Postsecondary education and training are increasingly the gateway to family-sustaining employment. While access to postsecondary education is a barrier for many low-income students, too many students who enter college fail to complete programs and attain credentials. Some students may leave after achieving short term goals, but most students, even nontraditional ones such as working adults, enter college with the goal of earning a certificate or degree. CLASP seeks to address both access and success challenges to ensure more low-income people succeed in the labor market.
Congress Supports Community Colleges through American Graduation Initiative
On September 17, the U.S. House of Representatives delivered on President Obama’s American Graduation Initiative by passing H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009, or SAFRA. Title V of SAFRA invests $630 million annually for ten years in matching grants to community colleges and states to strengthen and develop programs to ensure more students reach the president’s goal.
The American Graduation Initiative will support:
- Community colleges seeking to improve their access and graduation rates. Starting in 2010, community colleges and related institutions can choose from a menu of seven fundable options, such as building linkages between secondary or adult education programs and community colleges, integrating basic skills and occupational training, or creating programs in partnership with employers that provide job-skill training for skilled occupations in high-demand industries.
- States seeking to implement systematic reform of their community college systems. Starting in 2014, funding will shift to states, giving them the opportunity to leverage innovations proven successful at the institutional level.
- Creation of the Learning and Earning Research Center, a research organization tasked with analysis and evaluation of the nation’s community colleges.
Watch senior policy analyst Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield’s overview of H.R. 3221 and other federal opportunities for ensuring postsecondary success at the state level.
A summary of the American Graduation Initiative and the full text of SAFRA are available on the House Committee on Education and Labor website.
- Linda Harris and Evelyn Ganzglass | Oct 29, 2008 Creating Postsecondary Pathways to Good Jobs for Young High School Dropouts
- Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield and Julie Strawn | Sep 24, 2008 Congress Expands Student Aid and Supports Innovation in Student Success, Basic Skills and Workforce Partnerships
- Amy-Ellen Duke and Julie Strawn | Mar 12, 2008 Overcoming Obstacles,Optimizing Opportunities: State Policies to Increase Postsecondary Attainment for Low-Skilled Adults
- Amy-Ellen Duke | Dec 18, 2007 Statement Prepared for the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance; Community College Symposium
- Christopher Mazzeo, Brandon Roberts, Christopher Spence, and Julie Strawn | Feb 21, 2007 Working Together: Aligning State Systems and Policies for Individual and Regional Prosperity
- CLASP | Sep 01, 2009 Federal Policy Recommendations for 2009 and Beyond
- Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield and Evelyn Ganzglass | Jul 20, 2009 Letter to the House Committee on Education and Labor on the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (HR 3221)
- Matt Lewis | Jun 15, 2009 Distance Learning Can Help Low-Income Parents Attend School: TANF Agencies Should Adopt Supportive Policies (Revised)
- Jan 12, 2009 CLASP's Workforce Education and Training Policy Recommendations to Promote Inclusive Economic Recovery
- Nov 12, 2008 Recover, Renew, Rebuild: Workforce Policies for a Strong and Fair Economy