Last week Senator Blanche Lincoln introduced S. 3171, Veterans Training Act which would provide Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Program benefits to include educational institutions that do not award associate or higher degrees. This bill is a companion to the one introduced in the House by Rep. Joe Sestak in October. This would be a change from the current Post-9/11 GI Bill, which does not allow participants to use funds at a non-degree granting institution. This bill would allow veterans to attend postsecondary education institutions that do not grant associate or higher degrees, such as area career technical schools, career schools, and apprenticeship programs.
Posts Tagged ‘postsecondary’
Legislative Update: Veterans Training Act
Friday, April 2nd, 2010Legislative Update: Reconciliation Bill, WIA Summer Youth Funding, Health Care Training Grants
Friday, March 26th, 2010Reconciliation Passes, Awaits President’s Signature
The House passed the reconciliation bill last night by a 220-207 vote. The amendment bill, which included the fixes made to the Senate version of the bill, will now go to President Obama for his signature. Â This bill includes $2 billion in funding through the Community College and Career Training Grant Program for community colleges to support education and training programs for dislocated workers and unemployed workers. The program will be competitive, but each state will be guaranteed .5% of the total funding, which totals $2.5 million per state.
Disaster Relief and Summer Jobs Act
This week the House passed the H.R. 4899, Disaster Relief and Summer Jobs Act by a vote of 239-175. The bill would provide an additional $600 million to the states in Workforce Investment Act funding for youth activities, available exclusively to support summer jobs. While the bill still needs to go to the Senate for consideration, the WIA funding has the full support of the White House which issued a Statement of Administrative Policy stressing the importance of providing summer employment opportunities for disadvantaged youth.
Health Care Bill Includes Training Grants
The health care bill, H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, includes several grants to provide money for training in the health care field:
- State Health Care Workforce Development Grants (sec. 5102) – planning and implementation grants to State WIBs “to encourage regional partnerships to address health care workforce development needs and to promote innovative health care workforce career pathway activities, including career counseling, learning, and employment.â€
- Grants for State and Local Programs (Sec. 5206) – grants for training for mid-career Public Health Professionals to be added to the Public Health Service Act. Grants would “award scholarships to eligible individuals to enroll in degree or professional training programs for the purpose of enabling mid-career professionals in the public health and allied health workforce to receive additional training in the field of public health and allied health.â€Â The term ‘eligible entity’ indicates an accredited educational institution that offers a course of study, certificate program, or professional training program in public or allied health or a related discipline, as determined by the Secretary.
- Training Opportunities for Direct Care Workers (Sec. 5302) – Grants to eligible entities to “enable such entities to provide new training opportunities for direct care workers who are employed in long-term care settings such as nursing homes, assisted living facilities and skilled nursing facilities, intermediate care facilities for individuals with mental retardation, home and community based settings.†Eligible entity is an accredited institute of higher education that has established a public-private educational partnership with a nursing home or skilled nursing facility, agency or entity providing home and community based services to individuals with disabilities, or other long-term care provider.
- Workforce Diversity Grants (Sec. 5404) – Grants to or contracts with eligible entities to increase nursing education opportunities for individuals who are from disadvantaged backgrounds (including racial and ethnic minorities underrepresented among registered nurses) by providing student scholarships or stipends, pre-entry preparation, and retention activities, stipends for diploma or associate degree nurses to enter a bridge or degree completion program, student scholarships or stipends for accelerated nursing degree programs, pre-entry preparation, advanced education preparation, and retention activities.
House Passes Reconciliation Bill
Monday, March 22nd, 2010Last night, after passing H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (known as the “healthcare bill†to most of us) by a vote of 219-212, the House included that bill in H.R. 4872, the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 (known as the “reconciliation billâ€). The House then passed the reconciliation bill by a vote of 220-211. The reconciliation bill moves to the Senate this week where they hope to pass it before recess begins on March 29.
Also included in the reconciliation bill are several provisions that affect education. The two largest pieces include overhauling the student loan industry and an increase in Pell grants.  But as we told you last week, the bill also includes $2 billion over four years for community colleges.
