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Posts Tagged ‘president’

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White House to Host Community College Summit

Thursday, September 16th, 2010

On October 5, 2010 Dr. Jill Biden will host a White House Summit on Community Colleges. The summit will bring together community colleges, business, philanthropy, federal and state policy leaders, and students to discuss how community colleges can help meet the job training and education needs of the nation’s workforce, as well as the critical role community colleges play in achieving the President’s goal to lead the world with the highest proportion of college graduates by 2020.

The White House is inviting the public to submit their thoughts, questions and challenges for discussion as part of the summit dialogue:

By admin in News, Public Policy
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President to Address Students in Back to School Speech

Friday, September 10th, 2010

As students begin a new school year, President Barack Obama plans to deliver his second annual Back-to-School Speech on Tuesday, September 14 at 1:00 p.m. ET at Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School in Philadelphia, PA, a 2010 National Blue Ribbon School. During the speech, the President will speak directly to students across the country. Last year, President Obama encouraged students to study hard, stay in school, and take responsibility for their education.

“Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide,” President Obama said to students last year.

President Obama’s Back-to-School Speech will be live streamed at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/live.  For more information, visit www.whitehouse.gov/back-to-school.

By admin in News
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United States Drops from #1 to #12 in Postsecondary Degree Attainment, Obama Administration Vows a Comeback

Friday, August 6th, 2010

The United States plummeted from 1st to 12th among nations whose 25 to 34 years old earn a postsecondary degree, according to a recent post on The White House Blog. The comments by the Obama Administration provided cited Washington Post and The New York Times articles that reported the nation’s slippage among its international peers.

As the world becomes increasingly more competitive it is important to recognize the crucial role education plays in preparing our workforce. Understanding the need for change, President Obama has instituted a new goal in the hopes of reinstituting the United States as being the leader in postsecondary degrees attainment by 2020.

The Obama Administration highlights various steps in its strategy to meet the postsecondary goal for the nation:

Keeping these goals in mind along with the action steps being implemented to achieve these goals, the White House pledges to once again claim the number one spot in postsecondary graduation rates.

By admin in News
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Financial Education for College Access and Success Program Grants Available

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

On Monday the Office of Vocational and Adult Education at the U.S. Department of Education announced a funding opportunity to support “State-led efforts to develop, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of personal finance instructional materials and corresponding teacher training, with the express purpose of providing high school students with knowledge and skills to make sound financial aid and other personal finance decisions, particularly in relation to obtaining access to, persisting in, and completing postsecondary education.” Eligible applicants are State educational agencies that have included personal finance in their State education standards.

This is a great opportunity for the CTE community to help the nation meet the President’s challenge of once again having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. One of the barriers to achieving this goal is the lack of financial literacy among youth, and studies have shown that Americans do not have the skills they need to make sound financial decisions, including decisions about postsecondary education. The Administration recognizes the role that CTE can play in equipping students with the financial literacy skills they need — the notice specifically mentions CTE as an area where teachers can integrate financial literacy instruction, and requires that the State project team include the agencies in the state representing CTE and 2-year postsecondary institutions.

Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: August 5, 2010.

Deadline to Apply: September 9, 2010.

For more information, please see the Federal Register notice.

By admin in Public Policy
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Health Information Technology Education Grants Awarded

Friday, July 9th, 2010

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded $36 million in grants to five regional community college consortia to develop or improve non-degree health IT training programs that students can complete in six months or less. The grants were funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These grants will be used to establish or expand programs with the goal of training more than 10,500 new health IT professionals annually by 2012. This goal is in response to President Obama’s healthcare reform initiatives, specifically transitioning to electronic health records by 2014.

The grants will also fund the development of model curriculum materials and technical skill assessments based on validated industry standards. These new HIT careers will provide opportunities for students participating in programs of study in both health science and information technology career clusters.

For a listing of the consortia as well as all the individual participating community colleges and funding levels, please visit HHS’s health IT webpage.

By admin in News
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Legislative Update: Education Jobs Fund, America WORKS, Technical School Training Bill

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

Education Jobs Fund Passes House, But President Threatens Veto

As predicted earlier this week, the House voted on the Supplemental Appropriations Act. During the vote, the House passed amendment by Rep. Dave Obey (WI) which included $10 billion for education jobs and $4.95 billion for Pell grants by a vote of 239-182. However, White House has issued a Statement of Administration Policy which states that “If the final bill presented to the President includes cuts to education reforms, the President’s senior advisors would recommend a veto.”

The bill now returns to the Senate where it will be subject to any further amendments by the Senate or by concurrence with the House amendments. If the Senate further amends the bill, it will return to the House. It is unclear when the Senate will take up the bill because Congress is in recess next week.

America WORKS Act

Last week, Sen. Kay Hagan (NC) introduced S. 3529, the America WORKS Act which would require Federal job training and career education programs to give priority to programs that provide an industry-recognized and nationally portable credential. This bill would have implications for postsecondary Perkins indicators, and we are working with Sen. Hagan’s staff on getting this language amended. We will keep you updated on our progress.

Technical School Training Bill

On June 24, Rep. John Barrow (GA) introduced H.R. 5594, a bill that would amend the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) to establish a technical school training subsidy program. This program would go a long way in ensuring that Workforce Investment Act funds would be used to provide career technical education and training services so that individuals are prepared for lifelong careers. This bill aligns to our recommendations for WIA reauthorization which call for greater access to high-quality training.

