March 19, 2019 President Trump Signs Executive Order Supporting Campus Free SpeechYesterday, President Trump signed an executive order directing federal grant-making agencies to work with the Office of Management and Budget to ensure that colleges and universities receiving federal research funds are complying with federal law regarding free speech. The executive order does not reference any additional penalties for institutions that do not follow this directive outside of what is currently required by federal law. The order reads, "Free inquiry is an essential feature of our Nation’s democracy, and it promotes learning, scientific discovery, and economic prosperity. We must encourage institutions to appropriately account for this bedrock principle in their administration of student life and to avoid creating environments that stifle competing perspectives, thereby potentially impeding beneficial research and undermining learning." In regards to transparency, the order directs the Secretary of Education to create and make available by, January 1, 2020, a website and mobile application to inform Federal student loan borrowers of how much they owe, what their monthly payment will be when they enter repayment, repayment options, how long each option will take, and how to enroll in the repayment option that bests fits their situation. The President also directs the Education Department to expand and update annually the College Scorecard with program-level data for each certificate, degree, graduate, and professional program. That data would include estimated median earnings, and student loan default rate and repayment rate among others. ACCT NOW is the go-to resource for issues affecting community colleges. Our new website features original reporting and research, as well as of-the-moment legislative updates. ACCT NOW also includes articles, reports, and research from outside sources that benefit the ACCT community. Spread the word. Please encourage your fellow trustees, presidents and colleagues to stay up to date about legislation that affects their community colleges by joining the Latest Action in Washington (LAW) E-Alert network. To join, simply e-mail publicpolicy@acct.org with 'LAW Alert' in the subject of the e-mail. For more community college news from inside the beltway, follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/CCTrustees) or like us Facebook (facebook.com/CCTrustees). Have questions? Contact us with any questions or concerns about public policy and ACCT's advocacy on behalf of two-year colleges and two-year college trustees. ACCT's Latest Action in Washington alerts are sent to interested ACCT members to keep you up to date on important legislative activities that impact community colleges. If you no longer wish to receive ACCT's Latest Action in Washington alerts, reply to this email with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.
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