Illinois, Louisiana, and Nevada have become the latest states to join the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21), a national effort to integrate 21st-century skills into teaching and learning to prepare students for a global, information-based economy.

P21 made the announcement at the end of a recent Cyber Summit, which ran online June 1-9. The summit featured a series of nine webinars that gave policy makers and educators a chance to collaborate, share ideas, and learn from their colleagues who have implemented 21st-century skills programs in their own states and school systems.

Education and career services company, Kaplan Inc., signed a lease Wednesday for a nearly 100,000-square-foot building in Alpharetta, which the company said would accommodate its growing back office functions and bring 75 new jobs to the northern metro area.

New York City-based Kaplan has occupied a 34,000-square-foot facility at 3750 Brookside Parkway in Atlanta since 2005. Its 344 current employees and will move to Alpharetta in September.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- On Wednesday, a new repayment option changed to make monthly payments more affordable for Americans with heavy federal student loan burdens.

Recent changes to Pell Grant student lending offer changes that can affect future and past students who borrow for college.

A new "income-based repayment plan" protects borrowers by linking payments to income and family size. A related new program offers additional benefits to those working in public service jobs.