Skip to content
News and updates

Category: Higher Education

Pell Grant Cuts on the Table Says Key Senator

Posted on

Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) (former Secretary of Education under President George H.W. Bush) is quoted in today’s Congressional Quarterly as stating that cuts to the Pell Grant program, along with the rest of the domestic discretionary budget, are on the table as Congress now attempts to reduce spending through the FY11 and FY12 appropriations processes.

In December 2010, the former Congress passed a temporary spending measure intended to keep the government running while lawmakers try to agree on a permanent budget for the current fiscal year. The spending measure included $5.7 billion to plug a deficit in the Pell program, created by expanded student eligibility. The funding seemingly stabilized Pell for the coming 2011-12 academic year. However, Congress can undo much of that as they finalize fiscal year 2011 appropriations. Support for Pell will be at the forefront of UW advocacy efforts in the coming weeks.

Congress Passes Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Improvements Act

Posted on

On Friday Congress passed an altered version of the existing Post 9/11 GI Bill, which is designed to address issues that arose with the previous legislation. The updated bill will:

 –  provide full tuition for those attending a public school in their home state and up to $17,500 in tuition payments for those attending private schools (this number will rise annually, based on the avg. cost of tuition).

– allow funds to be used for vocational schools, distance education programs, and on-the-job training

– cover 90,000 National Guardsmen and Reserves who were previously ineligible to apply for the benefit.

– Ensure that students who are taking classes online will be awarded a portion of the housing stipend, which can total more than $2000/month

–  Allow a 10 year restriction for taking advantage of the benefit may be waived for spouses and dependents if they had to delay attending college in order to take care of a wounded service member

These changes will take affect in August and the VA is working to get their payment process streamlined by then to avoid any delay of these tuition payments — a problem that arose with the passage of the original legislation.

Senate Moves Tax Package Forward (Updated 12/17)

Posted on

**2nd Update 12/17** The packaged has been fully approved by Congress and is heading to the President’s desk, where it will be signed this afternoon.

** Update ** Today, by a vote of 81-19, the Senate voted to pass the much discussed tax-extenders package. The bill now goes to the House for a vote. The $893 billion package would provide an extension of various Bush-era tax cuts that were set to expire at the end of December. The package includes several items of note to our community, including:

Tax incentives that would be extended for two years through 2012

  • Section 127 Employer-provided education benefits
  • Coverdell education savings accounts
  • Student loan interest deductions
  • American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC)

Tax incentives that would be extended for two years through 2011 (they expired in 2009)

  • Deductions for qualified educational expenses
  • Research and development credit
  • Ability to “roll over” assets in Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) to charitable organizations, including institutions of higher education

Additional items of note for employees

  • Sales tax deduction in states with no income tax -retroactively for 2010 plus 2 additional years
  • Social security payroll tax reduction from 6.2% to 4.2% of income for one year

Although the tax package will leave the Senate with rare bipartisan support, it’s path in the House is less clear. House Democrats have promised to amend the legislation, primarily the estate tax portion, which could send it back to the Senate. Senate Republicans have already signaled that they are unlikely to support House modifications. Nonetheless, it is expected that some form of a final deal will be struck by the end of the week -so that tax rates do not increase at the beginning of the year.

DREAM Act Passes House, Awaits Vote in Senate

Posted on

The House passed its version of the DREAM Act late Wednesday, which would provide a path to citizenship for undocumented children who graduate from college or serve in the military. The Senate today decided to kill its own version of the bill – most likely because of the expectation that it would not receive enough passing votes. There is speculation that the Senate will instead put the House-passed version up for a vote early next week after the taxes and spending legislation is cleared.

National Education Technology Plan Unveiled

Posted on

Education Secretary Arne Duncan released this week the Department’s plan for transforming American education through technology, a process that would create an engaging, state-of-the-art, cradle-to-college school system nationwide. The National Education Technology Plan was written and refined over a year and a half by leading education researchers, with input from the public, industry officials, and educators and students from across the country. It is a crucial component of the Obama Administration’s efforts to have America lead the world in college completion by 2020 and help close the academic achievement gap so that all students graduate from high school ready to succeed in college and careers.

“We’re at an important transition point…we need to leverage technology’s promise to improve learning” the Secretary expressed in remarks. The plan, “Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology,” presents a model with key goals in five areas: learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity. Each section outlines concepts for using technology to holistically transform education, with the aim to achieve each goal by 2015. Overall, the plan addresses trends that could transform education, such as accessibility and mobility, the rise of digital content, and the rise of online social networks for information, collaboration, and learning. Also, it stresses that technology in the classroom only works when paired with effective teaching.

More information can be found here