U.S. Education Officials to Address Rural Community College Alliance Conference in Dubuque, Iowa

Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education Brenda Dann-Messier and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Rural Outreach John White will deliver keynote addresses at the Rural Community College Alliance Conference Wednesday, Sept. 26 and Thursday, Sept. 27 in Dubuque, Iowa.

On Wednesday, White will discuss college affordability, asking the rural community college leaders to voluntarily adopt the Education Department’s “Financial Aid Shopping Sheet.” The document is a model financial aid award letter designed to show parents and students in a uniform, transparent manner the amount of aid for which they qualify. The Shopping Sheet also enables parents and students to easily compare aid packages offered by different institutions. The Education Department recently announced that already more than 300 institutions have voluntarily adopted the Shopping Sheet for the 2013-14 school year.

Thursday, Dann-Messier will meet with members of the Rural Community College Alliance. She will discuss the Obama administration’s blueprint for transforming career and technical education and the reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, as they relate to meeting the needs of learners in America’s rural communities.

The Rural Community College Alliance is a network and advocacy group that helps to build the capacity of member community colleges to improve the educational and economic prospects for rural America. The alliance seeks to reduce rural isolation and share effective solutions to problems facing distressed rural communities.