January 9, 2025

Leading the news this week: 

Thursday January 9 is a National Day of Mourning as the nation remembers President Jimmy Carter. Before returning to Plains, GA Carter's remains were in the National Cathedral where his State Funeral took place. In his memory the nation's flags at public buildings and sites and all military posts will be flow half-staff over land and half-mast on naval vessels for 30 days from Carter's passing.

Former President Jimmy Carter in state at Capitol

Latest News in Higher Education

Divisions on Reconciliation

Even with Republican majorities in both the House and Senate, the recently sworn in 119th Congress is facing disagreement in how to best fund their and President-elect Trump's priorities. It is clear that the Republicans in both chambers will pursue reconciliation, a filibuster-proof funding mechanism; yet,  House Speaker Mike Johnson (LA-04) is in favor of passing one funding package that includes Trump's border, energy, and tax priorities. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (SD) prefers a two-bill outcome where tax priorities are in a separate package. Meanwhile, President-elect Trump has initially given favor to a one-bill strategy but has now said to be open to a two-bill plan. 

Department of Education Unveils New Rules

On December 30, 2024 the Department of Education unveiled finalized rules impacting the higher education space. These include: offering institutions a list of exemptions from running Return of Title IV (R2T4) funds calculations and requiring institutions to report which students receiving federal financial aid are enrolled in distance education coursework. These new rules however, did not expand TRIO eligibility to non-citizens. TRIO consists of eight federal programs aimed towards supporting students from disadvantaged backgrounds in accessing postsecondary education.

Congress Certified the Election Results

On January 6, 2025, Vice President and former presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, oversaw the proceedings to certify President-elect Trump's victory and her loss in the 2024 elections. These proceedings took place expeditiously and without controversy and without any objections to the election results. After the proceedings were concluded, Harris said that Jan. 6 this time was “about what should be the norm and what the American people should be able to take for granted, which is one of the most important pillars of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power.”     

The Department of Education Announced Winners of Postsecondary Success Recognition Program

On January 8, Secretary Miguel Cardona announced CUNY Hostos Community College, Miami Dade College, and Salish Kootenai College as the winners of the Postsecondary Success Recognition Program. This program celebrates institutions of higher education that are enrolling underserved student populations, facilitating successful student transfers and completions, and equipping graduates for careers that lead to economic mobility. Congratulations to CUNY Hostos Community College, Miami Dade College, and Salish Kootenai College for being the first-ever recipients of this recognition. 

Stop Campus Hazing Act is now Law

On December 24, 2024, President Biden signed H.R.5646, Stop Campus Hazing Act in law. The Stop Campus Hazing Act, sponsored by Congresswoman Lucy McBath (GA-06), aims to prevent hazing activity on college campuses; it requires institutions to report incidents of hazing; institutions must collect hazing statistics and publish them publicly twice a year; and they are to provide hazing prevention programming. Here is a fact sheet with additional details.

Grant Opportunities

Please review the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education's Community College webpage for new grants community colleges are eligible for.

The Trends in College Pricing and Student Aid 2024 report by College Board shows that for 2024-2025 the estimated average full-time cost of attendance for a commuting undergraduate attending a public two-year institution is $20,570, a 3.6 percent increase from 2023-2024.

• January 14 2:00 PM EST- Innovative Approaches to Expand Non-Credit Learning Webinar
• January 15- Accurate Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment Completers List due to ED
• January 16 - Ports for the Future Partnerships Grant Closing Date
• January 21 - Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad (GPA) Program—Short-Term Projects
• January 21 11:59 PM EST - American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start Expansion, Early Head Start Expansion, and Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership Grants
• January 22 - Addressing Systems Challenges through Engineering Teams Grant Closing Date
• January 23 2:00 PM EST - OER and AER Webinar: Lowering Textbook Costs While Preserving Quality
• February 3 - Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) Partnership Grants Closing Date
• February 12 - Institutes for Higher Education Faculty and K-12 Educators
• February 9-12 - 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.