Campus Talk: Congress reaches compromise on ‘No Child Left Behind’ fix

Editor’s note: Each Tuesday, Talk Business & Politics provides “Campus Talk,” a recap and deep-dive into education topics.

CONGRESS REACHES COMPROMISE ON “NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND” FIX: U.S. House and Senate lawmakers on Monday came to an agreement to overhaul the No Child Left Behind law, which has been revised to remove what critics called “outdated federal K-12 education policies” and replace them with the adoption of so-called student-centered learning models.

Congress sent two education bills, one from the House and one from the Senate, to a conference committee where lawmakers combined the two in an effort to compromise. The bipartisan bill will be sent to President Obama to be signed into law. Because the White House has already announced its support of the move, it is likely that the bill will be approved.

ASU RECEIVES $477,000 GRANTS FROM USDA FOR DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAM: The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced that it is investing $23.4 million in 75 projects across 31 states and the Western Pacific to expand distance learning and telemedicine opportunities in rural areas. Arkansas State University received a grant for $477,000 to connect 13 public libraries to the university system. The grants are being provided through USDA Rural Development’s Distance Learning and Telemedicine program. They may be used to purchase equipment to provide educational and telemedicine services to rural communities. Funding of each award is contingent upon the recipient meeting the terms of the grant agreement.

MOST U.S. STUDENTS STILL ONLY APPLYING TO ATTEND ONE UNIVERSITY: The U.S. Department of Education said “a troubling two-thirds” of freshmen students filling out FAFSA financial aid application designated only one school to send their financial aid application information, a trend the Obama administration has targeted for improvement.

In new quarterly updates posted on the Education Department’s Federal Student Aid Data Center, 68% of freshmen students filling out the 2014-15 FAFSA listed only one college, indicating that they were only applying to one school. Still, that’s better than the 80% who recorded just one school in 2008-09, the department said. The quarterly report contains regular updates on the Department’s student loan portfolio, including repayment status and plan information. This quarter’s report also included new data on FAFSA completion.