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Making College More Affordable

NEA higher ed and student programs join with partners in the Campaign for College Affordability to push for interest-rate cuts.

NEA Student chairperson Anthony Daniels joined other student leaders and members of Congress at a press conference January 11 to promote the Campaign for College Affordability National Day of Action, in support of legislation introduced that week to make college more affordable. Daniels identified increasing levels of student debt as a barrier to certain types of public service careers, such as teaching.

Several NEA student leaders joined in the event and later lobbied in support of the legislation, HR-5, The College Student Relief Act, which would cut interest rates in half for subsidized Stafford loans and is part of the House leadership's agenda for the first 100 hours of the new Congress.

NEA’s student and higher education programs are leading members of the Campaign for College Affordability, which sponsored the National Day of Action. Visit www.nea.org/he to find out more.

More than 400 NEA staff and leaders joined thousands of their fellow workers at the U.S. Capitol for a December rally to urge Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, which would strengthen protections for workers seeking union representation.

Nearly 57 million employees say they would join a union if they had the opportunity, according to a nationwide survey by Peter D. Hart Research Associates.

NEA President Reg Weaver called for passage of this critical legislation. “Working families should be revered, respected, and rewarded for the work they do,” he told the gathering. “Instead, they are underpaid, underappreciated and under attack in the workplace. Our nation’s workers deserve better.”

Register now for the 2007 NEA Higher Education Conference—The Academy at Work. The conference will be held March 2–4 at the Hilton San Diego Resort on Mission Bay. Leadership Day (March 1) will focus on the nuts-n-bolts of collective bargaining and advocacy campaigns. Register and get updates at www.nea.org/he.

Applications are now being accepted for the upcoming NEA Higher Education Emerging Leaders Academy. Application packets are available from the NEA Web site at www.nea.org/he or you can e-mail Phadra Williams at pwilliams@nea.org for a copy.

The NEA Higher Education Emerging Leaders Academy (ELA) is a three-session training program over a nine-month period. It is open to all higher education members who meet the program’s eligibility requirements: full-or part-time faculty, education support professionals (ESP), academic professionals, and graduate assistants. NEA covers all expenses allowable under its travel guidelines.