CECU Daily Update Email

CECU News
Steve Gonzalez, Senior Vice President of Government, Military, and Veterans Relations attended a small breakfast meeting with Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM-01) to discuss the House of Representatives' top policy priorities in 2020 before the November elections. Her policy priorities related to higher education and workforce, the College Affordability Act's impact to CECU member schools, seeking her support to address CECU's policy concerns with Chairman Bobby Scott and other members of the House Committee on Education & Labor, and discussing ways for Rep. Haaland and her staff to engage with CECU member schools in her congressional district. Attending events like this small breakfast and engaging with Republican and Democrats alike to build a bipartisan coalition to support CECU member schools.

​Legal and Regulatory Issues
Hot Pockets heiress Michelle Janavs sentenced to 5 months imprisonment in college admissions scam – CNN
Former food company executive Michelle Janavs was sentenced Tuesday to five months in prison for paying bribes in the college admissions scam, the US Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts said.
 
Justice Department backs appeal in Harvard affirmative action lawsuit – Education Dive
The U.S. Department of Justice is backing an appeal against Harvard University, pushing a federal appeals court to reverse a ruling that found the institution’s admissions policies are not explicitly discriminatory against Asian American applicants. 

​Accreditation News
Western US accreditor to break rank on regional boundaries – Education Dive
The regional accreditor of Western U.S. colleges announced Wednesday that it will consider some proposals to accredit institutions outside of its historical geographic boundaries. 

​Education Politics and Policy
Bill aims to grow apprenticeships for college students – Community College Daily
A bipartisan House bill introduced this week would create a new grant program to foster more registered apprenticeship opportunities for college students. 

​Member Spotlight
Southeastern Institute launches new degree programs in South Carolina to help meet the needs of state’s changing economy
Southeastern Institute has introduced a pair of new associate degree programs at its campuses in Columbia and Charleston, South Carolina. Both programs, Business Administration and Information Technology and Network Systems, recently received approval from the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education (CHE) and will begin enrolling students immediately. 

​Opinion
Getting Campuses Ready for the Coronavirus – Inside Higher Ed
Predicting the path and impact of the coronavirus on colleges in the U.S. is impossible today. Nevertheless, the emergence of hot spots in South Korea, Iran and Italy has moved the world closer to potential pandemic. 

​Trends
The promise of voice technology for higher ed – University Business
A “voice-first” world is upon us. At the Consumer Technology Association’s CES trade show this year, Google announced that there are 500 million monthly active users of its digital voice assistant. 

​Education News
Drilling Down Into Distance Education Data – Inside Higher Ed
This year for the first time the report includes in-state students studying online in addition to out-of-state students studying online — painting a much fuller picture of the online learning landscape.
 
Make Mergers Of Colleges Strategic And Mainstream, Not Desperate And A Last Resort – Forbes
According to a new book, “Strategic Mergers in Higher Education,” it’s well past time for college leaders to view mergers as “a tactic to be considered proactively, deliberatively, and without fear.”