Up to 60 percent of undergraduates seek to transfer credits into or across institutions in their learning journey. Articulation agreements are a key to facilitating this process. However, most colleges and universities in the United States do not possess articulation systems and processes that promote the type of transparency and ease-of-use that make transfer a help rather than a hindrance to student success in higher education.

Barriers to transfer cost students and taxpayers billions of dollars in student-paid tuition dollars, state subsidies to public institutions, student financial aid, and delayed tax revenue when students take longer to access higher-paying jobs that require college degrees.

There are upstart leaders in higher education who are blazing a trail of effective articulation policies. This session will take an in-depth look at these solutions at both the systemic and individual institution level. Please join us for this exciting event.

Increasing the minimum wage during hard times is good economics and widely popular according to cutting-edge research. Two recently released academic studies further strengthen 15 years of research showing that increasing the minimum wage boosts incomes without slowing job creation, even during weak economic periods. New public opinion findings demonstrate significant bipartisan support for raising the minimum wage at a time when job growth is concentrated in low-wage industries and boosting consumer spending is critical to the economic recovery.

Please join the Center for American Progress and the National Employment Law Project for a timely discussion of this new research on the minimum wage and its policy implications featuring the authors of this research as well as leading policy experts.

The economic engine that created unprecedented levels of wealth and prosperity in the United States is being challenged as never before as as companies, both large and small, are confronting nontraditional trade finance policies in emerging economies around the world. How the United States addresses the emergence of state-driven capitalism will have profound consequences for American businesses and competitiveness for years to come.

Are foreign governments intervening in markets to promote their own firms and thus distorting competition? Do these new models of capitalism threaten our position as the world’s dominant economy? What should the U.S. government's policies be? Export-Import Bank Chairman and President Fred Hochberg will address these questions with a focus on what he sees in the world of export finance and preview the agency’s annual competitiveness report being released later this month.

Sweden is known as a nation of high taxation and progressive labor and family policies, yet the World Economic Forum increased Sweden's rank to second in the world on their competitiveness index in 2010. Do the robust family and labor policies in Sweden point to a new model of economy growth grounded on the principles of full employment and strong two-wage-earner households that align social welfare and economic policies?

Please join CAP as we welcome Swedish Minister of Social Security Ulf Kristersson and our expert panel to explore the key elements of Swedish economic and social welfare policy and examine the options for replication of these policies in developing economies as well as their application to stabilizing and expanding America's middle class.

Have you ever looked at a phone bill and noticed additional charges that were placed inconspicuously without your authorization? That's called "cramming"—and it's illegal. These charges might be as small as 99 cents or as substantial as $19.99 per month. But because they are not clearly disclosed on the phone bill, they often go undetected for months or even years. Research suggests that only 1 in 20 consumers who are affected by "cramming" are aware of the problem, which likely costs Americans hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski will deliver an announcement about cramming from the Center for American Progress on Monday, June 20. The chairman will also discuss his consumer agenda, including proactive steps that the agency is taking to help consumers avoid cramming.

On March 15, 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, proposed the first-ever standards that would require coal-fired power plants to reduce their emissions of toxic air pollutants, including mercury, arsenic, and lead. The public health benefits of limiting these emissions have been well-documented by both scientists and medical professionals. But a lesser-known fact is the proposed rules are expected to create nearly 360,000 jobs and generate almost $200 billion in capital improvements by 2015. These standards are also achievable: 60 percent of all coal-fired boilers that submitted stack test data to the EPA are already achieving the proposed mercury limits.

Please join the Energy Opportunity program of the Center for American Progress for a timely discussion of this proposed rule and its implications for reliable and affordable electricity, job creation, capital investment, and the economy.

There’s a huge gap today between the legal needs of low-income people and the capacity of the civil legal assistance system to meet those needs. Less than 20 percent of poor Americans’ legal needs are being met, requiring unrepresented litigants to navigate complex and often unfriendly court systems. There’s also severe inequality among states in legal aid funding.

Please join us at this special program co-sponsored by the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy and Center for American Progress for a conversation with law scholars and legal aid experts about how we can overcome the access-to-justice gap at a time of rising need—and how policymakers should decide where to most effectively direct scarce resources. NPR host Michel Martin will moderate what promises to be a provocative subject that increasingly affects millions of low-income and moderate-income Americans.

As the Obama administration decides how many troops to withdraw as part of its transition to Afghan lead, a debate is raging among policymakers and the broader American public about desired outcomes and strategy in Afghanistan.

Please join the Center for American Progress for a discussion with Reps. Walter B. Jones (R-NC) and Jim McGovern (D-MA), who are steering Congress in a new direction on U.S. policy toward Afghanistan. They will discuss their recent legislative efforts to press for more clarity on the transition planning process, the politics in Congress and beyond around Afghanistan, and U.S. policy towards Afghanistan more broadly. This will be the fourth panel in a Center for American Progress series: Transition and Realignment in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Almost every week, members of Congress are introducing bills to address new tracking technologies and the privacy challenges they pose. With the explosion of smartphone use and mobile apps, there is unprecedented information about “where you are”—your location information. With the spread of new types of “fingerprinting” of your computer, advertisers are gaining new details into “what you see” as you surf from website to website.

The same tracking techniques that pose privacy problems are also at the heart of numerous new apps and business models. Many observers worry that overly restrictive legal rules could harm innovation and economic growth, while also depriving consumers of tools that they wish to have.

This event will bring together leaders in the effort to protect privacy while also enabling the benefits of innovative technology. Speakers will discuss the technology, law, and policy of “what to do” about emerging tracking technologies, with special attention to the concerns of kids and families.