CGA NEWS
(9-20-13)
To: CGA
From: A۰P۰L۰U Congressional and Governmental Affairs Staff
Earlier today, the House passed by a vote of 230-189 to pass the continuing resolution (CR) proposal, H.J. Res. 59, to fund the government through December 15. This CR will fund the government at the current levels of $986.3 billion and defunds the Affordable Care Act. The CR is headed to the Senate where the Democratic leadership will strip the provision defunding the Affordable Care Act.
The Department of Education requested the following message about the President’s college affordability plan be shared with APLU member campuses:
“In August, President Obama put forward an ambitious new agenda to combat rising college costs, encourage colleges to improve their value, and empower students and families with information to make informed decisions about which college to attend. The President’s plan included three parts: paying for performance; promoting innovation and competition; and ensuring that student debt remains affordable.
To better understand college affordability and value, inform the development of the college ratings system and gather input from the wide range of stakeholders, today the U.S. Department of Education launched a nationwide series of public discussions by convening student advocates and leaders – since students will benefit the most from these efforts – at the Department’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. The Department wants to hear feedback from students and parents, state officials, college presidents from a variety of institutions, higher education faculty and administrators, businesses and industry leaders, researchers, data experts, higher education associations, innovators, philanthropies, policy leaders and others to hear their thoughts on how best to promote college affordability and value while ensuring access and success for disadvantaged students is encouraged, not discouraged.
You can read the announcement through our blog pasted below and here.
To continue the conversation, Education Secretary Arne Duncan will give remarks and answer questions at the TIME Summit on Higher Education tomorrow, Friday, September 20, at the Time Warner Center in New York City. He will highlight President Obama’s proposal to make college more affordable and discuss the challenges of assessing the affordability and value of college.
Members of the general public are invited to send their ideas about the President’s plan and suggestions for the ratings system to collegefeedback@ed.gov. More information about the college value and affordability outreach initiative will be available on the Department’s College Affordability and Completion website in the coming days.”
At a meeting yesterday of the Higher Education for Development (HED) Advisory Board, of which all six presidential higher education associations have a seat, USAID pledged to meet its commitments (both in duration and funding levels) to the 41 partnerships managed by HED. APLU has been actively communicating with USAID to raise our concern with the agency’s direction for higher education programs and the future of its commitments. While HED and USAID will continue to negotiate on HED’s operating budget, APLU is pleased with USAID’s assurances on the partnerships. Attached is a letter that was provided to the HED Advisory Board which summarizes the status of the USAID-HED relationship and partnerships.
A group of 14 high-tech industry associations, led by the Semiconducter Industry Association (SIA), sent a letter yesterday to the President and Members of Congress saying they echo the sentiments of the recent university presidents’ letter urging our nation’s leaders to close the innovation deficit and keep the U.S. competitive. The high-tech association letter can be found here.
Please join the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice for a panel discussion, “Creating and Supporting Diversity in Higher Education,” on September 27, 2013 from 9:30-11:00am ET at the U.S. Department of Justice. Higher education leaders will join Catherine E. Lhamon, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights for the U.S. Department of Education, and Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights for the U.S. Department of Justice, to discuss the importance of creating and supporting diversity on college campuses and the parameters for using in race in admissions as stated by the U.S. Supreme Court in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin. Martha Kanter, Under Secretary of Education, will deliver opening remarks, and Ada Meloy, General Counsel for the American Council on Education, will moderate the discussion. The event will coincide with the release of a document, “Questions and Answers About Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin,” developed jointly by the Departments.
Date & Time: September 27, 2013, 9:30am-11:00am ET
Location:
U.S. Department of Justice, Room 7411
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530
Please use the entrance at the corner of 10th Street & Constitution Avenue, NW.
RSVP: Please RSVP to Erica Fernandez at erica.fernandez@ed.gov with your name, affiliation, and email address by 4:00pm on Wednesday, September 25.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is seeking nominees for the AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science. The award, established in 2010, recognizes early-career scientists and engineers who demonstrate excellence in their contribution to public engagement with science activities. A monetary prize of $5,000, a commemorative plaque, complimentary registration to the AAAS Annual Meeting, and reimbursement for reasonable hotel and travel expenses to attend the AAAS Annual Meeting to receive the prize are given to the recipient.
For the purposes of this award, public engagement activities are defined as the individual's active participation in efforts to engage with the public on science and technology related issues and promote meaningful dialogue between science and society (for more information see http://www.aaas.org/aboutaaas/
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