DC Digest - November 12, 2010

In Today's Issue:

  • Exit Interview with Senator Kaufman
  • ACE Assesses First Year of Post-9/11 GI Bill
  • Coalition Urges Increased Energy Research Funding in FY11
  • Fiscal Panel Chairs Call for End to Student Loan Subsidy
  • AAU and APLU Urge Completion of FY11 Appropriations Process
  • Coherent Agenda for Higher Ed Policy in the New Congress?
  • Opinion: Asking Too Much (and Too Little) of Accreditors
  • The Youth Agenda


EXIT INTERVIEW WITH SENATOR KAUFMAN
NPR's Robert Siegel talks with outgoing U.S. Sen. Ted Kaufman, a Duke Law senior lecturing fellow and Delaware Democrat who was appointed to Joe Biden's seat when Biden was elected vice president. Kaufman's 22-month term in office will end next Monday when Chris Coons is sworn in.

Read More:
Exit Interview with Senator Kaufman (NPR.org)


ACE ASSESSES FIRST YEAR OF POST-9/11 GI BILL
The American Council on Education (ACE) Wednesday released a report which for the first time provides data on the experiences of student veterans and campus administrators during the first year of the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

Based on the results of an online survey and focus group sessions on multiple campuses in three states, "Service Members in School: Military Veterans’ Experiences Using the Post-9/11 GI Bill and Pursuing Postsecondary Education" also explores student experiences with transferring military training to academic credit and transitioning from military service to campus life.

Read More:
ACE Assesses First Year of Post-9/11 GI Bill (ACE.edu)
Veterans Grade GI Bill (Inside Higher Ed)


COALITION URGES INCREASED ENERGY RESEARCH FUNDING FOR FY11
The Energy Sciences Coalition, of which Duke is a member, urges leaders of the House Appropriations Committee to provide greater funding for basic energy research in FY11 than the amount contained in the bill approved by the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee.

Read More:
Letter to Appropriations Chairman David Obey and Ranking Member Jerry Lewis (AAU.edu)


FISCAL PANEL CHAIRS CALL FOR END TO STUDENT LOAN SUBSIDY
The chairmen of an Obama administration panel charged with finding a viable path forward for the nation's economy have proposed a series of massive spending cuts and tax code changes -- and while their proposal suggests some changes to which many in higher education would object, it would treat colleges and students comparatively kindly.

Read More:
Plan of Fiscal Panel Chairs Calls for End to Student Loan Subsidy (Inside Higher Ed)
Is it Time to End the In-School Interest Subsidy on Student Loans? (Higher Ed Watch)


AAU AND APLU URGE COMPLETION OF FY11 APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS
In a letter Congressional leaders, the Association of American Universities (AAU) and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) highlight the need to complete the FY11 appropriations process and the importance of continuing the bipartisan tradition of supporting basic research and federal student aid programs.

Read More:
AAU and APLU Urge Completion of FY11 Appropriations Process (AAU.edu)


COHERENT AGENDA FOR HIGHER ED POLICY IN NEW CONGRESS?
Though the dust of the midterm Congressional elections has mostly settled on Capitol Hill since last week, new and returning members of Congress have been no clearer on their priorities for higher education policy than they were before voters cast their ballots.

But while members are still largely mum about their policy positions heading into the 112th Congress, three Hill education staffers were willing to prognosticate, albeit guardedly, during a panel discussion Tuesday at the American Enterprise Institute. Also on hand were three AEI researchers and an education lobbyist, who were a little looser in what they shared with the assembled crowd.

Read More:
Congressional Chaos? (Inside Higher Ed)


ASKING TOO LITTLE (AND TOO MUCH) OF ACCREDITORS
Anne D. Neal, president of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, writes:
Senators want to know why accreditors haven't protected the public interest. And their frustration is hardly surprising, given some of what we've seen. But are the accreditors to blame' Hardly. Congress shouldn't blame accreditors: it should blame itself. The existing accreditation system has neither ensured quality nor ferreted out fraud. Why? Because Congress didn't want it to. If Congress truly wants to protect the public interest, it needs to create a system that ensures real accountability.

Read More:
Asking Too Little (and Too Much) of Accreditors (Inside Higher Ed)


THE YOUTH AGENDA
All one hears in the media and from elected officials today is "jobs, jobs, jobs!" While the immediate unemployment crisis is certainly dire, higher education investment is one of the only things stopping another jobs catastrophe in eight years. According to a recent Georgetown University report, the U.S. will have approximately 22 million new jobs for college-educated workers in 2018; however, based on current graduation rates, we will be about eight million Americans short of filling them all.

Read More:
The Youth Agenda (The Hill)