Creative Commons (CC) has joined NEBHE’s Cost Savings Programs and will offer a 15% regional discount on individual and institution purchases of CC professional learning opportunities through June 30, 2022. The nonprofit Creative Commons provides Creative Commons licenses and public domain tools giving every person and organization in the world a free standardized way to grant copyright permissions for creative and academic works; ensures proper attribution; and allows others to copy, distribute and make use of those works. The NEBHE collaboration focuses on CC's professional development courses.

The Maine Community College System named Central Maine Community College interim President Betsy Libby to the permanent presidency of the Auburn-based community college. Libby had become interim president of the campus in summer 2020. ... Political theorist and professor John Tomasi will depart Brown University after 25 years to serve as inaugural president of Heterodox Academy (HxA), a nonpartisan group dedicated to advocating for viewpoint diversity, open inquiry and constructive disagreement on campuses and in classrooms. ... See more on these and other changes in NEJHE's "Comings and Goings" tally of new appointments in New England higher ed and beyond.

Pictured: Betsy Libby

Learning, All Grown Up: Key Takeaways from Data on Adult Learners in New England 

Adult education is particularly important in New England due to the region’s aging population. New England’s median age is 41, compared with the national median age of 39. Because of this, older workers play a more pronounced role in the regional economy, and adult education takes on added significance, writes Miles Rubens, a Dartmouth College student and NEBHE policy & research intern. Adult learning is an important focus of NEBHE. In 2019, the board designated one of its four strategic priorities as enhancing postsecondary opportunities for adult learners. In a new series of fact sheets, NEBHE provides updated data on adult learners in the six New England states, highlighting economic conditions, universities that serve adult learners, educational attainment figures, and labor market information. Among key findings: Nursing is the region's most frequently listed skill, fueled by an aging population and persistent pandemic.

In keeping with its priority to better serve adult learners in New England, NEBHE has released early results of the second biennial Guide to New England's Adult-Serving Colleges and Universities Survey. The survey covers topics including open educational resources, recognition of prior learning experiences and innovations in course delivery and student services. Above are some early results related to how institutions may offer credit for non-academic experiences

Explore the 2019 survey results through NEBHE's Student Services Portal.

NEBHE's Monthly Policy Dispatch Looks at Repurposing Articulation Agreements for the Modern Transfer Ecosystem

To subscribe to The Monthly Policy Dispatch, click here or contact NEBHE Associate Director of Policy Research and Analysis Stephanie Murphy at policy@nebhe.org.

We seek an intern for the fall 2021 and spring 2022 semesters to support NEBHE’s Regional Student Program, Tuition Break. The internship requires a commitment of 10-20 hours per week (negotiable). This is a paid position with preference for a student that is eligible for Federal Work Study. A successful intern will be a graduate student or upper-class undergraduate student who can effectively research and communicate detailed and technical information. To apply, eligible candidates should email a cover letter and resume to tuitionbreak@nebhe.org with a subject line of “RSP Internship.” See full position description here.

The events surrounding Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court will have an effect on college campuses. Many students have experienced or know others who've experienced unwanted sexual overtures, bad decision-making leading to police intervention, negative social media engagement and differing interpretations of contentious events. Higher education consultant and former Southern Vermont College President Karen Gross suggests faculty use their own expertise in an integrative way to help students process the issues raised by the Kavanaugh confirmation. "For example, might a professor of rhetoric reflect on the opening statements of Christine Blasey Ford and now Justice Kavanaugh? Might a criminal law professor discuss the validity of witness and victim memory and how we can improve observational skills? Might a biology or chemistry professor reflect on how the hippocampus works and what research is being conducted on how our brain processes memory and trauma? Might a political science professor reflect on the role of the Supreme Court in a tripartite government and the history and effectiveness of Senate advice and consent?"

Tune in to Michelle R. Weise, author of Long Life Learning: Preparing for Jobs that Don't Even Exist Yet

NEJHE has been pleased to feature Michelle Weise's insights on several occasions. For example, see:

To Prepare Nimble Thinkers … A NEJHE Q&A with Michelle Weise

Editor's Note: NEJHE readers may notice we've restyled the word Covid to upper- and lowercase, rather than all-uppercase COVID. And we'll be less obsessive about presenting it only followed by -19. Our default style guide, the Associated Press Stylebook, hasn't made these change yet, but many trusted sources like The Chronicle of Higher Education have. And unfortunately, it seems like, however you spell it, Covid is going to be a regular part of the lexicon. Perhaps we're just trying to cut it down to size. -J.O.H.