NASFAA has compiled a general overview of the Higher Education Opportunity Act, legislation passed by Congress on July 31 that reauthorizes and makes several changes to the Higher Education Act. Primary emphasis has been on reviewing the sections of the Act that will have the most impact on financial aid administrators. NASFAA will be examining the entire Act and also be sure to pass along any pertinent information found in any sections not covered in this summary.
The Titles and Sections covered in the NASFAA summary include:
The reauthorization legislation is enormous, totaling more than 1,100 pages. NASFAA staff compiled this general summary using the explanatory statement of the conference committee as well as the legislative text of the Conference Report. It is important to note that this summary attempts to summarize lawmakers' intent with the language. The Department will have the final say in interpreting lawmakers' intent when it develops regulatory language through the Negotiated Rulemaking process.
In the coming weeks, Today's News will run "NASFAA HEA Analysis" - a series of in-depth and specific issue articles examining individual provisions affecting your operations and students. This summary will include links to those in-depth articles as they are produced.
While this legislation passed by wide margins in both the House and Senate, it has not yet been signed into law by President Bush. White House spokesman Scott Stanzel told Congress Daily that President Bush had not decided whether to sign the bill. NASFAA will update the summary Web page and send out an update through Today's News on the bill's final outcome.
NASFAA's summary of the Higher Education Opportunity Act is available through NASFAA's HEA Implementation Web Center. The Web Center includes:
- NASFAA summaries and in-depth analyses
- NASFAA articles covering recent HEA news
- Media coverage of the reauthorization process and outcomes
The Web Center will also include regulations and guidance from the Department of Education as it becomes available.
Please notify the staff at Web@NASFAA.ORG of specific concerns that you have about the Act. Although many questions may not be immediately answerable, your input will help us with our analysis and with our future Webinar to be held on August 21.
Posted 08/05/08 to www.NASFAA.org. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited. Please submit Web Site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org.
