September 27, 2023

With just three and a half days left of the 2023 Federal Fiscal Year, a government shutdown this weekend seems inevitable. The Senate is moving forward with a Continuing Resolution (CR) through mid-November, but with low odds of passing the House. Meanwhile, the House is debating four appropriation bills on the floor, but none include means to keep the government open past September 30.  Stay tuned next week for any updates on what progress, if any, Congress makes on funding the government.  

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

White House Virtual Event: Strategies for Increasing Diversity and Opportunity in Higher Education

White House Domestic Policy Council Director Neera Tanden, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, and college and university leaders will participate in a virtual event this Thursday, September 28, 2023, from 1-2:15 PM ET highlighting the release of the Department of Education’s report, Strategies for Increasing Diversity and Opportunity in Higher Education.  

As a part of the report release, the virtual event will include college and university leaders whose institutions have advanced many of the strategies highlighted in the report to promote college diversity and opportunity. These leaders will share successful work from their respective institutions in adopting key practices in admissions, targeted recruitment and pathways, financial aid, and student success completion that have contributed to the diversity of their campus community, including socioeconomic and racial diversity. Speakers include:  

1. Gene Block, Chancellor, University of California, Los Angeles 
2. Chris Eisgruber, President, Princeton University  
3. Anne Kress, President, Northern Virginia Community College 
4. Pat McGuire, President, Trinity Washington University  
5. Javier Reyes, President, University of Massachusetts, Amherst 
6. David Wilson, President, Morgan State University  

After speaker remarks, there will be an audience Q&A. Please submit questions in advance of the event to UnderSecretary@ed.gov. You will receive a confirmation email with the Zoom link for the event later this week. 

  To register for the event please RSVP Here. 

Future of Work Academy Opportunity for Community College Students 

HP is extending an invitation to 100 community and technical colleges across the nation for students to participate at no cost in the Future of Work Academy: Community & Technical College Edition Program (FOWA). This is a virtual program that provides students opportunities within the tech space.  The conference is broken out into 3 time zones over three days. Institutions can decide which day works best for their students. The event takes place October 25^th from 1-6pm ET, October 26^th from 1-6pm CT, and October 27^th 1-6pm PT.

Audience:

• All (non-high school) students who are 18 and older and are enrolled in a community/technical college qualify to participate.
• There is NO upper age limit for this program, all students above 18 are invited to attend. Students do not have to be full time, part time students will very much benefit from this program.

Timeline:

• Registration for the Symposium is open until October 23^rd
• Submissions for the incubator closes on October 6^th.
• Once students are registered, they will have access to the Career Accelerator and recorded symposium sessions for one year.

If you are interested in having your institution participate, you can contact Karen Gentry at karen.gentry@hp.com. Additionally, if you would like to sign up immediately, you may fill out this form.

College Cost Transparency Initiative Launch

This week, the College Cost Transparency Initiative announced that more than 360 institutions of higher education have voluntarily committed to follow a set of principles and standards that ensure transparency, clarity, and understanding around communicating student financial aid offers. Together, these institutions serve more than 3.8 million college students in the United States. Nearly a quarter of said institutions are community colleges. 

For more information on the initiative, you can check out their press release and their website. 

• July 3 - Prison Education Program (PEP) applications open on a rolling basis

• October 13 - Perkins Innovation & Modernization Grant
• October 2023 - deadline to apply for Advanced Technological Education
• November 14 - deadline to apply for Strengthening Community College Training Grants
• November 27, 2023 - Department of Energy's Career Skills Training Program
• November 30 - deadline for letters of intent for Climate Ready Workforce for Coastal and Great Lakes States, Tribes, and Territories Initiative

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. 

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.

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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