March 4, 2026
Last week, I was part of a panel at the American Council on Education (ACE), where the conversation touched on higher education as a public good and our sector’s need to reclaim our narrative value. There was also significant discussion of “radical collaboration”—building our muscles around working proactively with different kinds of entities, such as businesses, state leadership, and chambers of commerce. Both topics are integral to the future of our colleges and were enriched by discussions with our four-year colleagues.
I submitted opens in a new windowcomments to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) on Monday on behalf of AACC regarding several topics related to student borrowing, including implementing the loan origination and repayment changes described in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
I also sent opens in a new windowcomments on community college priorities for the upcoming funding cycle to the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies.
To better inform AACC’s contributions to the upcoming ED negotiated rulemaking on accreditation, I have asked our government relations office to create an advisory group made up of AACC member CEOs. If you would like to learn more about the group and submit your name for participation, please opens in a new windowcomplete this form.
This week I’m opens in a new windowsharing the results of our six membership focus groups with information on what AACC is doing well and where we can create even more value. I invite you to review the conversations we heard and opens in a new windowshare any input that might not have been captured. Once I have your feedback I’ll prepare a formal report for wider distribution. Thank you to everyone who took the time to participate.
Best institutional and state practices around Workforce Pell was last week’s AACC webinar. The opens in a new windowrecording is here, along with slides from several leaders in this space from Massachusetts, Nebraska, and Wisconsin.
Additional tools for resilience are offered this week: If you are thinking about expanding or initiating apprenticeships, you may benefit from the Council of State Governments’ opens in a new windowPublic Sector Apprenticeship Toolkit and a white paper entitled opens in a new windowInnovating Workforce Education: Community Colleges at the Forefront of Registered Apprenticeship.
Opportunities for your students with the National Science Foundation are available through this year’s opens in a new windowCommunity College Innovation Challenge (CCIC), open for submissions until April 3, 2026. Also, Strengthening Community College Training Grant opens in a new windowapplications are open until May 20.