Here’s a selection of articles the Federal Relations team is enjoying this week.
Federal “Affordability” Conundrum – The crisis of college affordability may not be solvable by the federal government: It has had much less control over tuition than state policies. Read more in The Atlantic.
On the Rise, But More to Go – Meanwhile, higher education funding is creeping back toward pre-recession levels – but 45 states still appropriated fewer dollars per student last year than they did in 2008, according to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association’s (SHEEO) 13th annual State Higher Education Finance report. Still, 40 states boosted support in FY 2015, and total state and local government allocations to public colleges increased more than $4 billion, reaching nearly $91 billion. Factor in a 1.1 percent decline in full-time enrollment, and the average state and local support per student rose 5.2 percent to hit $6,966 – still more than $1,200 less than what was spent in 2008 – dragging down the share of education costs borne by students to 46.5 percent. That’s the lowest that figure has been since 2011. Read the report and get the data at SHEEO’s website.
Ryan’s President Trump Problem – When House Speaker Paul Ryan effectively took himself out of consideration as a possible “Stop Trump” candidate at a contested GOP convention, the smart thinking immediately leapt to the idea that Ryan’s real sights are on the 2020 race. And, in many ways, a “bide your time” makes sense, but if Ryan’s still Speaker at all in 2017, it’s likely to be a disastrous experience for him because of a forecasted an epic cycle of internecine fights and humiliating climb-downs that make John Boehner’s years in office look dignified due to the repercussions of the Trump campaign on the Republican party. Read more in Vox.
Unedumacated – Trump made headlines after the Nevada caucuses when he pronounced love for the “poorly educated.” New research from the Pew Research Center offers context that helps explain why. It finds that highly educated adults are far more likely to take liberal positions, and the education divide has only grown wider over the past 20 years. Watch the Trump statement after the Nevada primary at Politico. Read the Pew Study here.
First Loser of the Season – The first primary loss by an incumbent in this election season happened to Rep. Chakah Fattah (D-PA). First elected in 1995, Rep. Fattah was an entrenched Democratic incumbent from Philadelphia, who lost his primary Tuesday night after being indicted on corruption charges last year. Fattah’s legal troubles gave an opening to state Rep. Dwight Evans, who narrowly defeated Fattah on Tuesday. Evans led with 43 percent of the vote to Fattah’s 36 percent, while two other challengers split the remainder with nearly every vote counted. Read more at Politco.
Kinda Like David and Goliath – A small mammal has sabotaged the world’s most powerful scientific instrument. The Large Hadron Collider went off line this week from an electrical issue. Upon investigation, officials found the charred remains of most likely a weasel that had chewed through the power lines. Read more at NPR.