August 31, 2022

Welcome to the latest news in higher education! As August Recess comes to an end, we'd like thank those that used our August Contact Form to help us to track outreach efforts throughout this period. Due to the success of the form, we are introducing a year-round Congressional Contact Form, which will now be a permanent fixture in our newsletter. See below for more information.

PSLF Waiver

Today is  Public Service Loan Forgiveness Educator Day of Action! We urge all community college faculty and staff with federal student loans to use the simple 3-Step Eligibility Tool to see if they qualify for loan forgiveness or additional credit through the Limited PSLF Waiver. Until October 31, 2022, federal student loan borrowers may receive credit for past periods of repayment that would otherwise not qualify for PSLF.  

ACCT is also encouraging members to help spread the word throughout their institutions so that every eligible government or non-profit employee is aware of the waiver and is encouraged to apply. For more information, resources your institutions can share, and toolkits visit the Department’s stakeholder resource website.  If you do plan on participating in the PSLF Days of Action please fill out this link to help the Administration track outreach efforts.

Basic Needs Grant Webinar

Join ACCT and the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice at Temple University (The Hope Center) for a pre-application webinar on the Fiscal Year 2022 Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program ("Basic Needs Grant").

Applications are due October 3, 2022 and will provide a total of $7.5 million for community colleges, HBCUs, TCUs, HSIs, and other Minority-Serving Institutions to implement systemic solutions to student basic needs insecurity. The grant has the potential to fund significant activities and interventions on college campuses that can support student basic needs, which in turn helps advance student success.

The webinar will discuss the basics of the grant competition, allowable activities, Department of Education priorities, and the components of a successful grant application. Participants will learn about promising practices in providing systemic support for student basic needs that can be listed in the grant application, such as referring students to public benefits, co-locating services in basic needs hubs, and surveying students.

The webinar will take place Thursday, September 8 at 3 PM EDT. To RSVP click here. 

988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline 

This past July, the Department of Health & Human Services rolled out the new 988 dialing code. 988 is the new three-digit number to call, text or chat that connects people to the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, where compassionate, accessible care and support are available for anyone experiencing mental health–related distress.

ACCT is partnering with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline to help amplify their transition in order to reach students who may need to reach out for help through the Lifeline. We also want to highlight the job opportunities they offer throughout our membership. The Lifeline is currently hiring crisis counselors as volunteers, part-time, and full-time employees throughout over 200 local crisis centers. We encourage institutions to help amplify these opening throughout their campuses, especially among students interested in social work, behavioral health, or mental health related careers.

If your institution is interested in partnering with this initiative, please locate your local crisis center and reach out to them directly or review the 988 Partner Toolkit for for more information. 

• September 3 - deadline to apply for the SNAP E&T National Partnership Grants 
• October 3 - deadline to apply for the Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program 
• October 11 - deadline to apply for College Completion Fund for Postsecondary Student Success
• October 25 - deadline to apply for third round of funding for SCCTG 

Outreach Efforts

Is you 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. 

We also put together an outreach toolkit and an advocacy guide to share best practices for meeting with elected officials and set your team up for success.

Feature Spotlight:

The Seldin Haring-Smith Foundation's (SHSF) Public Transit Maps project assessed public transit accessibility at community colleges across the country. Through their research they found that 57% of community college main campuses are transit accessible, but an additional 25% could be made accessible through extending existing bus lines. SHSF is producing interactive maps of each state, and we will be featuring these maps as they are made available.

The second interactive map is Florida. SHSF found that 76% of Florida's community and technical colleges have a transit stop within walking distance. 12% of campuses are less than five miles from an existing transit line, which shows a window of opportunity to increase accessibility by connecting to existing transit lines. To delve deeper into Florida's accessibility click here. To view the interactive map click 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. 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) E-Alert network. To join, simply e-mail publicpolicy@acct.org with 'LAW Alert' in the subject of the e-mail.

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