Skip to content
News and updates

News and updates

ED announces new IFLE Deputy Assistant Secretary

Posted on

Today the Department of Education announced Mohamed Abdel-Kader will serve as Deputy Assistant Secretary for International and Foreign Language Education (IFLE) in the Office of Postsecondary Education.

As Deputy Assistant Secretary of IFLE, Mohamed will “have responsibility for encouraging and promoting the study of foreign languages and the study of the cultures of other countries at the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels in the United States; and coordinate with related international and foreign language education programs of other Federal agencies,” as established in the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act. He will be leading the work of IFLE in administering the domestic programs authorized under Title VI of the Higher Education Act and those overseas programs under the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange (Fulbright-Hays) Act that ED administers.

Prior to joining us at ED, Mohamed served as the Director of Development for the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and also managed the university’s advancement strategy in the Middle East region, where he focused on major gifts and strategic engagement. Mohamed speaks fluent Arabic and basic Spanish. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Clemson University, a Master’s degree in Higher Education from Vanderbilt University, and an MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.

ED Announces Final Rule on PLUS Loans

Posted on

The US Department of Education will publish new rules in the Federal Register tomorrow (Thursday, October 23) that are intended to strengthen the Federal Direct PLUS Loan Program.  The new regulations aim to expand access to higher education and better reflect programmatic changes that have occurred since the PLUS loan program began more than 20 years ago.

In a statement, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said, “The updated borrowing standards for the PLUS loan program demonstrate our commitment to ensuring families have access to the financing they need to reach their goal.”

Here are some notable changes:

  • Establishes a threshold debt amount of $2,085, indexed to inflation, below which a potential borrower is considered to not have an adverse credit history.
  • Defining terms such as debt “charged off” and “in collection” to more accurately determine whether an applicant has an adverse credit history.
  • Reducing the time period of a borrower’s credit history that is considered to determine adverse credit history from the last five years to the last two years for charge offs and collections.
  • Requiring that PLUS Loan applicants who, despite having adverse credit are able to receive a PLUS Loan based on either demonstrating extenuating circumstances or by obtaining an eligible endorser, participate in loan counseling.

More information can be found here.

Senate Passes CR, Adjourns Until Nov. 12

Posted on

Last night the Senate passed a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government at current levels until December 11. The fiscal year ends on September 30, so passage of a CR was critical in avoiding a government shutdown on October 1.

Following passage of the CR, Congress has adjourned until after the November elections. Members of Congress will return to the hill on November 12.

Final Action on CR Today

Posted on

Yesterday, the House approved a $1 trillion continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded through December 11, 2014. The 21-page CR would fund the government at an annual rate of $1.012 trillion. The 319-108 vote sends the bill to the Senate, which is also expected to approve the measure. The Senate will start considering the House-passed CR this afternoon and there could be more than four hours of debate before final passage in the Senate.

The measure was approved in the House after lawmakers first voted to add language authorizing a program to train and equip moderate Syrian rebel groups to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The measure also includes additional funding to fight the Ebola epidemic, to assist the Department of Veterans Affairs, and to beef up support for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, which helps low-income people obtain nutritious food. Finally, the bill extends the charter for the Export-Import Bank, which backs US exports, through June 30, 2015. No new funding for border-related issues is included in the bill.

The legislation fulfills the guidelines of the budget agreement reached by budget committee chairmen Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) last December, and comes after both chambers failed to pass all 12 individual appropriations measures. The House had passed seven FY 2015 appropriations bills under an open amendment process, while the Senate did not pass any.

With action taken on the CR, Congress will adjourn until after the November elections, returning to work on November 12th. At that time, they will begin negotiating a final FY 2015 omnibus measure before the new December 11th deadline.

HELP Committee Passes ESRA

Posted on

This morning, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee marked up a bill to reauthorize the Education Sciences Reform Act or ESRA. The Senate Committee passed voice vote a bipartisan substitute amendment that closely tracks the House-passed version of this bill, H.R. 4366, the Strengthening Education through Research Act. The House passed the bill in March of this year.

ESRA authorizes education research activities at the Institute of Education Sciences, which is the research arm of the Department of Education.

The Senate version of ESRA represents a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on H.R. 4366.  After it is approved by the full Senate, the House is expected to approve the Senate’s changes to the bill before it goes to the President.

The schedule for Senate floor action and final House action is not yet clear. It is unlikely the bill receive final Congressional approval before the November elections.