Congressional Leaders Urge Inclusion of SAFRA in Reconcilliation Bill as They Mull Cuts
Thursday, March 11th, 2010Senator Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Rep. George Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, joined House Majority Whip James Clyburn and Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman Xavier Becerra at a press conference this morning to address the need to include the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA) as part of the reconciliation bill. The Congressmen said that they believed attaching the bill to health care legislation in reconciliation would garner more votes for health care passage. The House passed SAFRA this fall, while the Senate is being held up by health care.
This press conference comes in the wake of new analysis last week by the Congressional Budget Office showing that SAFRA would save $67-billion over 10 years by ending the bank-based system of distributing student loans. This projection is $20 billion less than President Obama’s estimates. As a result, Congressional Democrats have reportedly begun private discussions about cutting down the $87-billion SAFRA bill.
The President’s American Graduation Initiative became part of the House passed SAFRA bill and would fund grants for community colleges and area CTE schools to expand their academic and training programs, enhance linkages, and create innovative programs. Funding would also be available for facilities modernization.
The Congressmen declined to say what would be cut from the bill, with Rep. Miller telling the The Chronicle of Higher Education: “That’s a matter of discussion between Senator Harkin and myself and the leadership. I’m not going to answer the question because I’ve got to sit down with them.”
Community Colleges’ Assets Hidden, Report Says
Friday, March 5th, 2010Community colleges have long served the nation and its workforce by playing a significant role in providing the necessary education and training for individuals. And in light of the nation’s economic turn of events, community colleges are experiencing even more growth and facing greater demand to serve as an educational and training hub.
But with this great opportunity, community colleges are also facing different and higher expectations. An obstacle to their growth may be their inability to demonstrate accountability – comparable evidence that community colleges are meeting the desired goals. A recent report, Counting the Hidden Assets: First Steps in Assessing the Impact of Community College Noncredit Education Programs on the Workforce and Local Economies, by the Community College Resource Center explores the issue.
The report notes that “there is no standard national measurement of the direct educational and economic benefits of noncredit courses to their communities, so they are not systematically evaluated.†That means despite the demand for community colleges by individuals and the growing requirement by employers for workers with postsecondary education, policymakers and other funders may lack the valid information to understand the need to support community colleges, the report said.
The report provides recommendations on how to measure success of community colleges as a first step to address the very large issue of data collection and measurement, and relating the information to accountability and standards.
Senate Committee Examines WIA Reauthorization, Experts Call for Postsecondary Support
Friday, February 26th, 2010While talks on Capitol Hill suggest that the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) is being held up by health care legislation, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) on Wednesday reminded attendees that President Obama has declared job creation the nation’s priority.
“That’s why we must act swiftly to ensure that American workers have the education, training skills and support to compete and thrive in the 21st century global job market,†Harkin said.
At the hearing, A Stronger Workforce Investment System for a Stronger Economy, education and workforce experts urged the HELP committee to recognize the significant role WIA plays in the nation’s economic recovery. The hearing is the first of a series that the committee plans to hold as Congress considers reauthorization of WIA.
The witnesses, who included Anthony Carnevale Director of Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, and Robert Templin, President of Virginia Community College, pressed the committee to provide the resources and services that enable individuals to earn credentials or degrees – the ticket to career entry and advancement.
To provide those opportunities, Carnevale said the Obama Administration has provided a “strong start†in aligning the Department of Labor and the Department of Education by asking for a set aside of $261 million to break down program silos and create Workforce Innovation Partnerships.
“The mismatch between job growth and skill is a growing problem in the American economy,’ Carnevale said in his testimony. “Thus, our ability to align our huge investments in postsecondary education and training programs funded by DOE with job openings and labor market services funded by DOL has become crucial.â€
Templin echoed Carnevale’s emphasis on postsecondary training, but also added that such programs must prepare students with a broad educational and training base in which they may build upon.
“Without broader foundational knowledge, postsecondary-level training, a portable credential and actual job experience, narrowly focused skill development too often results in a one-way ticket to entry level jobs that are the first to the lost at the next technology innovation or economic downturn,†Templin said in his testimony.
