CECU Daily Update Email

​Education Politics and Policy
Bipartisan Policy Center Releases Higher Education Policy Recommendations
Yesterday, the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) held a public event to announce the release of their report, “A New Course for Higher Education: Strengthing Access, Affordability, and Accountability.” In a four (4) page summary of the report, the BPC provides 45 recommendations for higher education reform.
 
New rules limit states' oversight of online colleges. How will they react? – Education Dive (CECU Senior Vice President of Policy and Research Nicholas Kent Quoted)
The Education Department's state authorization regulations for distance education could curb states' options as consumer advocates when overseeing out-of-state institutions.
 
Increased Legal Scrutiny for Sexual Assault Policies – Inside Higher Ed
A federal appeals court’s decision in California puts pressure on institutions to ensure Title IX policies and procedures effectively prevent sexual misconduct. 

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​Legal and Regulatory Issues
Berman Tabacco Investigates Grand Canyon Education, Inc. – Yahoo Finance
Berman Tabacco (www.bermantabacco.com), a national law firm representing investors, is investigating possible securities law violations involving Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (“Grand Canyon” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:LOPE), an education services company. 

​Financial Aid/Student Loan Issues
Live Internet Webinars – Ability to Benefit – Approved State Process – 34 CFR §668.156 – U.S. Department of Education
The Office of Postsecondary Education will host a webinar that will provide an overview of the application requirements for an approved state process alternative for a student without a high school diploma or its equivalent to access Title IV aid on Feb. 11, 2020 from 2-3:00 p.m. EST.

​Education News
To Better Serve Adult Learners, Eliminate the Barriers Between Work and Learning – EdSurge
The U.S. Department of Education forecasts that by 2027, postsecondary enrollment among adults will grow by just 1 percent, compared to a 5 percent growth rate for more traditionally-aged students.
 
Denver’s Regis University paid ransom to “malicious actors” behind campus cyberattack – The Denver Post
When “malicious actors” carried out a cyberattack on Regis University last August — crippling the Denver campus’s IT network and downing phones, email and Wi-Fi — university officials paid the hackers a ransom in hopes of restoring their incapacitated systems.
 
New microcredential program helps students earn work-ready credentials – eCampus News
Western Governors University (WGU) has launched its first globally-available microcredential in information technology. WGU’s IT Career Framework MicroBachelors is designed to create pathways for individuals looking to advance their IT careers.
 
Arizona State University students embrace and profess their love to a chatbot named Sunny – azcentral.
After receiving text reminders about deadlines, financial aid and other important parts of college life, some ASU students have professed their love to it. Meet Sunny, an artificially intelligent chatbot that ASU uses to communicate with current and future students to help recruit and retain them on campus. 

​Study/Reports
Gen Z is financially ‘better armed and better educated’ than millennials were at their age – MarketWatch
A new study from credit bureau TransUnion TRU, -0.50% examines the credit profile of Generation Z, which it defines as those born in or after 1995. Among those Gen Zers who have already reached adulthood in the U.S., 66% are already credit active, meaning they have some sort of loan product.
 
Report: States enacted more than 200 CTE policies in 2019 – Education Dive
Funding, work-based learning, industry-recognized credentials, and access or equity were among the career and technical education issues states tackled during 2019, according to a new state policy review from Advance CTE, the Association for Career and Technical Education and the Education Commission of the States.