The Senate formally appointed conferees on legislation to reauthorize the Higher Education Act (H.R. 4137) yesterday and Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), who is filling in for Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) as lead Senate negotiator, held a conference meeting on the legislation last night to hammer out final details. The compromise bill, dubbed the Higher Education Opportunity Act, next heads to the House and Senate floors where it is expected to pass before Congress begins its August recess at the end of this week.
"I applaud the hard work of education leaders in the House and Senate and all of the stakeholders in this process to pass this vital piece of legislation reauthorizing the Higher Education Act," said NASFAA President and CEO Dr. Philip Day. "This long-anticipated legislation comes at a pivotal time. Passage just before so many schools commence their academic year signals a commitment to students that the nation is willing to invest in their academic success. If America is going to maintain its position as a world leader, we cannot let these students fall through the cracks."
Lawmakers who have worked for seven years on this HEA reauthorization also applauded the compromise bill.
"Today's action by the Conference Committee is a major step forward for college students and their families," said Kennedy in a press statement yesterday evening. "As the cost of college continues to rise, this bill could not come at a more crucial moment. We must act quickly to move to final passage of this important bill."
The final sticking point in the bill focused on an amendment originally offered by Rep. John Tierney (D-MA) that would punish states that did not maintain minimum spending levels on higher education by withholding matching grant funds from them. Conferees adopted Tierney's proposal last evening, which cleared the way for approval of the final bill.
"After over four years of negotiations, Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate have reached agreement on a number of key measures to help American students," said the ranking Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Michael Enzi (R-WY). "Four years is long enough - the time to act is now."
The bill would require higher education institutions to disclose more information about school costs and require institutions to draft codes of conduct for their relationships with lenders. The provisions governing financial aid office relationships with lenders would supersede any current state or institutional codes of conduct once the bill is signed into law. The bill would also provide more flexibility for low-income students by authorizing year-round Pell Grants.
The ranking Republican on the House Education and the Workforce Committee Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-CA) highlighted provisions in the bill designed to create more accountability among higher education institutions and create more consumer-friendly information for parents and students.
"The bill recognizes the remarkable power of sunshine and transparency to empower consumers and create higher education system that will continue to be the best in the world," McKeon said. "I look forward to swift passage of this agreement in the House and Senate so that we can send it to the President for his signature."
Among other things the bill would:
Authorize year-round Pell grants so that students can accelerate their course of study
Expand the ACG program to part-time students as well as those seeking certificates and puts states in charge determining whether a high school program qualifies as a rigorous course of study
Simplify the financial aid application process, especially for low-income students
Require lenders to provide up-front disclosures of loan rates and terms
Require private loans to be certified by higher education institutions
Require colleges to establish Codes of Conduct to prohibit financial aid employees from receiving anything of value in exchange for advantages sought by lenders
Require greater disclosure in college costs, including: college price watch lists; internet-based calculators of the net cost of college; and greater disclosure of textbook costs
Provide in-state tuition for members of the Armed Forces and their dependents who have lived in a state for more than 30 days
Increase funds for graduate programs at historically HBCUs and HSIs
Provide new ways for schools to meet the 90/10 rule that currently requires them to receive at least 10 percent of their revenues from non-financial aid sources
Prohibit the Department from issuing rules on higher education accreditation based on measuring student learning outcomes
NASFAA will provide a summary of the HEA reauthorization bill in the near future followed by in depth analysis of HEA provisions that will have the greatest impact on financial aid offices and students.
For continuing coverage of HEA developments check out NASFAA's HEA Reauthorization Web Page
The text of the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 is available online in PDF format.
Additional Media Coverage
By Haley Chitty and Justin Draeger
NASFAA Associate Directors of Communications
Posted 07/30/08 to www.NASFAA.org. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited. Please submit Web Site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org.