The experts’ recommendations align with the strategies already in place for CTE programs of study, which maps out a comprehensive approach to education and training. As Congress moves forward with its reauthorization efforts in WIA, we hope they hear the message that all students will need to have access to quality education and training programs prior to entering the workforce.
View NASDCTEc’s WIA recommendations.
College and Career Readiness Goals Not Reflected in Most High School Accountability Systems
Friday, February 5th, 2010In College-and-Career Ready: Using Outcomes Data to Hold High Schools Accountable for Student Success, the Education Sector reports that many districts rate schools solely on graduation rates and on student scores on basic-skills tests in a single year, but finds that most high school accountability systems fail to recognize college and career ready goals. The report suggests that states can do more to recognize college and career readiness goals by calculating the earnings of graduates who enter the workforce, broken down by occupation and industry sector.
Data Quality Campaign Releases Annual Survey on Elements of Longitudinal Data Systems
Friday, February 5th, 2010In order to track student progress and answer critical policy questions, states have been developing longitudinal data systems. The Data Quality Campaign’s Compendium report provides a national overview on state progress toward implementing the ten elements below:
- Statewide student identifier
- Student-level enrollment data
- Student-level test data
- Information on untested students
- statewide teacher identifier
- Student-level course completion (transcript) data
- Student-level SAT, ACT, and AP data
- Student-level graduation and dropout data
- Ability to match student-level P-12 and higher education data
- State data audit system
According to the report, data on course-taking and grades (element 6), college readiness test scores (element 7), and other feedback from post-secondary institutions (element 9) can help determine whether high school courses and graduation standards are aligned with college and workplace expectations.
What Lies Ahead for Higher Education in 2010
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010This month the American Association of State Colleges and Universities released Top 10 Higher Education State Policy Issues for 2010, a brief that outlines what that group believes will be the state higher education policy issues at the forefront of discussion and legislative activity in 2010. While all of the topics are likely to affect postsecondary CTE, such as state budget shortfalls, tuition, and data, some are specifically related to CTE, such as community colleges.
First, President Obama’s American Graduation Initiative (AGI), if passed into law, will invest billions of dollars into community colleges including the Community College Challenge Fund, would give $9 billion in challenge grant funding to community colleges for innovative programs such as workforce partnerships and $500 million to develop online courses.
Second, enrollment capacity at community colleges is a major concern as more and more people return to school due to unemployment or to upgrade their skills. According to the American Association of Community Colleges enrollment in credit-bearing classes increased 16.9 percent over the last two years. As state education budgets dwindle, there is a real concern that these open institutions will have to increase tuition or turn students away.
Third, improved data systems could help community colleges track student achievement and attainment in a more efficient and robust way. In one such proposal, the National Governors Association (NGA) identified four achievement milestones that all states should track: completion of remedial and core courses, advancement from remedial to credit-bearing courses, transfer from a two-year to a four-year institution, and credential attainment.
Finally, college and career readiness standards will be a key focus for CTE in the year ahead. In 2009, NGA and the Council of Chief State School Officers developed national college and career readiness standards to be vetted and adopted by the states in the coming years.
Report: Education and Industry Must Respond to STEM Teacher Shortage
Friday, December 4th, 2009Collaboration among corporations, secondary schools, and universities and other teacher-preparation providers is at the crux of developing a system that will foster a much-needed supply of qualified STEM teachers.
STEMing the Teacher Shortage Tide, a brief report by the National Association for Alternative Certification, identifies the major issues of the qualified teacher shortage: a lack of qualified STEM teachers who have degrees in such fields, and a shortage of teachers who have strong STEM knowledge but limited pedagogical skills. The report suggests pooling the resources and expertise of each education sector and industry, which share the same goals of helping students succeed in school and thereafter.
The report’s strategy identifies three major components:
•Recognize that the nation must provide qualified STEM teachers to promote enthusiasm toward STEM careers
•Identify partners who are ready to think on a different plain and are willing to work with tradition and non-traditional partners to solve a critical challenge
•Create the formula for initiating, building and sustain effective partnerships.