Tag: Americas
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Statement: Trump restores crucial due process rights for America’s college students
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights announced today it agrees with a federal court ruling that appropriately found the Biden-era Title IX rules to unconstitutionally restrict student First Amendment rights.
Those rules, effective in August 2024, infringed on constitutionally protected speech related to sex and gender. They also rolled back crucial due process rights for those accused of sexual misconduct on campus, increasing the likelihood that colleges would arrive at unreliable conclusions during those proceedings. OCR announced it will instead enforce the 2020 rules adopted during the first Trump administration which carefully considered the rights of complainants and respondents alike, while providing robust free speech and due process protections.
The following can be attributed to Tyler Coward, FIRE lead counsel for government affairs:
The return to the 2020 rules ensures that all students — whether they are the accused or the accuser — will receive fair treatment and important procedural safeguards. That includes the right of both parties to have lawyers present during hearings, the right for both attorneys to cross-examine the other party and witnesses, and the right to receive all of the evidence in the institution’s possession. Colleges are also required to adopt a speech-protective definition of sexual harassment that enables schools to punish genuine harassment instead of merely unpopular speech.
Restoring the Trump administration’s rules means that students can once again feel secure that their rights to due process and free speech will be respected while ensuring administrators have the tools they need to punish those who engage in sexual misconduct and harassment.
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Average Net Price at America’s Public Colleges and Universities
Good news: We have new IPEDS data on average net cost. Bad news: Because IPEDS is IPEDS, it’s data from the 2021-22 Academic Year.
This is pretty straightforward: Each dot represents a public institution, colored by region, showing the average net price for first-year students entering in that year. IPEDS breaks out average net price by income bands, so you can see what a family with income of $30,000 to $48,000 pays, for instance, by using the filters at right.
You can also limit the institutions displayed by using the top three filters: Doctoral institutions in the Far West, or in Illinois, for instance. If you want to see a specific institution highlighted, use that control. Just type part of the name of the institution, like this example, and make your selection:
Average net price shows The Total Cost of Attendance (COA), which includes tuition, room, board, books, transportation, and personal expenses, minus all grant aid. It does not include loans, but of course, loans can be used to cover part of the net price, along with other family resources.
This display is a box and whisker chart, and if you’re not familiar with the format, here is a quick primer:
For the sticklers, the median shown is unweighted.
As always, let me know what you see here that you find interesting or surprising.
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A Review of Complete College America’s ACT Conference (June 2022)
In June 2022, I was very excited to attend Complete College America’s ACT: Policy & Action Summit in Louisville, Kentucky. This was my first time visiting Kentucky and everything was beautiful!
Apparently, this conference is “where the magic happens. Where ideas come to life, decisions are made, and plans for impact take shape” and this was definitely true. Usually, when I attend a higher education summit, it is just focused on current information and best practices, but this conference took a different turn. It was all about action and implementation.
Several of the key groups from the Complete College were able to come together and to take action. These groups included: state teams of higher education leaders and policymakers came together.
The content was amazing and the conversations were even better. Our conversations focused on Time to Degree, Corequisite Support, Guided Pathways, and more.
Here was the schedule:
Day 1
Welcome from the CCA President: Dr. Yolanda Watson-Spiva
Bringing in Those Left Behind in the College Completion Movement
Continued Progress and New Frontiers
No Middle Ground – Advancing Equity Through Practice
ACT I – Start, Stop, Continue
Day 2
The Politics of Equitable College Completion
Equity and Public University Funding
No Middle Ground – Advancing Equity in All States
ACT II & III – Policy Recommendation and Development
Innovation in Systems Change
New Opportunities for Your Complete College Alliance Team
I learned so much through this summit and the networking was great. One of the aspects of the conference that served as a highlight for me was the placement of several flags around the room to represent the institutions of each Complete College America member/partner.
This was evidence of intentional support and success.
The sponsors for this event included: The Lumina Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Ascendium, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the Barr Foundation
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Check out my book – Retaining College Students Using Technology: A Guidebook for Student Affairs and Academic Affairs Professionals.
Remember to order copies for your team as well!
Thanks for visiting!
Sincerely,
Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards
Professor of CommunicationExecutive Director of the Texas Social Media Research Institute & Rural Communication Institute
