September 2008
New Federal Higher Education Act (HEA) Approved
After five years and fourteen temporary extensions of the previous law, the Higher Education Act has been reauthorized. The law is the major federal policymaking guide in higher education. Congress approved the 1,158 page bill on August 7. President Bush signed it one week later on August 14.
After five years and fourteen temporary extensions of the previous law, the Higher Education Act has been reauthorized. The law is the major federal policymaking guide in higher education. Congress approved the 1,158 page bill on August 7. President Bush signed it one week later on August 14.
The new HEA calls for many major changes in higher education. It is likely that many of the changes will restrict how schools operate. The bill has both supporters and critics. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), a former Secretary of Education, voted against the bill, saying it confirms his “belief that the greatest threat to quality of American higher education is not underfunding. It is overregulation.”
What follows is a summary of some of the major changes in the law.
The Good News
Included in the new bill are a number of actions that will assist students and colleges. These include:
Included in the new bill are a number of actions that will assist students and colleges. These include:
- Changes in student loan program activities that are designed to restore integrity and accountability to the system. They include new codes of conduct and procedures that will offer better information to students and parents as they consider loan options.
- Simplification of the federal student aid application process. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form will be revised and a FAFSA-EZ version will be developed for students who would qualify for an “auto-zero” family contribution.
- Efforts to provide more information to students about textbooks to reduce costs. Textbooks accompanied with study guides or electronic versions will need to be offered in an unbundled form. (A new state law on the same subject was approved earlier this year.) Publishers will be required to provide colleges and faculty with pricing information. Colleges will be required to list the price of required and recommended textbooks for each course on their online course schedule prior to registration.
- College access may be improved through changes in the Pell Grant program that will provide for part-time study, year-round awards and Pell grants for certificate programs. The maximum authorized annual Pell award was increased to $8,000. The actual annual limit, however, is set by appropriation, and is currently less than $5,000.
- Various improvements to college aid and support for veterans and military families.
- New initiatives to ensure equal college opportunities for students with disabilities.
- Programs to encourage colleges to adopt sustainable and energy-efficient practices.
- Reauthorized Supplemental education opportunity grants (SEOG) and work-study programs.
New Grant Programs
By the count of the Department of Education there are approximately 60 new grant programs created in the bill. Among these are new grant programs for:
By the count of the Department of Education there are approximately 60 new grant programs created in the bill. Among these are new grant programs for:
- Promoting teaching of science, technology, engineering and math.
- Producing increased numbers of graduates trained in foreign languages and international studies; and foreign language partnerships between local school districts and college foreign language departments.
- Designing and implementing sustainable practices.
- Developing and implementing state-of-the-art emergency systems.
- Cooperative education and articulation agreements.
- Textbook rental.
- Reducing campus-based digital theft.
To be fully implemented, grant programs will need accompanying annual appropriations that would be included in budget bills in future fiscal years.
Loan Forgiveness
Included in the legislation is a significant expansion of the federal government’s program for forgiving portions of student loans. Graduates carrying federal loans who work as public defenders and state and local prosecutors will be eligible for up to $10,000 a year or a total of $60,000 in loan forgiveness. Civil legal-assistance lawyers will qualify for up to $5,000 of loan forgiveness.
Included in the legislation is a significant expansion of the federal government’s program for forgiving portions of student loans. Graduates carrying federal loans who work as public defenders and state and local prosecutors will be eligible for up to $10,000 a year or a total of $60,000 in loan forgiveness. Civil legal-assistance lawyers will qualify for up to $5,000 of loan forgiveness.
Graduates who work in the following fields would be eligible for up to $2,000 a year or a total loan forgiveness of $10,000:
- Early-childhood educator
- Foreign-language specialist
- Librarian
- Child-welfare worker
- Speech-language pathologist
- Audiologist
- School counselor
- Nurse; nutrition professional; medical specialist; mental health professional; dentist
- Physical therapist; occupational therapist
- Employees in science, technology, engineering and math fields
- Superintendent, principal and other school administrators
- “Highly qualified” teachers serving low-income or underrepresented students, or those with limited English proficiency
Among the most widely discussed and criticized parts of the new legislation are requirements for the preparation of a variety of Web pages, financial calculators and “transparency lists” that sponsors believe will provide more thorough and up-to-date information for students and parents about actual college costs, as well as the relationship of college attendance to the future employability of students.
