Department of Labor Releases FAQ on the Community College Program

The Department of Labor recently released a fact sheet and a FAQ on the Community College and Career Training Grant (CCCTG) program outlining key issues for colleges interested in applying for funds. The CCCTG program is funded at $2 billion over four years ($500 million each year) and will support efforts that provide education and training services. The grant solicitation is expected to be released this fall. Click here to read the fact sheet and FAQ.

Additionally, the new fall 2010 issue of ACCT’s Trustee Quarterly magazine features an informative Q&A with Department of Education Under Secretary Martha J. Kanter and Department of Labor Assistant Secretary Jane Oates, who offered insights regarding the CCCTG program. Click here for the Q&A.

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White House Summit on Communty Colleges Ends With a Consensus on Challenges

By the end of Tuesday’s White House Summit on Community Colleges, two messages had crystallized. First, so-called “non-traditional students” -- older learners juggling jobs and families -- should now simply be considered “21st century students.” “They are the new normal,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan told attendees. Second, a key strategy for the government and grantmakers alike will be finding ways to help community colleges share best practices as they retool to meet President Barack Obama’s call for 5 million more graduates from their institutions by 2020.

“What we have to do is take to scale what’s working,” Duncan told attendees during the summit’s closing session.

Along with the high-profile initiatives from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Aspen Institute, and the federal government announced earlier in the day, U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis reminded attendees that the application process is beginning for the $2 billion Community College and Career Training Grant Program, signed into law earlier this year as part of the health care reconciliation bill.

“It’s about capacity building... about developing programs and curricula that last longer than the funding does,” Solis said of the program.

During the final session, summit attendees shared key challenges and potential solutions explored in six breakout groups, including:

Industry partnerships. Strong solutions include those with a sense of reciprocity between colleges and their industry partners, as well as financial and other support from local governments; those with flexible delivery options, including on-site, online, and non-traditional course hours; and those with a clear and accessible pathway for individuals. Challenges include remediation; funding for capacity building in skills training; differences in state funding models that make it difficult to replicate successful partnerships; and the need to award credit based on training workers have already received, including apprenticeships.

Military and veterans programs. Attendees acknowledged the role community colleges play in the education of veterans and the value of on-campus supports, such as veterans groups. Challenges include the need to ensure a transition and support system for veterans leaving active duty, and ways to share successful practices put into place at community colleges, including veteran-to-veteran support, priority placement, military spouse career advancement programs, and ways to maximize GI Bill benefits.

Completion. Among the challenges in this critical area are the need to communicate the value of a credential or diploma to students; professional development to help community college instructors support students; developmental education programs; integrating technology; and identifying solutions that work among disparate community college campuses.

Financial aid. Challenges include the need to simplify the financial aid process, especially for students who may be the first in their family to attend college; rethinking disincentives for working students receiving Pell Grants; considering ways to consolidate different forms of financial aid; and supporting financial aid officers who have been strained by budget cuts and the increasing numbers of students who need their help.

Baccalaureate pathways. Challenges include the need for support and counseling for students considering transferring to a four-year institution; inconsistency in credit hours and course numbering systems; and creating articulation programs for career and technical education programs.

21st century community colleges. Key challenges include leveraging technology to provide new course offerings, track alumni and the transfer of credits, and support faculty; the need to examine the role both full-time and adjunct professors play as they take on new support roles; and ways to leverage private sector partnerships to emphasize the importance of learning within contexts that are meaningful to "21st century students."

The U.S. Education Department will host another “virtual community college summit” in 2011. But Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden concluded the present-day White House summit by urging attendees to take the same critical look at key priorities with key partners in their own communities. “Go back to your businesses and your schools, and start this conversation again,” she said. To that end, the White House prepared a special toolkit for community college leaders, which includes information for colleges interested in holding their own local community college summit on their campuses. It can be downloaded here.

“This is our moment in history to make a difference, and let’s grab that opportunity,” Biden said.

MORE INFORMATION

• Opening remarks (CSPAN video)
• Closing remarks (CSPAN video)
• President Obama comments from Monday (CSPAN video)
• White House Community College Summit web page

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Obama Kicks off White House Summit on Community Colleges, Introduces Building Skills for America's Future, Completion by Design Programs

Saying that community colleges “provide the gateway for millions to a better life,” President Barack Obama kicked off Tuesday’s White House Summit on Community Colleges by painting support for community colleges in economic terms, as other speakers described two new high-profile initiatives intended to help community colleges with completion and workforce development.

“We are in a global competition to lead in the growth industries of the 21st century. That depends on a highly skilled workforce,” Obama told an assembled group of leaders from community colleges, foundations, and a broad array of government agencies during an opening session at the White House.

Pointing to the American Graduation Initiative, which calls on community colleges to provide an additional 5 million students with certificates or degrees in the next decade, Obama said that additional federal support and financial aid for students “will help ensure that we lead the global economy, but only if we maintain the support.”

Obama announced the new Building Skills for America’s Future initiative, an effort to bolster community college industry partnerships and workforce development initiatives in partnership with the Aspen Institute.

