MarketWatch: Debt cancellation got all the attention, but this Biden proposal could impact student-loan borrowers more, critics and advocates say
“When President Joe Biden announced in August that his administration planned to cancel $10,000 in federal student debt for most borrowers, Allison Daurio felt some relief. Under the White House’s debt forgiveness plan, Daurio , 29 would see about one-quarter of her student loan balance wiped away. But as she read more closely through the…
Read MoreI&O Masterpiece
This is an I&O piece written by Mad Cool. She is writing this Insights & Outlooks piece to remind you to add her as a user mcool, do not send me an email to confirm my user profile. Please add me as a team member but I am not a team member I am a…
Read MoreBorn of Necessity, Emergency Student Aid Should Become Standard Operating Procedure
In the wake of two years that have upended the financial and educational well-being of millions of students, emergency aid has become a watchword of the day for many higher education institutions. Once thought of as “point solutions” used by a relatively small number of colleges and universities, cash assistance programs are now increasingly commonplace…
Read MoreCompletion with Quality and Value: Why Credit for Prior Learning Stands out as a College Completion Fund Strategy
While the fate of the Build Back Better Act is currently unclear, there are parts of the proposed legislation that could survive in some form. One important part of the proposal is the College Completion Fund, a fund that could provide as much as $550 million for scaling evidence-based programs to improve retention and completion…
Read MoreEmbedding Equity within Indiana’s Educational Attainment Goals
In early 2020, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education released its fourth strategic plan, Reaching Higher in a State of Change, which provides a vision and a blueprint focused on pathways for student success from the recent high school graduate to the returning adult—ensuring greater economic opportunity and a stronger Indiana. The Commission identified three…
Read MoreThe Two-Faced Promise of Higher Education
The four-year college degree has long been the gold standard and the surest gateway to economic opportunity in the United States. But while the four-year degree provides access to the entry-level work and graduate education that lead, in turn, to the best-paying jobs, it starkly divides Americans by race. Often lauded as the great equalizer,…
Read MorePromoting Equity for Black Lives in Postsecondary Education
It has been inspiring and hopeful to see higher education leaders, including those who lead large community college systems, speaking out about systemic racism against the Black community and the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and several other African Americans who became the latest victims of our country’s original sin. Some college…
Read More3 Ways Federal Policy Solutions Can Level the Playing Field in Higher Education and the Economy
Education and the economy are two of the top five issues for 2020 voters. So, it’s no surprise that presidential hopefuls are offering plans to reduce college costs and forgive student debt. Or that Republicans and Democrats in Congress are currently trying to overhaul the long-expired Higher Education Act, which President Johnson signed into law…
Read MoreIndigenous Higher Education: Asserting an Inherent Right to Education
Often when I speak before an audience, I start with a land acknowledgement, recognizing that all land on which the U.S. was built is indigenous land and calling attention to the particular people on whose land we are convening. This very act exemplifies the difference between Native American students and other racial and ethnic groups.…
Read MoreThe Equity Imperative in Higher Education Policy and Practice
As a first-generation college graduate employed by an organization that promotes equity in higher education policies and practices, I am encouraged by ongoing conversations and actions among higher education policymakers and others that aim to improve access and outcomes for all students, regardless of their starting point in life and particularly among underrepresented (also referred…
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