Washington Watch: AACC outlines transition agenda proposals

Community College Daily

David Baime

December 13, 2020

Washington Watch is produced by the AACC office of government relations and policy analysis.

The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) has publicly released its formal top-line transition agenda for the incoming Biden administration.

President-elect Joe Biden has created numerous teams, generally focused on individual departments, that are formally dedicated to ensuring that new executive branch personnel are familiar with the priorities of major interest groups. AACC’s policy statement complements its detailed U.S. Education Department regulatory agenda.

AACC President and CEO Walter Bumphus has formally met twice with members of the education transition team. AACC Board Chair William Serrata, president of El Paso Community College (Texas), and immediate past-Chair Alex Johnson, president of Ohio’s Cuyahoga Community College, also represented AACC to the transition team.

The communication to the Biden transition team focuses on longstanding AACC priorities in the areas of student financial assistance, workforce training, institutional support and other areas. Many of AACC’s positions have been reflected in campaign proposals from then-candidate Biden. In turn, some of the Biden-Harris proposals echo ideas either proposed by President Barack Obama or advanced in Congress, generally by Democrats.

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