April 24, 2020 | Issue # 161
As Community College Month draws to a close, I want to express my sincere thanks to all of you for your herculean efforts to keep your colleges running (remotely) and your students on track. As most of us have settled into a new routine, we’re starting to look ahead. There are still a lot of unknowns, particularly about enrollment, funding, and instructional delivery for the summer and fall semesters. We recently launched a survey to better understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted your community college. Please take a few minutes to respond to this survey. Your responses will be compiled to inform our programming and services to better serve you now and with the challenges to come. If you have questions about the survey, contact AACC’s Kent Phillippe.
Lastly, many of you are aware that this year marks the 100th anniversary of AACC. We had a number of celebratory events scheduled to coincide with the 100th Annual Convention, which had to be cancelled this year. Please be on the lookout for announcements from our communications team so that you can join us online in celebrating our Leadership and Truman Award recipients; Outstanding Alumni; new, 25-year and retiring CEOs; Awards of Excellence finalists and winners; and, above all, the impact that board members, past presidents, and others have played in shaping our association.
“ED Releases Additional Stimulus Funds, Guidance”
The U.S. Education Department (ED) this week released the institutional share of the formula grants that the CARES Act provides to colleges, along with guidance about how those funds can be used. ED also released more details about the emergency student grants that it announced earlier this month. Read all about it in CC Daily.
“Compassion, Flexibility, Optimism Key to Supporting International Programs”
Community colleges are working overtime to support international students and shift international programming during the coronavirus pandemic. Learn what some colleges are doing in this CC Journal article.
ED Secretary Betsy DeVos announced that the Department of Education is inviting a new cohort of 67 institutions to participate in its Second Chance Pell experiment, creating more education opportunities for incarcerated students. Click here to see the list of colleges, nearly two-thirds of which are community colleges.
I talked about my top-of-mind issues—particularly how colleges are responding to COVID-19—in the latest episode of the Community College Voice podcast. Listen here.
Apply to Be on an AACC Commission
AACC has nine commissions, which were established to provide advice to the AACC board and staff and to encourage collaboration among community college entities and organizations. Interested in serving on a commission? AACC is now accepting applications. CEOs, vice presidents/vice chancellors, associate/assistant vice presidents/vice chancellors, and provosts from AACC member colleges are eligible to apply. Appointments range from 1 to 3 years. Commissions meet twice a year. The deadline to submit applications is June 1, 2020, by 5:00 p.m. (ET).