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Youth Cyber Summit

Iowa State is excited to announce the Statewide Youth Cybersecurity Summit, taking place on October 29, 2025 - and they're inviting community colleges across Iowa to help them make it a success by hosting a local summit event. This is a unique opportunity to engage local high school students in hands-on cybersecurity learning; showcase your cybersecurity programs and career pathways; involve your college students as near-peer mentors; and connect with local employers and partners. Each host site will run its own local activities, while participating in a live-streamed statewide kickoff and interactive lunch session. ISU will provide support with ideas for interactive sessions, PR materials, and guidance along the way. To learn more and sign up to host, click here. Let's work together to secure the future - one student at a time. 

Federal Updates

April is Community College Month! This is a time to reach out and remind your elected officials about the importance community colleges have in your communities. Take action by letting them know to join the Congressional Community College Caucus and to cosponsor the Congressional Resolution recognizing the significance of "Community College Month" which identifies April as Community College Month. Also, please check out ACCT's Community College Month toolkit to help you advocate for community colleges all month long!

Recently, over 1,550 international students and graduates have had their visas revoked as a result of a legal status change made by the department of State. The House and Senate Appropriations Committees have begun working on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 appropriations bills. The House and the Senate Appropriations Chairs have released guidance for Members of Congress to submit their funding priorities to the committee. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has started cancelling grants that are deemed inconsistent with NSF's priorities.

With the 119th Congress underway, ACCT has met with education policy staffers on Capitol Hill working in member offices and the House and Senate education committees. While ACCT has an extensive list of priorities, detailed on the Green Sheet, at this time advocacy has focused on the following: Building momentum for reauthorizing the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; Discussing components to include and exclude from the reconciliation bill; and Addressing the looming Pell Grant shortfall through measures that do not restrict Pell Grant eligibility. 

For the rest of this week, Congress will be out of session, which means that lawmakers are working in their districts. This provides an opportunity to invite your Member of Congress to events hosted by your community college or set up meetings at their district office. Members of Congress seek opportunities to learn the latest updates impacting their communities and constituents. If you meet with your lawmaker while they are in town or host them for an event at your institution, please fill out ACCT's Congressional Contact Form to help them best support your advocacy efforts. 

On April 21, 2025, the Trump administration announced that starting May 5, 2025, collections on defaulted student loans will resume. Yesterday evening, President Donald Trump signed seven executive orders meant to set policy for primary, secondary, and postsecondary education. ACCT and STAR Scholars Network are excited to release Global Snapshots: Models, Missions, and Challenges, the first volume in a new series of briefs Mapping Community Colleges Around the World: Comparative Perspectives and Collaborative Pathways. 

REMINDER! On April 29th, there will an in-person hearing for public comment on the Department of Education's Rulemaking Process. 

ACCT August New Trustees GLI

ACCT has just opened registration for their new Trustees Governance Leadership Institute on August 6th-8th, hosted by the Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh, PA. They are delighted to have Dr. Charlene Dukes joining to facilitate this program. This GLI is an immersive and engaging experience which includes interactive workshops and facilitated discussions by experts in the field of community college governance. This institute will focus on the fundamentals of effective board governance and is a must-attend for newly elected and appointed trustees, college presidents, and board staff. More details and registration information can be found here, but please do not hesitate to reach out if you or any of your members have questions. 

It's Time to Push for Community College Funding Priorities

Community colleges are urged to promptly advocate for their fiscal year 2026 funding priorities by contacting congressional representatives, as the House and Senate appropriations committees have opened the submission process, with deadlines approaching in May. To learn more, click here. 

More High Schoolers Taking College Courses, Boosting Community College Enrollment

In 2024, Iowa's community colleges experienced enrollment growth primarily due to a record number of high school students participating in joint enrollment programs, with these students comprising 46% of the total community college population. This surge has prompted discussions among state and institutional leaders about the sustainability and financial implications of offering college credits to high schoolers at no cost. To learn more, click here. 

