Washington Update January 5, 2014
NEWS
PRESIDENT OBAMA TO MAKE NEW HIGHER ED INITIATIVE ANNOUNCEMENT ON FRIDAY
It is being widely reported that the President will announce a new higher education initiative, possibly
related to college access, this Friday. According to the White House, “the president, vice president and
Dr. Biden will travel to Tennessee to discuss new initiatives he will propose to help more Americans go
to college and get the skills they need to succeed, and highlight the administration's efforts to act on his
own to create new, good paying manufacturing jobs."
GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE RELEASES TWO REPORTS RELATED TO
HIGHER EDUCATION
On December 16, 2014, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report titled “Higher
Education: State Funding Trends and Policies on Affordability”. This report was initiated to study how
state policies affect affordability of higher education look at ways states can act to make college more
affordable. A podcast is available here.
On December 22, 2014, the GAO released a report titled “Higher Education: Education Should
Strengthen Oversight of Schools and Accreditors”. This report looks at accreditor sanctions for schools
not in compliance, the likelihood accreditors will sanction schools with weaker student outcomes, and
how the Department of Education uses accreditor sanction information for oversight. The report
recommends that the Department of Education look at ways “to better assess whether accreditor standards
effectively address academic quality”. The Department of Education plans to address the
recommendations.
LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES OF INTEREST THIS WEEK
FLOOR ACTIVITIES
The Senate convenes the 114th Congress tomorrow, Tuesday, January 6 at noon. At that time, the newlyelected senators will be sworn in.
The House will also convene the 114th Congress tomorrow, Tuesday, January 6 at noon. At that time, the
chamber will vote to elect the Speaker of the House of Representatives and adopt rules for the 114th
Congress.