The College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which includes provisions to allow students better access to college and an improved ability to pay off post-education debt, is now fully in place. Although George W. Bush signed the act into law in 2007, many pieces of the act became active only in July 2009.

Much of this information is still being developed, and students are largely unaware of the significant financial benefits now available to them. Campus Compact has created a guide to help members navigate the details of this law, including summaries of key provisions, tips to help students get the most out of the plans, and helpful links for further information.

For more details, see http://www.compact.org/initiatives/policy-and-advocacy/college-cost-reduction-access-act-public-service-loan-forgiveness/ ]]> http://www.compact.org/initiatives/legislation-policy/2009-policy-updates/the-college-cost-reduction-access-act-public-service-loan-forgiveness/7539/feed/ 0 http://www.compact.org/initiatives/legislation-policy/2009-policy-updates/development-relief-and-education-for-alien-minors-dream-act-of-2009/6101/ http://www.compact.org/initiatives/legislation-policy/2009-policy-updates/development-relief-and-education-for-alien-minors-dream-act-of-2009/6101/#comments Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:16:08 +0000 compact339-admin http://www.compact.org/?p=6101

The DREAM Act of 2009: Potential Impact on College Access and Success

Prepared by Campus Compact 

The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act of 2009 provides qualified undocumented students with a conditional path to U.S. citizenship. After meeting certain provisions and completing two years of college within a six-year period, students will become eligible for permanent citizenship.

The bipartisan legislation has significant support in both the House and the Senate, and would provide higher education and citizenship opportunities for thousands of qualified, undocumented youth. In addition, the Act amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibilities Act of 1996, permitting states to determine state residency in order to offer immigrant students in-state tuition rates.

Due to its potential for supporting college access and success, Campus Compact is following this legislation and will provide our network with updates as we become aware of them. There is speculation that DREAM Act provisions could be included in President Obama’s Immigration Reform plan, expected this summer. Obama supported the DREAM Act while serving in the Senate.                                   

Basic Provisions:

• Repeals Section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996:

o   Section 505 prohibited states from ‘providing a postsecondary education benefit to an alien not lawfully present unless any citizen or national is eligible for such benefit.’ 

o   Repealing this section allows states to decide who qualifies for in-state tuition.

• The Secretary of Homeland Security may adjust the status of undocumented students who demonstrate:

o   They entered the country before the age of 16 and have been present in the US for a continuous period of 5 years;

o   They are of good moral character;

o   They are not deportable under specific grounds of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

o   They have graduated high school or received a GED, or been admitted to a college or university;

o   Since age 16, they have never been under a final order of deportation;

o   They are under 35 years of age.

• Eligible aliens will be granted conditional permanent residency for 6 years, within which they must attend two years of college, and will be eligible for assistance, including:

o   Student loans

o   Federal work-study programs

o   Other services, subject to requirements of such services, (including Federal Pell grants).

For more information, please go to www.thomas.gov. Enter the appropriate bill number: The House version of the bill is H.R.1751; the Senate version is S.7294.

KEY PROVISIONS OF THE EDWARD M. KENNEDY SERVE AMERICA ACT

Compiled by Campus Compact

Background

Passed in March 2009 and signed by President Obama on April 21, the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act reauthorizes and expands the National and Community Service Trust Act and the programs and services of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).

The following is a summary of provisions that are of special interest to and provide potential opportunities for higher education. At this point, the programs and provisions listed below are authorized, however funds have not yet been allocated. Specific regulations for each of the programs and how funds will become available have yet to be determined. Campus Compact has played a pivotal role in designing and advocating for the role of higher education in the Act and will continue to be involved in the appropriation of funds by Congress and the development of the regulations and details of programs and services with CNCS.

SUMMARY OF KEY PROVISIONS

Learn and Serve America

Campuses of Service

Campus of Service is a designation by CNCS, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, of institutions of higher education that have demonstrated a commitment to service, service-learning and community engagement. Nominations will come through the state commissions and must include a diverse group of types of institutions ’“- public, private, 4-year and 2-year. Information required about nominees for this designation may be determined by the state commissions but must include number of service-learning courses, percentage of federal work study placements in the community, percentage of students engaged in community service, and programs that encourage or assist students to pursue careers in public service.

