Press Releases

On Wednesday, April 2 at 10:00 a.m., the House Education and the Workforce Committee, chaired by Rep. John Kline (R-MN), will hold a hearing entitled, “Keeping College within Reach: Meeting the Needs of Contemporary Students.” The hearing will take place in room 2175 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

Student demographics are changing. The majority of postsecondary students are no longer between the ages of 18 and 22, attending college full-time right after graduating high school. Instead, a growing majority are “non-traditional” or contemporary students, men and women over the age of 25, often with families or full-time jobs, who have chosen to return to school in an effort to quickly learn new skills that will help them compete for in-demand jobs. As a result, states, institutions, and private entities are working to modernize their educational practices through prior learning assessments, online coursework, or flexible articulation agreements to better serve this new generation of students.

As the committee continues working to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, Wednesday’s hearing will provide members an opportunity to examine policies and programs to support continued innovation in postsecondary education. To learn more about the hearing, or to watch a live webcast, visit /hearings. 

 

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WITNESS LIST 

Dr. George A. Pruitt
President
Thomas Edison State College
Trenton, NJ

Mr. Kevin Gilligan
Chairman and CEO
Capella Education Company
Minneapolis, MN

Mr. David K. Moldoff
CEO and Founder
AcademyOne, Inc.
West Chester, PA

Dr. Joann A. Boughman
Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
University System of Maryland
Adelphi, MD

Mr. Stan Jones
President
Complete College America
Indianapolis, IN

Dr. Brooks A. Keel
President
Georgia Southern University
Statesboro, GA