By admin in Legislation
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Legislative Update: Education Jobs Fund, Budget, For-Profit Schools

Friday, June 25th, 2010

Education Jobs Fund Shrinking

The House will not take up the emergency was supplemental (which includes the education jobs fund) this week amid reports that Republicans plan to vote “present” on the bill, forcing Democrats to come up with 218 votes in support of the bill. The House has already cut the education jobs fund is down from $23 billion to $10 billion and will offset that spending, however none of that offset will come from ARRA education funds. Despite the offset, Republicans are now saying they will oppose the addition of education jobs fund or other provisions because they want to keep the supplemental just to war and disasters spending.

House Democrats Will Not Pass a Budget

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (MD) announced on Tuesday that rather than passing a budget this year, the House plans to adopt a budget enforcement resolution, which would cut spending even more than the President requested in his budget earlier this year. Hoyer said that until the nation’s deficit is addressed, it “isn’t possible to debate and pass a realistic, long-term budget.” Hoyer wished to see recommendations from the President’s bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, which has been charged with balancing the budget by 2015, before proposing a longer term budget. Recommendations are expected in December.

Senate Holds Hearing on For-Profit Schools

Yesterday the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held the first in a series of hearings to address the Federal investment in for-profit education and to find out what is happening to students who enroll in these schools. In his opening remarks, Chairman Tom Harkin (IA) unveiled “Emerging Risk?: An Overview of Growth, Spending, Student Debt and Unanswered Questions in For-Profit Higher Education” a report that investigates the Federal investment in for-profit schools and how these schools are using taxpayer dollars. It also identifies gaps in available information about enrollment, student performance, and loan debt and repayment. Harkin said, “We don’t know how many students graduate, how many get jobs, how schools that are not publicly traded spend their Title IV dollars, and how many for-profit students default over the long term. More broadly, we don’t know exactly what risk we are taking by investing an increasing share of our Federal financial aid dollars in this sector.”

Ranking Member Michael Enzi (WY) agreed that there are some “bad actors” among the for-profit schools, but made the point that “these schools are increasingly reaching more and more Americans who are not served by traditional higher education. They are an essential part of our efforts to provide every American with the skills necessary to be a valuable part of the workforce.” He also quoted Secretary Duncan who gave the keynote address at DeVry’s policy forum last month and said that “for-profit institutions play a vital role in training young people and adults for jobs. They are critical to helping America meet the President’s 2020 goal. They are helping us meet the explosive demand for skills that public institutions cannot always meet.”

By admin in Legislation
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2018 Job Projections Show Need for Postsecondary Education

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

Without a dramatic change in how our nation prepares individuals for the workforce and to obtain necessary postsecondary education, the nation will fall dramatically short in cultivating a workforce to fulfill demand, according to a recent report by Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements Through 2018 projects that by 2018, 63 percent of all jobs will require a degree in higher education, leaving only 37 percent of jobs to individuals who did not finish high school or did not go on to college.

This report — authored by Anthony P. Carnevale, Nichole Smith and Jeff Strohl — underscores why we must ensure that students are equipped to enter into this competitive workforce in which postsecondary education and training will be requirements for a middle class job. CTE can provide support in this area by offering students the opportunity to obtain training and skills and a postsecondary degree.  These credentials will allow individuals to gain a competitive edge that will make them more desirable in the current and future job market.

Other highlights from the report include:

By admin in Public Policy
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Obama Administration Wants Your Input on Advanced Manufacturing

Monday, April 12th, 2010

As we told you last week, the Obama Administration is focused on the key role that manufacturing can play in revitalizing the economy.  On Wednesday, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology launched a website to gather input from the public about the future of advanced manufacturing. There you can answer any of the ten questions posed:

Support for new manufacturing technologies

1. Are public-private partnerships (e.g., consortia), in which government jointly funds projects with industry and often academia, a good mechanism to support new manufacturing technologies that are beyond the reach of individual firms? If not, why not?

2. Some advocate the expansion of the mission of the national laboratories to include R&D challenges relevant to a broad range of manufacturing industries. Is this an appropriate strategy? If not, why not?

3. At some federal agencies, an “innovation budget” is established to promote breakthrough discoveries. Should such a budget be established for advanced manufacturing technology? If not, why not?

Support for new manufacturing firms

4. Given the success of some government-industry-university innovation clusters, should the federal government take the lead in establishing additional clusters to support new manufacturing firms, in particular? If not, why not?

5. Should the federal government assist in the formation and advancement of small firms in the advanced manufacturing sector? If not, why not?

6. Do you believe that potentially valuable research at universities is not being fully utilized by industry?  If so, why does this occur, and should federal agencies increase the emphasis on translational research to address this issue? If not, why not?

Support for existing manufacturing firms

7. Should the federal government help form public-private partnerships to perform research on “horizontal,” cross-cutting technology platforms (e.g., modeling, simulation) that are essential, but beyond the reach of individual firms? If not, why not?

8. Should the government generate an international benchmarking effort to compare US manufacturing infrastructures (i.e., technology platforms) with those of competing nations? If not, why not?

9. Should government, in partnership with industry, sponsor programs in manufacturing training and certification at community colleges, technical schools, and colleges to enhance the nation’s workforce? If not, why not?

A national manufacturing strategy

10. Should the President create a national science– and technology–based manufacturing strategy as a pillar of US economic policy? If not, why not? If so, which actions should have highest priority? Which of these are most cost-effective?

You can submit responses to any of the questions by 5:00 p.m. EDT Tuesday, April 20, 2010 at http://pcast.ideascale.com.

By admin in Public Policy
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Legislative Update: Reconciliation Bill, WIA Summer Youth Funding, Health Care Training Grants

Friday, March 26th, 2010

Reconciliation 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.  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:

By admin in Legislation
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