No more than 25 institutions will be designated each year.  CNCS will award funds for these institutions to be used by them to develop or disseminate service-learning models and information on best practices regarding service-learning to other institutions of higher education.

Higher Education Learn and Serve Grants

Retains 25% of funds for institutions of higher education, either as individual institutions or as a consortium. Institutions must meet the minimum Federal Work Study requirements regarding community-based placements, now at 7%, in order to qualify for these funds.

Youth Engagement Zone Program

A Youth Engagement Zone is a service-learning program in which members of an eligible partnership collaborate to provide coordinated school-based or community-based service-learning opportunities. Eligible partnerships include community-based entities, local educational agencies, local government agencies, institutions of higher education, state commissions or state education agencies.

Authorized activities may include Summer of Service programs, youth mentoring, STEM programs and energy conservation.

Service-Learning Impact Study

CNCS is authorized to procure an independent entity to conduct a 10-year longitudinal study on benefits/impact of service-learning programs including the impact on academic achievement, student engagement and graduation rates.

Service Corps Programs

Increases the National Service Education Award to $5,350 immediately and ties its value to being equal to the maximum amount of the federal Pell Grant as it increases over time.

Allows individuals age 55 years and older to transfer their education award to a child or grandchild.

Increases service opportunities under AmeriCorps from 75,000 positions annually to 250,000 by 2017.  Supports the following new national service programs to address unmet community needs.

Education Corps

Authorized activities include tutoring, mentoring, assisting students in being prepared for college-level work, assisting economically disadvantaged students in navigating the college admission process, and conducting a pre-professional training program for students enrolled in an             institution of higher education.

Healthy Futures Corps

Authorized activities include providing translation services, improving literacy of patients regarding health, addressing childhood obesity, and assisting in health promotion interventions.

Clean Energy Service Corps

Authorized activities include weatherization, building energy efficient housing units, conducting energy audits, educating students on home energy use, and assisting in the development of local recycling programs.

Veterans Corps

Authorized activities include recruiting veterans into service opportunities and promoting efforts within the community to service the needs of veterans.

Opportunity Corps

Authorized activities include teaching financial literacy, construction and rehabilitation of housing units, working toward the elimination of hunger, and providing access to job placements.

Support for Nonprofits and Social Innovation

Creates a Social Innovation Fund to:

• Recognize and increase the work of social entrepreneurs and nonprofit community organizations in addressing national and local challenges.
• Stimulate the development of a network of social innovation funds and leverage public and private investment in nonprofit community organizations. Strengthen the infrastructure and support for effective solutions to community challenges.

Establishes nonprofit capacity-building program to make grants to intermediary nonprofits to assist small and mid-size nonprofits with organizational development.

Establishes a National Service Reserve Corps, made up of former participants of national service programs and veterans, who will assist in disaster relief.

Authorizes a Civic Health Assessment comprised of indicators relating to volunteerism, voting, charitable giving, and interest in public service in order to evaluate and compare the civic health of communities.

Other Provisions

Gives CNCS the authority to merge funding streams, expands the use of simplified, fixed amount grants, and gives more flexibility to consolidate application and reporting requirements. Increases the support for State Commissions and enhances the capacity of responsibilities of the Board of Directors of CNCS.

Establishes one or more clearinghouses for information regarding the national service laws that includes information on service-learning.

Click here for an official summary of the legislation. 

On March 31, the House approved the Senate amendments to H.R. 1388, the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, by a vote of 275-149. The bill previously passed in the House as the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act.

The bill, renamed in honor of Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy, authorizes a massive expansion of national service programs for Americans of all ages. The bill passed the Senate on March 26 with widespread bipartisan support in a 79-19 vote.

Campus Compact wishes to thank all of you for your help in getting this important legislation passed. We also encourage you to recognize your Congressmen who supported this bill by calling their office today and extending your appreciation.