Canisius and other schools will face significant new administrative responsibilities under the new law that will undoubtedly add to the expenses of institutions at the same time that federal officials are raising concerns about the costs of higher education.
Implementation of these plans will follow from subsequent development of technical amendments to the legislation as well as federal regulations by Department of Education bureaucrats, so actual details about operations are at least months away. In broad outline, these are the policies they will implement:
- Development of a user-friendly Web site that lists college tuition, fees, average grants, recent price increases and other information.
- Web-based calculators to estimate costs of college attendance, including multi-year tuition estimates.
- Regulations that require states to maintain higher education funding levels.
- Regulations that will hold colleges and universities accountable for tuition hikes, in some cases requiring schools to report the reasons for increases and what they are doing about it.
It is this last issue that will be very complicated to implement, and in the view of some, of limited utility. Here are some of the features of these accountability measures.
The Lists. As of 2011, the Secretary of Education will be required to publish 54 different lists that highlight changes in tuition and fees for all colleges and universities.
The institutions that have the largest percentage change in tuition and fees, as well as net pricing, will be required to report to the Secretary of Education with a description of the areas in the institution’s budget with the greatest cost increases and a description of the steps the institution will take toward the goal of reducing costs in these areas.
Truth in Tuition. A provision of the law requires the development of a “multi-year tuition calculator” to allow “consumers” to estimate the amount of tuition a student would pay at a particular institution.
Price Information. The Secretary of Education will be required to include a “Higher Education Pricing Summary Page” for each institution on its College Navigator Web site.
Net Price. The Secretary of Education is required to develop an individual net price calculator. Within three years, each institution must make a net price calculator available on its Web site.
All of this comes following the development of a Web site that contains extensive information about the operations and finances of independent colleges and universities, www.ucan-network.org. Launched in September 2007, U-CAN is a product of the efforts of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU). More than 700 schools, including Canisius College, participate in U-CAN.
Reporting Requirements
Some of the most critical comments about the new legislation concern its new reporting requirements which total more than three hundred. Some data and information required by the bill will require new forms of data collection.
Some of the most critical comments about the new legislation concern its new reporting requirements which total more than three hundred. Some data and information required by the bill will require new forms of data collection.
New reporting requirements include for safety issues; health matters; drug and alcohol abuse prevention; enrollment and post-graduation matters; peer-to-peer file sharing; textbooks; and transfer of credit policies.
Detailed Information
For further information concerning provisions of the new HEA, the reader may review the following link, which was prepared by Congressional staff:
For further information concerning provisions of the new HEA, the reader may review the following link, which was prepared by Congressional staff:
- Summary of Major Provisions in the HEA Conference Report (Adobe Acrobat PDF)
Follow-up questions can also be directed to the Canisius Government Relations Office (krulyk@canisius.edu).
State News
The State Legislature convened on August 19 to consider recommendations from Governor Paterson to make cuts in the 2008-2009 budget in order to keep the spending plan in balance. The legislature rejected proposed cuts that would have affected the Tuition Assistance Program. Cuts to the Higher Education Opportunity Program and Bundy Institutional Aid, however, were approved. Other budget reductions included a $3,000 cut (from an original $50,000 amount) in a legislative appropriation for the Canisius Women’s Business Center.
The State Legislature convened on August 19 to consider recommendations from Governor Paterson to make cuts in the 2008-2009 budget in order to keep the spending plan in balance. The legislature rejected proposed cuts that would have affected the Tuition Assistance Program. Cuts to the Higher Education Opportunity Program and Bundy Institutional Aid, however, were approved. Other budget reductions included a $3,000 cut (from an original $50,000 amount) in a legislative appropriation for the Canisius Women’s Business Center.
The Canisius College Government Relations Newsletter is a service of the College Relations Division. John J. Hurley, executive vice president and vice president for college relations; Debra S. Park, associate vice president for public relations; Kenneth C. Kruly, director of government relations (716-888-3755).