Yesterday, the House approved the Higher Education Act reauthorization (H.R. 609) along party lines by a vote of 221 to 199.
The $70 billion proposal renews the law until 2012, and sets the terms for loans and grants along with the maximum aid limits.
Some of the most egregious provisions were stripped from the bill due to the efforts of independent institutions like Goucher College.
Now the focus shifts to the Senate.
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Friday, 31 Mar 2006
Wednesday, 29 Mar 2006
Today, the House GOP leadership will move its legislation to reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA). The House voted only last week on an extension of the HEA through the end of June, and the Senate is expected to move a similar extension sometime this week.
Much of the work related to the HEA reauthorization student aid programs (Title IV), which included federal student loans, was accomplished as part of the budget reconciliation measure that was passed by Congress and signed by President Bush in early 2006. Still, the House bill (H.R. 609) contains a number of provisions relating to transfer of credit, accreditation, graduate education, international education, college cost, and Pell Grants.
The independent institutions, including Goucher College, has several concerns about H.R. 609, as outlined below:
Price controls. In the House bill, colleges that exceed a certain federal price index would be required to adopt and submit a price control plan to the Secretary of Education, and the Secretary must follow up if the price cap is exceeded. We certainly understand the frustration surrounding the rising cost of tuition, but this is not the answer.
States as accreditors. The House bill allows states to become accreditors, essentially giving the state control over the curriculum and mission of private colleges -- and forcing us to lose our independence.
Federal oversight on the awarding of credit. While the language is improved and now better reflects our community's recommended practice, the private colleges still do not believe the federal government has a role to play in these matters.
Undermining student aid programs. The House bill creates a single definition of higher education, and guts the 90-10 rule (and we have already lost on the 50 percent rule.) We need to protect current law on this issue.
Federal government interference in areas at the heart of our institutional mission. The diversity of higher education is one of our country's core strengths, and if the government controls areas such as admissions, curriculum, the awarding of credit, and price structures, then we have lost our independence, and what helps to make our system of higher education strong.
At this time, it is uncertain what the Senate will do with the remaining pieces of the HEA reauthorization. Since the bulk of the Senate HEA legislation was included in the final budget reconciliation bill, it is unclear if they will simply incorporate the HEA provisions not included in the reconciliation into a new bill, or start the reauthorization process over from scratch.
Friday, 17 Mar 2006
There are new rules for student loans, contained in the Deficit Reduction Act, passed by Congress and signed by the President in February of this year.
Yesterday the Senate narrowly approved a $2.8 trillion budget after a day of marathon voting. The passage of the FY 2007 budget came just hours after the Senate had passed a measure to increase federal borrowing power to avert a govenrment default.
A win for higher education was the passage of the Specter-Harkin Amendment to the FY 2007 budget (sponsored by Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), which increased total discretionary funding for health and education (including student aid) by $7 billion.
However, these and other changes mean that reaching a final budget deal with the House will be difficult, given the resistance to new spending. I will keep you updated on the
FY 2007 budget and education funding as it winds it way through the legislative process.
Thursday, 16 Mar 2006
Status of Sellinger Aid
The Governor's budget fully funds the Sellinger Program in FY 2007. In addition, we are told that members of both budget committees strongly support the independent institutions and the Department of Legislative Services (DLS) has not recommended any reductions. A decision by the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee and the House Appropriations Committee is expected within the next two weeks.
Increase in Financial Aid Funding
The FY 2007 budget contains $17.7 million in new financial aid funds, mainly for need-based programs. The increase includes $15 million in additional funds for the Education Assistance (EA) program and $2.3 million in funds for the Guaranteed Access (GA) program.
President's Budget Update
President Bush’s FY 2007 budget was submitted to Congress on February 6. Two-thirds of the spending in the President’s $2.7 trillion budget is for entitlement programs (Social Security, Medicare, as well as interest payments on the national debt.)
The remaining third of the budget, or $871 billion, is proposed for discretionary (appropriations) spending. Aside from funding for Defense and the Department of Homeland Security, which was increased, other domestic discretionary spending was cut and projected to remain frozen until 2011.
The overall Department of Education funding is cut by $2.1 billion or 3.8 percent. This includes:
• $734 million in cuts to student aid.
• A Pell Grant maximum of $4,050 for the fifth year in a row.
• The dismantling of the Perkins Loan program, and elimination of funding for Talent Search, Upward Bound, GEAR Up, and Vocational Education State Grants.
• Flat funding for Federal Work-Study, Graduate Education programs, and SEOG (Supplmental Educational Opportunity Grant) after four years of cuts.
Deficit Reduction Act Reauthorizes Student Loan Program
On February 8, 2006, President Bush signed the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 into law, and at least one lawsuit has already been filed to challenge the constitutionality of the act since a typographical error caused the House and Senate versions of the bill to be slightly different.
The bill passed the House in mid-December by a vote of 212 to 206, then it was slighly modified to comply with Senate rules before passing on a 51-50 vote. The House returned in early February and passed it by a close vote of 216 to 214, with 13 Republicans voting against it.
Unfortunately, the student loan programs provided 28 percent of the budget savings, or approximately $12 billion. There were other student loan spending provisions attached to the budget bill including two new grant programs for high-achieving Pell-eligible U.S. citizens: Academic Competitive Grants and Smart Grants (for those who major in science, math, and certain foreign languages.)
Status of the HEA Reauthorization
The budget reconciliation included some sections of the HEA reauthorization: the loan provisions, need analysis changes, removal of the 50 percent rule on distance education, enactment of the SMART and Academic Competitive Grants, etc.
The other HEA provisions must wait for a subsequent reauthorization process -- those provisions include accreditation issues, academic diversity, teacher education provisions, international education, and graduate programs. The second Higher Education Extension is set to expire on March 31, 2006, and Congress will most likely pass another extension of the law. The prospects for HEA reauthorization this year are uncertain.
Questions or comments? Contact Wendy Belzer Litzke at wendy.litzke@goucher.edu or at 410-337-6042.