Release of the 2025 Carnegie Classifications

Since 1973, the Carnegie Classification has served as the gold standard for organizing the landscape of U.S. higher education. By using multidimensional categories to group institutions, the Institutional Classification better reflects the wide variety of institutional missions and organizational structures that exist today. The multidimensional groupings of the Institutional Classification are designed to make the Carnegie Classifications more relevant and useful for policymakers, funders, researchers, and others who rely on the classification system for a comprehensive view of higher education in the United States. More information about the 2025 Institutional Classification, including the classifications and methodology, can be found here. The American Council on Education (ACE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (Carnegie Foundation) published yesterday the latest in a series of updates to the Carnegie Classifications. These updates are intended to reflect the multifaceted nature of higher education in the 21st century and measure the extent to which institutions provide students access and a path to earning competitive wages. More information about the Institutional Classification and the Student Access and Earnings Classification can be found here. The 2025 Student Access and Earnings Classification focuses on student success. The Student Access and Earnings Classification recognizes a wide variety of institutions of all sizes, locations, and types as drivers of opportunities for students. The 2025 Student Earnings and Access Classifications, including interactive visualizations, can be found here. This new classification uses the multidimensional groupings of the 2025 Institutional Classification to evaluate student access and earnings between similar colleges and universities. More information about the 2025 Student Access and Earnings Classification, including the methodology, can be found here. 

White House Endorses AI in Education: What Schools Need to Know

On April 23, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order entitled "Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth" which states that: "AI education in kindergarten through twelfth grade (k-12) is critical." The Order further declared it is the policy of the U.S. to promote AI literacy and proficiency; promote the appropriate integration of AI into education; provide comprehensive AI training for educators; foster early exposure to AI concepts; and foster technology to develop an AI-ready workforce and the next generation of AI Innovators. In light of these changes, F3 Law has developed six key tips to ensure the safe and legally compliant use of AI in schools. 1) All AI tools should be vetted for data privacy compliance. 2) Parent permission may be required before students create work product using open generative AI. 3) No personally identifiable information in open generative AI. 4) AI tools such as chatbots or online mental health counseling may warrant enhanced monitoring for threats to self or others and schools should have a robust system in place for evaluating and responding to such threats. 5) Staff should ensure that content generated by AI for educational purposes is accurate, free of bias, and equitably available to students. 6) Even though the use of AI is rapidly evolving, schools should establish guardrails and expectations for appropriate use. F3 has collaborated on additional resources with key organizations to help districts navigate Artificial Intelligence Implementation and Integration: 

To learn more about F3Law AI Legal Experience, click here for our AI Fact Sheet.

F3 Law is available to assist districts with review of AI software platforms, policy development, or staff training.

Call for Proposals: Cybersecurity, Privacy, Accessibility, and Risk

On Monday, June 2, 2025, from 8:30am-4pm, at Stockton University - Atlantic City Campus, Edge will be hosting a Compliance in Education Symposium. Edge serves as a member-owned, nonprofit provider of high-performance optical fiber networking and internetworking, Internet2, and a vast array of best-in-class technology solutions for cybersecurity, educational technologies, cloud computing, and professional managed services. As regulations evolve and technology advances, education institutions face increasing pressure to ensure compliance across cybersecurity, privacy, accessibility, and risk management. Technologies such as AI, data analytics models, and more are reshaping compliance. Share your compliance expertise at the symposium! Topics should be related to data privacy and governance, digital accessibility and inclusive design, ADA compliance, regulatory compliance and legal frameworks, cybersecurity compliance (GLBA, PCI, NIST, and more); compliance and cyberinsurance; AI, automation, and risk; institutional risk management and resilience; vendor and third-party risk compliance; culture of compliance: training and leadership; emerging threats and future-proofing compliance; and case studies in compliance success. This symposium will provide valuable insights for Cabinet-Level Leaders, Provosts & Academic VPs, CIOs, CISOs, Compliance Officers, Risk Management Officers, Directors of Online Learning, Directors of Centers for Teaching and Learning, Procurement Officers, and anyone with compliance-related responsibilities. 

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