May 20, 2022 CCAMPIS Grant Funding OpportunityThis week, the Department of Education (ED, Department) posted a notice inviting applications (NIA) in the Federal Register for the Child Care Access Means Parents in Schools (CCAMPIS) program. CCAMPIS supports 4-year grants to institutions of higher education to increase the participation of low-income parents in postsecondary education, through the provision of campus-based childcare services. Funds are used to support or establish campus-based childcare programs primarily serving the needs of low-income students enrolled in such institutions. Notably, this NIA will be the first since Congress lifted the statutory cap on maximum grant awards, opening the possibility for ED to provide significantly larger grants to institutions. The Department is allowing for both increased minimum and maximum awards: the new minimum award is set at $90,000 and a new maximum is 3% of Pell award funding, which can be as large as $600,000. As compared to the FY21 funding cycle, these metrics are tripled from $30k min and 1% Pell funding respectively. For more information on required, competitive, and invitation priorities for the proposals and on how to apply, please visit here. The deadline to apply is July 11, 2022. Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) WebinarThe Department of Education (Department) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are hosting a webinar titled College Students and The Affordable Connectivity Program on Tuesday, May 24th, at 3:30 pm EST. The webinar will include a presentation from the Department about their efforts to support students’ basic needs. Participants will also hear from institutional leaders about promising practices to connect students to broadband and other technology. Additionally, experts from the FCC will present about student eligibility for ACP and the role that colleges can play to increase usage of these benefits, followed by a Q+A. To register for the webinar here. Space is limited, but materials will be made available following the event. FAFSA Verification Waiver ExtensionThis week, the Department of Education (ED) posted a new Dear Colleague Letter extending the waiver for certain FAFSA verification requirements for the academic year (AY) 2022-2023. This extension follows the waiver that was done for AY21-22 to provide relief to millions of students and colleges facing challenges and barriers resulting from the ongoing Covid-19 national emergency. New HEERF Guidance to Support Mental HealthThis week, the Department of Education (ED) released new HEERF guidance to support student, faculty, and staff mental health as they recover from the pandemic. The guidance provides resources to help individuals at institutions persist academically and navigate challenges exacerbated by the pandemic; and provides specific examples of how colleges and universities can use HEERF to invest in evidence-based mental health supports. ED will also hold a webinar on this guidance for the higher education community on May 25th, 2022, at 2:00 pm ET. Please RSVP here. 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. |