Washington Watch: ED begins new round of ‘neg reg’
Alexis Gravely and David Baime
January 8, 2024
Negotiators convene today for the first of three sessions held by the U.S. Education Department (ED) to develop new regulations on institutional quality and program integrity. Topics under consideration include accreditation, distance education, state authorization and “Return of Title IV Funds”. All of these issues are consequential for community colleges and their students. Fortunately, the sector is well-positioned to influence the discussions.
Of the 30 primary and alternate negotiators selected by ED to represent 15 constituent groups spanning a wide variety of public and private entities, four come from community colleges. Jo Alice Blondin, president of Clark State College (Ohio) will serve as primary negotiator representing public two-year institutions of higher education (the American Association of Community Colleges nominated Blondin to serve as a negotiator). Michael Cioce, president of Rowan College at Burlington County (New Jersey), will serve as the alternate. Dom Chase, chief financial officer at Indiana’s Ivy Tech Community College, and JoEllen Price, dean of financial aid and scholarships at San Jacinto College (Texas), are also negotiators representing business officers and financial aid administrators, respectively.
