Office of Planning & Budgeting

reform


July 21, 2011

Federal Scrutiny of For-Profits Spurs State Action

As the for-profit higher education industry continues to fight federal regulation, states are starting to pay more attention to the fast growing sector. The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) reports that, as of May, twenty states have introduced at least 34 bills aimed at regulating or supporting for-profit higher education. NCSL reports that eight…


June 28, 2011

Oregon Institutions Gain Flexibility Alongside State Funding Cuts.

Last week, Oregon Legislators signed a state budget that, among other things, cut funding for public higher education by 17 percent. It is unknown whether this cut will necessitate tuition increases above those already approved earlier this month by the Oregon State Board of Higher Education, including an 8.8 percent increase at Oregon State University…


June 14, 2011

Harkin Holds What Could be Last Senate Hearing on For-Profits

Days after the Department of Education released its finalized Gainful Employment rule, Senator Tom Harkin held his fifth Senate hearing investigating the practices of the for-profit higher education industry. Senator Harkin focused the hearing on the high levels of student borrowing and outsized loan default rates for students at for-profit institutions. Previous hearings and reports…


Department of Ed Finalizes (and Softens) Gainful Employment Rule

After much debate, public comment, intense lobbying, a lawsuit, and the threat of political action to block them, expansive new US Department of Education higher education regulations are set to go into effect on July 1st.  While the Department has made revisions to and provided implementation guidance for most of the new rules, it had…


May 23, 2011

Open, Accessible Courseware Issue Gains Ground

In an effort to lower instructional costs and increase the quality of class materials in community colleges, President Obama has started a program to promote the creation and use of open educational resources (OERs). OERs are defined as “high-quality” educational materials, such as books, lectures, exams, study guides, and syllabi, which are published under a…


May 12, 2011

Update on Upheaval in Texas Higher Ed

Two major developments have unfolded in the days since we posted about recent controversies gripping public higher education in Texas: The UT system released a massive file of faculty ‘productivity’ data that was compiled at the request of a Task Force created by the Regents and subsequently subject to an open records request from a…


May 5, 2011

Momentum Building to Reign in For-Profits

It was speculated that Republican gains in Congress last November could stall the Senate’s aggressive investigation of the for-profit higher education industry and sweeping new Department of Education regulations that are set to go into effect July 1. While bipartisan action in the House did attempt to block some of the regulations, particularly the controversial…


May 4, 2011

Turmoil in Texas Over Higher Ed Reforms

Recent higher education reform efforts in Texas, developed by the conservative think tank Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) and championed by Governor Rick Perry, have many wondering how much damage might be done to one of the country’s largest and best public university systems. The ‘solutions‘ proposed by TPPF, and marketed heavily by  board member…


April 15, 2011

Fast Track to Graduation: WA Senate Bill 5442

In an effort to give more students the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree and enter the workforce early, the legislature passed SB 5442, “Requiring the development of three-year baccalaureate degree programs.” The bill, which was delivered to the Governor for approval on April 12th, requires institutions of higher education to provide degree programs that…


April 11, 2011

Tuition-Setting Authority Coupled with Accountability: Two Bills Propose Reforms

Preserving the access to and quality of higher education is paramount in the face of massive budget cuts. Two bills, HB 1795 (Enacting the higher education opportunity act) and SB 5915 (Regarding higher education funding and performance), seek to achieve this goal by: 1.       Giving tuition-setting authority to universities 2.       Reforming Financial Aid 3.       Strengthening…



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