
Jared C.
Bass
Senior Director
The Higher Education team works toward building an affordable and high-quality higher education system that supports economic mobility and racial equity.
Our team explores how to reform a higher education system that is failing to adequately serve students of color and other overlooked populations, including adults, student parents, part-time students, veterans, and individuals impacted by the justice system.
We call for changes to make college affordable for current and future students and their families. We also work to lift the burden of student debt and fix a troubled student loan repayment system for current and future borrowers.
We advocate for a system where all colleges and programs offer a path to economic security and make sure their students reach the finish line. We also seek to hold education providers, accreditors, loan servicers, and other actors accountable for their service to students and borrowers.
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As the U.S. Department of Education prepares to publish its final gainful employment rule, learn more about the history of this key consumer safeguard meant to eliminate the worst actors before multitudes of students fall prey to poor practices.
The Ability to Benefit provision for federal financial aid is underutilized but has great potential to increase educational attainment among adults without high school diplomas.
Jared C. Bass, senior director for Higher Education at the Center for American Progress, testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education on the importance of funding for the Office of Federal Student Aid.
In a comment letter submitted to the U.S. Department of Education, Madison Weiss provides recommendations on the low-financial-value postsecondary programs list.
In a comment letter submitted to the U.S. Department of Education, Bradley D. Custer discusses income-driven repayment regulation and the need for a student loan repayment system with a functional safety net.
In the third and final installment in a series on Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs), the Center for American Progress and American Indian College Fund examine how a Tribal university in New Mexico is creating engineering and advanced manufacturing career opportunities on the rural Navajo Nation.
In the second installment in a three-part series on Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs), the Center for American Progress and American Indian College Fund look at Leech Lake Tribal College’s law enforcement degree program and the college’s work on cultural revitalization and basic needs insecurity.
The U.S. Department of Education’s final rules on borrower defense to repayment, closed school discharge, and false certification will help protect students and taxpayers from predatory institutions.
This coalition letter, led by the Center for American Progress, asks the U.S. Department of Education to work closely with the U.S. Department of Justice to distribute information about student loan debt relief to incarcerated student loan borrowers.
In the first installment in a series on Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs), the Center for American Progress and American Indian College Fund explore the essential role TCUs play in their communities and why investing in them should be a priority for policymakers.
Race-conscious remedies, such as voting rights protections and affirmative action in college admissions, are supported by the Constitution, are a part of American history, and are essential to equal opportunity.
The Future of Higher Education in a Post-Debt Cancellation United States