http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus.xml In Focus articles from the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) en-us Tue, 21 May 2013 07:04:15 -0500 info@clasp.org webmaster@clasp.org 40 Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0096 In its newest round of Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) Grants, the Department of Labor took a significant step toward transparency for students by requiring state-consortium applicants to develop an online Employment Results Scorecard. Originally enacted as part of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, the TAACCCT grant program awards funds to institutions to expand and improve education and training programs that can be completed in two years or less. TAAACT-funded programs support displaced and other at-risk workers in their pursuit of skills and credentials in aEURoehigh-wage, high-skillaEUR? employment. http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0096 Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0095 In preparation for possible comprehensive tax legislation, the House and Senate tax-writing committees have been reviewing options for reform. CLASP recently participated in briefings for members of the House Ways and Means Committee on reform of family tax benefits and of tax-based student aid. We also submitted written comments to both the House and Senate tax-writing committees, urging policymakers to consider reforms to make tax-based aid: More effective, in terms of increasing access to and completion of college by low-income underrepresented populations who not may otherwise attend; More efficient, in terms of maximizing the impact of limited federal dollars, and; Simpler for students and their families to understand and use. http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0095 Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0094 http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0094 Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0093 The short pieces below are from a five-part series highlighting work from CLASPaEUR(TM)s recent publication, Reforming Student Aid: How to Simplify Tax Aid and Use Performance Metrics to Improve College Choices and Completion. The paper was written as part of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation project Reimagining Aid Design and Delivery. http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0093 Thu, 04 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0092 Across the country, more and more states are changing adult education policy to provide students the education they need to become employed and economically successful in an increasingly knowledge-based economy. Multi-state initiatives, such as Shifting Gears and Accelerating Opportunity, are supporting this shift, as are the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor through guidance and technical assistance. Nowhere is this trend more relevant than in California (known as the "Golden State"), where one out of five adult education students reside and which is newly focusing on restructuring adult education to promote college and career success. http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0092 Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0090 CLASP announces the release of an updated resource, Funding Career Pathways and Career Pathway Bridges: A Federal Funding Toolkit for States. This toolkit is designed to help interagency state teams identify and facilitate "braiding" of federal resources to build career pathways for adults and out-of-school youth. http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0090 Thu, 28 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0091 A new study issued by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs, Paths to Opportunity: Perspectives from Lower-Wage Workers and Their Employers, provides a snapshot of worker and employer perspectives on the economic outlook, working conditions, and opportunities for advancement in lower-wage occupations (defined as jobs paying $35,000 or less per year). With recent analyses showing disproportionate growth in lower-wage jobs since the end of the recession, it is essential to understand the dynamics of low-wage work in order to rebuild paths to middle-class jobs. http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0091 Thu, 21 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0089 Tax-based student aid has grown rapidly over the past decade and now represents nearly half of our nationaEUR(TM)s investment in non-loan federal aid. The Office of Management and Budget estimates that tax-based aid programs will cost more than $34 billion in FY12 through reduced federal revenues. Similarly, Pell Grant outlays are expected to total $35.6 billion in FY12. http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0089 Fri, 15 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0088 This week, two FY14 budget proposals emerged from Congress that presented contrasting paths for education and economic opportunity in the nation. Rep. Paul RyanaEUR(TM)s budget, once again titled Path to Prosperity, echoes similar themes from last yearaEUR(TM)s House budget, slashing critical higher education investments and cutting access to college for millions of low-income students. These and other draconian cuts are starkly different from Senator MurrayaEUR(TM)s proposed budget, Foundation for Growth, which improves college affordability and makes smart investments in postsecondary education to ensure that U.S. students and workers have the skills and education needed to support continued economic growth. http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0088 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0087 To maximize the nationaEUR(TM)s investment in student aid, we must target resources to low- and modest-income families -- those most likely to respond to incentives to enroll in and complete college. Unfortunately, tax-based student aid provides substantial support to individuals who are already highly likely to attend college and so may have little effect on access or completion for these students. In 2013, the Tax Policy Center estimates that 25 percent of the benefits of American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) will go to families making more than $100,000 per year; 29 percent of the benefits of the Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC) will go to families making more than $75,000; and almost half of the benefits of the Tuition and Fees Deduction will go to households with annual incomes of $100,000 or more. http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0087 Tue, 12 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0086 New York State made headlines last week after it announced it would be dropping the GEDA(R) as its high school equivalency examaEUR"a move that can only be defined as a aEURoegame changeraEUR? in adult education. Instead, the state will be working with CTB/McGraw Hill to develop an alternative exam, the Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC), which New York believes will keep costs low and allow its Education Department to continue to serve adults and youth seeking to earn a high school equivalency diploma and gain greater economic mobility. New YorkaEUR(TM)s shift to the TASC is one of the most significant developments in adult education in decades. Since 1942, the GEDA(R) has been synonymous with high school equivalency in the U.S. and widely recognized by potential candidates, employers, and postsecondary institutions. http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0086 Mon, 11 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0085 Last week the House Education and Workforce Committee voted to advance a bill that restructures a range of federal workforce programs, including the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). Tensions ran high during the legislative mark-up session and the hearing that preceded it, signaling a decline in the bipartisan spirit that has animated most reauthorization efforts in the past. http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0085 Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0084 From 2000 to 2010, tax-based aid grew from $7.4 billion to $32.4 billion, a more than four-fold increase. Despite making up nearly half of the nationaEUR(TM)s investment in non-loan aid, it goes largely unnoticed both by policymakers and beneficiaries. According to Suzanne Mettler, Professor at Cornell University, almost 60 percent of individuals who claim a higher education tax credit do not realize they have received help from the government to pay for college. http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0084 Thu, 28 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0083 Confronted with high costs and unmet financial need, low- and modest-income students and their families face a difficult choice: work more while in college, borrow more, or do both. When students cannot afford college, it not only limits access to higher education and drives up debt, it also increases (sometimes significantly) the time it takes to earn a degree and/or ultimately complete a credential. http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0083 Mon, 25 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0082 http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0082 Fri, 22 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0081 http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0081 Wed, 20 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0080 Funded as part of the Gates Foundation's Reimagining Aid Design and Delivery project, our paper focuses on two areas that have received scant attention from federal policymakers: tax-based student aid and the use of performance metrics in aid policy. IOur paper offers a range of policy options for consolidating the various tax-based aid provisions and better targeting this aid toward low- and modest-income families. We also propose piloting aEURoereal-time paymentaEUR? of the American Opportunity Tax Credit to deliver this aid to students when they enroll, not just at tax time. Our ideas are backed by ten-year revenue estimates and distributional estimates from the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0080 Tue, 19 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0079 Safety net programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid or child care subsidies, can serve as temporary help to reduce low-income studentsaEUR(TM) financial burdens. When students successfully graduate, they are more likely to secure jobs that enable them to support their families and pay increased taxes. And the best way out of poverty is through improved education and job skills that lead to more stable and better-paying jobs. http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0079 Thu, 14 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0077 http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0077 Thu, 14 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0078 http://www.clasp.org/postsecondary/in_focus?id=0078