campuses or those learner...
News Releases
Higher Learning Advocates and 29 Partners Applaud Passage of Resolution Creating First National Student Parent Month
Source: Press Release
WASHINGTON — Today, Higher Learning Advocates and 29 partner organizations sent a letter to Congress to applaud the Senate’s recent passage of S.Res. 362, National Student Parent Month. The resolution expresses the Senate’s support of the contributions and achievements of student parents and designates September 2021 as “National Student P...
A Second Chance at Higher Education
Growing up in a low socioeconomic area in Phoenix, Arizona, surrounded by gangs, violence, and drugs, I never thought that college was a place for me. Instead, as a teen, I envisioned myself selling drugs, robbing people, and spending most of my days in prison. So when I was 20 years old and was sentenced…
Press
First-Year Students Struggled With Online Learning Last Year
Source: Inside Higher Ed
“Emily Bouck West, deputy executive director for Higher Learning Advocates, which has been lobbying for broadband affordability programs for students, was pleased that the report details students’ struggles with broadband access. ‘It’s great that we have more data about the challenges that so many students are experiencing...
Press
Infrastructure Bill Expands Broadband Affordability for Students
Source: Inside Higher Ed
“The infrastructure bill would be a really big win for Pell students if it were to be enacted as it is right now,” said Emily Bouck West, deputy executive director at Higher Learning Advocates, which has been lobbying for broadband affordability programs for students. “It will mean greater broadband access and greater success for ...
News Releases
Higher Learning Advocates Statement on the Senate’s Passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill
WASHINGTON — This morning, the Senate passed a historic infrastructure bill, the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act, which includes critical provisions to ensure that today’s students in college have access to broadband internet. Higher Learning Advocates’ Executive Director Julie Peller made the following statement regarding the legisl...
News Releases
Higher Learning Advocates’ Statement Regarding Broadband Provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Package
WASHINGTON — Yesterday, a group of senators released a bipartisan infrastructure bill, which includes critical provisions to ensure that today’s students in college continue to have access to broadband internet. Higher Learning Advocates’ Executive Director Julie Peller made the following statement regarding these provisions: “Over the past...
Press
‘Second Chance Pell’ will be expanded for 2022 academic year
Source: Inside Higher Ed
Deputy Executive Director Emily Bouck West commented on Higher Learning Advocates’ support for expanding Second Chance Pell in a recent Inside Higher Ed article: “Providing education to incarcerated individuals is critically important, as it benefits individuals and society by reducing recidivism and increasing employment rates after release so...
Press
Help for Community College Students
Source: Inside Higher Ed
In Inside Higher Ed, Deputy Executive Director Emily Bouck West commented on Higher Learning Advocates’ support for the Community College Student Success Act: “It would be a good first step to helping community colleges that have faced enrollment declines as a result of the pandemic not only get students back into the classroom but also...
Esuring Quality of Online Education Programs
In spring 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic swept across the country, colleges and universities swiftly shuttered their campuses to students, unsure of for how long or what was coming next. As faculty scrambled to continue their courses virtually, they utilized emergency remote learning to deliver course content like lectures and seminars, facilita...