October 17, 2024

Publisher's Note: With the upcoming Leadership Congress, ACCT's Latest Action in Washington will take a hiatus on the week of October 21st. We hope to see you in person in Seattle!

Leading the news this week: The Small Business Administration, the administrators of the loan program for those affected by disasters, is out of funds due to the devasting hurricanes Helene and Milton and needs an act of Congress to legislate additional funds. While Congress will still be out of session until November 12, law makers have the option of using a pro forma session to pass an emergency funding bill. This is seen as highly unlikely as any member of Congress can block a request to pass such an act without a roll-call vote. 

Now let's dive into the latest news in higher education!

Postsecondary Success Recognition Program: List of Eligible Applicants

Secretary Cardona launched the Postsecondary Success Recognition Program as a part of the Department of Education's Raise the Bar initiative. This program aims to identify institutions of higher education that are doing excellent work in providing student with equitable access to their institutions; supporting students in graduating or transferring; and preparing students for careers that yield positive economic outcomes. The Department published a list of 100 bachelor's degree granting and 100 associate's or certificate degree granting institutions that are invited to apply and be recognized for their efforts. Applications are due November 1, 2024 5:00 PM EST to psrecognitionprogram@ed.gov.   

Beta 2 Testing of the 2025-2026 FAFSA Form Begins

As of 9AM EST on October 15, 2024, the Department of Education's office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) initiated Beta 2 testing for the 2025-2026 FAFSA form. This phase of testing includes sixteen organization with half being institutions of higher education (IHEs) and the rest consisting of high school, districts, a state agency, and community-based organizations. These IHEs will have their current students fill out the form as returning students for the 2025-2026 academic year. This series of beta testing is the first time returning college students will participate in filling out the form. Moreover, IHEs will be able to download Institutional Student Information Records as part of the test. While Beta 2 testing does not feature community colleges, they will be featured in subsequent Beta testing; these will include Ventura College (CA), Eastern Florida State College (FL), Guam Community College (GU), Suny Orange: Community College (NY), Dallas College (TX), and South Texas College (TX). Updates on Beta testing can be found here.

Resources and Support from the Department of Education Post Helene and Milton

In addition to connecting with postsecondary institutions' leadership and being a resource, the Department of Education's office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) is able to extend flexibilities to those institutions affected by natural disasters. These include assistance for institutions that may need to adjust their academic calendar, supports for students who may need to take a leave of absence, ensuring students who receive aid for disaster relief do not face a reduction in student federal aid, and help institutions with paying credit balances. Affected institutions qualify for Project SERV funds. Additional information for affected institutions can be found here.

As for Direct Loan and federally serviced FFEL borrowers in affected areas, any missed payments will be placed into a natural disaster forbearance; however, while payments are postponed or reduced, interest is still accruing. The amount of time these loans are in forbearance do count toward the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and Income Driven Repayment (IDR) forgiveness. Additional information for student loan borrowers can be found here. 

Here are additional resources published by the Department of Education.

Grant Opportunities

Save America's Treasures Preservation Grant: The National Park Service in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services are administering a competitive grant with the goal of celebrating America's cultural resources. This program looks for preservation projects as well as projects that involve collections such as artifacts, museum collections, documents, and works of art. Community colleges are welcome to apply, especially if they engage in preservation and/or conservation work of historic sites or artifacts. Here is additional information along with a Fact Sheet. The closing date for applications is December 12, 2024 11:59 PM EST. 

Addressing Systems Challenges through Engineering Teams: The National Science Foundation aims to support engineering research at the nano, micro, and macro scales. As eligible applicants, community colleges can further engage with STEM related fields of study and research. With this grant, community colleges can support research that would have results in a variety of domains such as healthcare, homeland security, disaster mitigation, telecommunications, energy, environment, transportation, manufacturing, and other systems-related areas. Here is additional information regarding this opportunity. The closing date for applications is January 22, 2025.   

• November 1, 5:00 EST - Postsecondary Success Recognition Program Applications Due
• November 12 - Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act State Plan Guide Comments Due
• November 12 - Consolidated Annual Report for the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act Comments Due
• November 13 - College Assistance Migrant Program Grant closing date
• November 13 - High School Equivalency Program Grant closing date
• December 12, 11:59 PM EST - Save America's Treasures Preservation Grant
• December 13, 5:00 PM EST - Offshore Wind Workforce Readiness Programs Application Deadline
• January 22, 2025 - Addressing Systems Challenges through Engineering Teams Grant Closing Date
• February 9-12, 2025 - National Legislative Summit

Outreach Efforts

Is your institution meeting or hosting an event with federal elected officials?

We created a Congressional Contact Form that will help us track outreach efforts of community college leaders across our membership. By filling out the form, you are better informing ACCT's advocacy efforts and our advocacy team is able to continue those conversations with congressional staff in DC. 

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. Read the Latest Articles on ACCT NOW:

Have a Question?

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. For more information about ACCT's advocacy services, visit acct.org/advocacy

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) Alert network. To join, simply register here. 

For more community college news from inside the beltway, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, or like us Facebook.