“The private sector is eager and willing to help,” said Penny Pritzker, chairman/CEO of Pritzker Realty Group and a member of Obama’s economic advisory board. Already Accenture, Gap Inc., McDonald’s, PG&E and United Technologies have pledged to support the program, which will ensure that every state has at least one “high impact” partnership between a community college and industry. “We hope to spark a movement nationwide to spark the nation’s workforce,” Pritzker told attendees.

Melinda Gates introduced Completion by Design, a $35 million grant program announced Monday by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to “redesign every aspect of the college experience,” with an eye to sharing innovative practices, such as streamlining enrollment, speeding up remediation programs or simplifying the transfer process.

“The next step for community colleges is to put all the pieces of the puzzle together,” Gates said, stressing the potential of technology to create new hybrid learning opportunities. “We’re committed to community colleges as they do the hard work of changing so they can... disseminate the best ideas of what’s actually working.”

“Let’s get busy,” Obama said at the conclusion of his remarks. Breakout sessions currently underway are focusing on six areas: industry partnerships, college completion, pathways to baccalaureate degrees, financial aid, military and veterans programs, and the community college of the future.

The summit’s closing session will be broadcast live at 3pm at www.WhiteHouse.gov/live. The summit is being led by Dr. Jill Biden, who told attendees the newfound attention would forever change the community college movement.

"For years, I have said that community colleges are one of America's best-kept secrets," Biden said. "With the President shining a light on us, that secret is out."


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Congress Passes Continuing Resolution, Adjourns till November

Last night, the Senate and House passed the continuing resolution which will fund the federal government till December 3rd. The new federal fiscal year is slated to begin on October 1st, but the continuing resolution will fund most programs at FY2010 levels. Although, the total funding provided in the resolution is $9 billion less than the total appropriated level in FY2010. After passing the continuing resolution, Congress adjourned until after the fall elections. Congress is scheduled to return for a lame-duck session starting on November 15th. Congress will need to move the appropriations bills to fund the federal government for the duration of the federal fiscal year. Read more!

Congress Readies Continuing Resolution; More White House Summit Details

This week, the Senate and House leaders are working to finalize a continuing resolution quickly in order to adjourn Congress until early December. The continuing resolution would fund the federal government at the FY2010 levels for most programs, but the overall funding level would be $9 billion than was allocated in FY2010. Currently, there is some discussion by Senate Republicans to delay the continuing resolution until sometime in February 2011, but congressional leaders are working to resolve the continuing resolution as soon as possible. It is unclear which date will be chosen. Congress was supposed to wrap up during the week of October 4, but there is major effort to end the session as soon as possible. As for the tax-extenders bill, it appears that with the shortened congressional schedule, Congress is putting off debate on the bill until after the election.

The White House recently released a media advisory for the White House Summit on Community Colleges, to be held on October 5, 2010. The event will begin at 12:15 p.m. and will likely end around 4 p.m. Eastern time. The opening plenary session and closing session of the Summit will be streamed LIVE on www.WhiteHouse.gov/live. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, a former trustee at Rio Hondo Community College in California, and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a former student at Canton Junior College in Illinois (now Spoon River Community College), recently wrote about community colleges from their personal perspectives on the summit’s official website. ACCT encourages you to visit the summit website for more information. Please forward this information to your fellow trustees, presidents, and college communities to encourage participation in Tuesday's historic White House Summit on Community Colleges.

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President Signs Ed Jobs Funding Bill into Law

Yesterday, the House returned from its August recess to pass the Senate's Education Jobs bill by a 247-161 vote. President Obama also signed the bill yesterday.

The bill provides $10 billion in funds to keep educators working in schools around the country who would otherwise have been laid off. The funding for education jobs is allocated solely for K-12, but states must provide assurances on funding for K-12 and higher education. The bill also includes $16.1 billion for federal Medicaid assistance.

To view the Department’s news release on the legislation, visit: http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/congress-passes-bill-provide-10-billion-support-160000-education-jobs-nationwide. To view a state-by-state table projecting how the $10 billion will be allocated and how many education jobs will be funded, visit: http://www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/edjobsfund-allocations.pdf.
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Senate Passes Ed Jobs Bill

Today, the Senate passed H.R. 1586, with the Murray-Harkin (Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA)) amendment, by a 61-38 vote. The amendment revised the FAA bill, and the Murray-Harkin amendment now replaces the bill. The amendment provides $10 billion for education jobs and $16.1 billion for federal Medicaid payments. The amendment differs from the other versions, because the funding included is fully offset with rescissions. The funding for education jobs is allocated solely for K-12, but states provide assurances on funding for K-12 and higher education. With Senate passage, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced that the House will be called into session next week, and the House will vote on H.R. 1586 on Tuesday. A state funding allocation table can be viewed here:http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/statetables/10edjobsfund.pdf

Earlier this week, AACC and ACCT sent a letter to the Department of Education in response to the Department’s Notice for Public Rulemaking Making (NPRM). The rulemaking process covers a number of areas (including efforts to limit fraud and abuse in for-profit institutions), and it is being utilized to ensure integrity of federal funds within the financial aid system. Additionally, ACCT joined ACE and other higher education organizations in a broad community letter on the NPRM. The letters can be viewed here: http://www.acct.org/advocacy/letters/.
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