Workforce investment, skills training, shifting student demographics, and reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA) were the topics discussed at a March 4 hearing of the Senate Committee on Health, Education Labor, and Pensions.
Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) presided over the hearing. In his opening remarks he noted the increasing demand for a college-educated workforce.
"Indeed, the proportion of our workforce made up of those with some college education has continued to grow," he said. "Unfortunately, as [Federal Reserve] Chairman [Alan] Greenspan noted, "We appear, nonetheless, to be graduating too few skilled workers to address the apparent imbalance between the supply of such workers and the burgeoning demand for them."
The first witness was Charles Bohlen, president of Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, WY. Bohlen, speaking for the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), said enrollments continue to boom at schools like his as more and more non-traditional students seek entry into college.
Student aid is still the best way to help those students achieve their college dreams, he testified.
"AACC strongly supports the current programs and basic structure of the HEA, and does not believe that the Act is flawed in any fundamental way," he testified. "Rather, reauthorization provides an opportunity to make a system that is working well function even better."
Bohlen went on to make a number of recommendations for the upcoming reauthorization. Specifically, he asked lawmakers to: retain the current definition of "higher education institution," which excludes for-profit entities from student aid eligibility; retain the "90/10 rule," which mandates that for-profit colleges demonstrate that at least 10% of the revenue they receive comes from sources other than Title IV of the HEA; maintain safeguards against fraud and abuse but eliminate the "50% rule" that limits the funding for schools with high levels of distance education students.
Another witness, James C. Votruba, president of the Northern Kentucky University, highlighted the connection between workforce demand at the local level and higher education.
Based on interviews with business leaders in his area, Votruba's institution has organized its workforce development efforts into four categories: seeding intellectual capital by enriching K-12 education; preparing intellectual capital by getting students ready for in-demand fields; sustaining intellectual capital by offering "just in time" access to education for those in the workforce; and providing intellectual capital in the form of faculty expertise to support economic growth.
Other witnesses also shared their efforts at increasing workforce development at the community, state, and national levels.
During the question-and-answer period Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) suggested the possibility of opening Pell grants to needy high school students. While witnesses agreed that increased flexibility for the Pell Grant program would be beneficial, those representing colleges rejected the notion of opening the already over-burdened Pell program to high schools.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) also dismissed the idea of broadening the Pell Grants program, but said she welcomes the idea of creating a new program to help high schoolers prepare for higher education and the workforce.
Alexander also asked witnesses their opinion on changing the Pell Grant program to a year-round--rather than semester-based--program, to support the increasing number of students taking summer, evening, and less-than-half-time courses. College representatives agreed that student financial aid programs needs to be updated to better serve non-traditional students.
"It's clear that the semester system is dying," said Votruba, noting that with the increase in for-profit service-oriented institutions, traditional colleges and universities "no longer have the monopoly on postsecondary education," and must therefore adapt to remain competitive.
Links to complete witness testimony are below:
- Charles Bohlen, president of Laramie County Community College, Cheyenne, WY
- Beth Buehlman, executive director of the Center for Workforce Preparation, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- Diana Oblinger, executive director of higher education for the Microsoft Corp.
- Ellen O'Brien Saunders, executive director of the Washington State Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board
- James C. Votruba, president of the Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY
By Elizabeth B. Guerard
NASFAA Assistant Director of Communications
Posted March 5, 2004 on
www.NASFAA.org, the Web Site of the
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA).
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