Policy
Your source for federal legislation affecting higher education, advocacy efforts, state policy resources, and Congressional directory information. Read more
Policy Matters: The State College Role in Advancing Environmental Sustainability: Policies, Programs and Practices
In the past few years, awareness of global environmental challenges has received renewed attention. From Vice President Al Gore’s activism to relentless energy price increases and the escalating evidence of man-made climate change, the resulting “green” movement is continuing to gain widespread exposure in politics, education, business, and everyday life.
Leadership in this movement is a natural fit for the “public purpose” mission of American state colleges and land-grant institutions. Higher education in the United States is a $300 billion industry with the active audience, intellectual resources, and research-related infrastructure to drive positive change at the local level. Most importantly, institutions of higher education also have the ability to transfer the knowledge, skills, ideas and values needed to usher in a new era of environmental sustainability in the 21st century.
Cost Containment: A Survey of Current Practices at America’s State Colleges and Universities
Member institutions of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities are witnessing measurable success in identifying and implementing cost containment strategies in order to reduce operating costs. Nearly all survey respondents at AASCU institutions place high importance on cost containment, with most having implemented cost control strategies in multiple operational areas. As a result, a majority of the state colleges and universities participating in this study indicated sufficient satisfaction with their cost containment efforts. Institutions rely more on support and business functions in their cost control efforts than on core academic functions. Energy management and consortium purchasing are the two most common areas of focus for cost containment.
Public Policy Agenda 2008
AASCU’s Public Policy Agenda is rooted in an uncompromising commitment to opportunity for the nation’s students and expressed through the following core principles:
Higher education is a common good that provides significant benefits to individuals and society as a whole. While the personal gains from higher education are widely acknowledged, the societal benefits are even more significant and lasting, thus warranting continued public investment. These include tangible returns through economic productivity and increased tax revenues, but even more fundamentally, through the promotion of an enlightened citizenry and greater social cohesion.
America’s public higher education system stands as an embodiment of the nation’s democratic ideals. State colleges and universities accomplish this by promoting broad access to education for all students, regardless of station or circumstance, thus transforming society and setting a global standard. Amid fundamental changes in the state-campus relationship, this principle must not be compromised.
State colleges and universities are committed to delivering America’s promise through quality undergraduate and graduate programs that reflect responsible stewardship of the public investment; meaningful engagement of the social and economic issues facing their states, regions, and communities; and the promotion of global awareness, understanding and competitiveness.
No American should be denied the opportunity to pursue higher education for lack of financial resources. Affordable public sector tuition and need-based federal aid are the two requisite ingredients for realizing this ideal.
Perspectives: Balancing Student Privacy, Campus Security, and Public Safety: Issues for Campus Leaders
The complex issues of promoting student mental health, privacy and public safety—and the delicate balance among them—weigh heavily on the minds of institutional leaders, educational policymakers, and local, state and federal officials. American campuses have a proud history of intellectual freedom, openness and public accessibility to their communities. However, the Virginia Tech shootings on April 16, 2007 marked a grim watershed in American campus violence, casting light on wide-ranging areas of concern,