Click here to view how representatives voted on the Senates amendments to H.R. 1388: http://clerk.house.gov/cgi-bin/vote.asp?year=2009&rollnumber=169

Click here to read a press release concerning the bill from the House Education and Labor Committee: http://edlabor.house.gov/newsroom/2009/03/house-sends-landmark-national.shtml

On March 18^th The U.S. House of Representatives passed the GIVE (Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education) Act by a roll call vote of 321 ’“ 105. The legislation reauthorizes the Corporation for National and Community Service, expands and strengthens national service and service-learning programs, increases volunteer opportunities for all ages, and promotes social innovation as a strategy to address community challenges. The Senate will now take up the Serve America Act—a bill sponsored by Senators Kennedy and Hatch that has many of the same provisions. 

Campus Compact has played a key role in shaping the areas of these bills that relate to opportunities for and impact on higher education. These areas include: 

• Establishing the ‘Campus of Service’ designation for colleges and universities exhibiting a commitment to civic engagement and service-learning activities.
• Instituting a longitudinal study of service-learning. 
• Including higher education as a partner in the establishment of youth Engagement Zones.

View the summary and full text of the bill from GovTrack.

NEW: On March 26, the Senate approved the legislation in a 78-20 vote. On March 31, the House passed the final version of the act by a vote of 274-149. It now goes to President Obama to be signed into law. 

Thanks to all of you who contacted your Congressmen to enlist their support!

Campus Compact Presidents’ Letter Supports Serve America Act

Led by the Campus Compact national board of directors, more than 100 college and university presidents have signed a letter in support of the Serve America Act, sponsored by Senators Edward Kennedy (MA) and Orrin Hatch (UT). The letter emphasizes the bill’s positive effect on higher education and civic engagement work and encourages members of Congress to support swift passage of the bill. This is one of many mechanisms through which Campus Compact and its members worked to pass this vital legislation.

View letter here. 

The National Recovery and Investment Act (commonly known as the Stimulus Package), passed by Congress in February, contains two items key to civic engagement work in higher education. The Corporation for National and Community Service received a $200 million increase, which means an increase of approximately 13,000 VISTA and AmeriCorps members in the community over the next 18 months.  For information about how these funds are being grants, visit http://www.cns.gov. Federal Work-Study also received $200 million of additional funds. At least 7% of these funds must be spent on the placement of students in community-based organizations.  

• creating five new service Corps to meet pressing social challenges
• expanding the Peace Corps, Senior Corps, and Americorps
• increasing funding and resources for service-learning at the elementary, high school, and college levels
• connecting disadvantaged young people with opportunities to serve and continue their education
• investing in the capacity and innovation of non-profits
• increasing support for members of the armed forces and their families

Read the full plan on Obama’s web site. (pdf)

Of particular interest to Campus Compact’s members and civic engagement practitioners are the following provisions:

• Individuals who have worked in public service jobs for 10 years after October 1, 2007 are eligible for total forgiveness of the remainder of Federal Direct student loans.
• As of July 1, 2009, payment of student loans will not exceed 15% of an individual’s discretionary income, or 15% of the amount that an individual (and spouse)’˜s adjusted gross income exceeds 150% of the poverty line, divided by 12. After 25 years of repayment, the remainder of the loan balance is forgiven. Those who began paying an income-sensitive or income-contingent loan before this date will have the option of staying with their current payment plan or entering the new plan. (Information from the NASFAA summary; see link below)
• Funding is allocated to the states to administer college access and success programs. States can administer the programs themselves or grant the money to other organizations in the state that are administering these programs

View the full text of the bill from GovTrack

Read the NASFAA (National Association of FInancial Aid Administrators) summary of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act.

