Evan Smith / University of Missouri
As Camera (2018) informs us, the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, with 2008 revisions, has been under much discussion and reevaluation in Congress. The Act includes federal student loans, which greatly affect the US economy, where unemployment is widespread. Will the HEA be reauthorized?
At the time of writing, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) of HELP (the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) are working with or in spite of the Republican Senate, seeking Democratic and Presidential approval. Many meetings have been held, weekly in 2018 and at various times over the years. How Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos will weigh in is uncertain.
On the House side, we have Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), chairing the Education and the Workforce Committee, working to eliminate (1) some federal grants and related programs and (2) regulations that protect student loan borrowers from for-profit institutions. Rep. Foxx’s opponent is Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), with experience revamping No Child Left Behind (NCLB).
Competency Based Learning/Education (CBE), much in the news in its own right, also comes into the picture as a bipartisan plan to let students earn “credits” via demonstration of knowledge or mastery of skills. Other areas of two-party agreement are, paraphrasing Camera (2018):
- Abbreviating and simplifying federal student loan application
- Earlier application toward understanding costs entailed
- Making federal aid and repayments less confusing
- Filling the skills gap via job training and apprenticeships
- Greater accountability and affordability.
Sen. Alexander developed a white paper, referencing, e.g., gainful employment, putting off some Democrats in its proposed elimination of the 90/10 rule that limits for-profits from receiving only up to 90% of federal student aid revenues. To Republicans, this would be unfair to career colleges; to the Democrats, it would protect the armed forces and veterans who are targeted enrollees by for-profits.
Sen. Murray, on the other hand, is focused on campus safety/sexual assault in the HEA, no matter how it is reauthorized. Methods of achieving goals divide the Senate. Secretary DeVos sees apprenticeships as major priority but is said to be silent on most other related matters, for reasons subject to speculation or argument.
The timetable entails:
- Bicameral pushing of the bill to the President in 2018.
- Foxx’s hoping for leaders to call her HE bill to the House for full vote at some point vs. Alexander’s hope for an early-spring 2018 vote.
- Working within the limited framework of an election year that could alter representation in Congress and nationwide.
All of this can change rapidly but, for state authorization professionals, it shows many familiar concepts: complexity, disunity, Title IV and financial aid, preparation for the workforce, apprenticeships, and the “Fed.”
Reference
Camera, L. (2018, February). Congress makes progress on Higher Education Bill. Diverse=*=Military and U.S. News, both accessed 2/14/18.