Senator Hatch and Senator Kennedy’s niece, Caroline, announced the bill during the ServiceNation Summit in New York City on September 12. The Summit brought together 500 leaders of all ages and from every sector of American life — from universities and foundations, to business and politics — to celebrate the power and potential of citizen service, and lay out a bold policy blueprint for addressing America’s greatest social challenges through expanded opportunities for volunteer and national service. (Information from the ServiceNation website; see link below)

Campus Compact was an original member of the Summit planning committee, and helped to draft a comprehensive policy paper for the Summit. The ‘Campuses of Service’ program included in the Serve America Act was inspired by the Summit policy paper.

Read a summary of the Serve America Act written by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

View the full text of the bill from GovTrack

To get involved in the ServiceNation movement, visit Be the Change

Three other sections of the bill are of particular interest to Campus Compact members and civic engagement practitioners:

• Allowing for the creation of grants to support loan forgiveness for public service
• Providing additional funding for community-based federal work-study
• The GAP (Grants for Access and Persistence) program, which supports mentoring and college preparation programs for at-risk students

The GAP program builds upon an already-existing federal program that is currently receiving funding. As of November 2008, the other programs have not yet had funds appropriated to them.

Read Campus Compact’s summary of the sections addressing loan forgiveness for public service, community-based federal work-study, and Grants for Access and Persistence.

Download the American Council on Education’s analysis of the entire bill, including the sections about the financial aid process.

View the full text of the bill from GovTrack

The Summit will take place in New York City on September 18, 2008 and is sponsored by Be The Change, Inc., City Year, and Civic Enterprises, working in partnership with TIME Magazine. Campus Compact is a member of the organizing committee for the Summit, participating in several calls a month. We are active on the policy subcommittee as well.

To prepare for the Summit in September, the organizers are conducting a Change Agent Academy experience this summer. This will be a full-time community organizing opportunity open all, yet will be particularly attractive to college students, new graduates, and Americorps members.

Learn more about the Summit and the movement

Find out more about the Change Agent Academy or download an application

Check out the Voices for National Service Legislative Updates to see how your representative voted and more.

The allocation for higher ed. remains at 25% of the budget, which would come out to $8,025,000 in the President’s proposal.

This was a particularly hard budget year across the board for all Corporation for National and Community Service programs, especially for Foster Grandparents, which took a significant cut.

For more information, please see the Voices for National Service website.

The content of the program was as follows:

1. Welcoming Remarks

   by First Lady of New York Silda Wall Spitzer

2. Lifetime Recognition Awards and Honorees

   1. National Service Lifetime Leadership Award

      Senator Harris Wofford
      For life-long dedication to citizen service and for outstanding leadership in advancing national service as a civic commitment and a legislative priority.

   2. Career Service Award

      Senator Jack Reed
      For a career of extraordinary support for national service.

   3. Citizen Service Award

      Dorothy Johnson, The Ahlburg Company
      Richard Stengel, Managing Editor of TIME
      For investing in the civic health of our nation through support of national service.

3. 2007 Awards and Honorees

   by First Lady of New York Silda Wall Spitzer

   1. Outstanding National Service Advocacy Award

      Governor Charlie Crist
      For outstanding leadership and advocacy of national service as a state and federal priority.

   2. Distinguished Service Award

      Representative George Miller
      Representative Howard McKeon
      Representative Carolyn McCarthy
      Representative Todd Platts
      For advancing national service legislation to expand high-quality opportunities for citizens to serve their communities and our country.

   3. Outstanding New Member Award

      Representative Phil Hare
      Representative John Sarbanes
      For elevating national service as a first term legislative priority.

   4. Special Recognition Award

      Representative Robert Scott
      For strengthening civil society across the generations through a commitment to seniors and to disadvantaged youth.

» Read more about Millennials Talk Politics: A Study of College Student Civic Engagement on CIRCLE’s web site.

Example Editorials

• Students learn with hearts and minds
• ‘Service Learning’ Teaches Real Life
• On The Bright Side: Community to get SUNY Delhi’s help
• Off campus experience
• Parkside students participate in Learn and Serve Challenge Week
• Community involvement
• Service learning fosters growth of civic leaders
• Southern Miss takes part in raising awareness of service-learning
• Developing civic purpose