Yesterday, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan testified before the House Education and Labor Committee to discuss President Obama's education agenda. Although much of the hearing, "Building a Stronger Economy: Spurring Reform and Innovation In American Education" focused on reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (currently known as No Child Left Behind), the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA) was also a hot topic.
Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA) praised the administration, saying that Duncan has shown tremendous leadership, revitalized the Department of Education, and established that the status quo is no longer acceptable.
"For the second year in a row, President Obama's budget reflects his innovative vision for education," said Miller. "If Congress wants to show we're serious about changing Washington, this bill [SAFRA] is a great place to start." Miller said he hopes the Senate will soon take decisive action on SAFRA.
During questioning, Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA) said that he was concerned about recent negotiated rulemaking sessions on the subject of gainful employment and stressed that free market forces should be allowed to play out. Duncan said that the Department is "by no means wedded to any one direction" and welcomed input, saying that the Department will not make a proposal on this issue until June and that further rulemaking sessions would occur in November.
"We want to make sure students aren't abused, but don't want to be heavy-handed," Duncan said.
Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ) focused on funding levels for TRIO and GEAR UP, as well as the proposed elimination of LEAP. Given the dire straits of state budgets now, he asked, "why would you want to eliminate LEAP at this time?" Duncan replied that the administration wants to "bucket" programs into larger pools, such as the proposed College Access and Completion fund. The consolidation of programs and subsequent measurements of effectiveness will require demonstration of results. "We want to compete them out," Duncan said, meaning that only programs with proven results would remain.
Duncan was grilled on the Department's efforts to encourage schools to move to Direct Lending by Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN). He wanted the secretary to provide documentation "to prove that you are not forcing" schools to convert, and to show how the administration would guarantee that students do not lose access to loan funding this summer. "We're not presuming anything," said Duncan. "We simply want to be prepared ... due to the private market collapsing." Duncan noted that under the Department's proposal, 100% of the loan servicing business would still remain with the private sector.
Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY) recalled customer service problems experienced in the recent "Cash for Clunkers" program and asked how the Department would avoid similar issues with a complete switch to Direct Lending. "Our volume has already doubled and I don't think you've heard a peep" about bad service, said Duncan. "The Federal Student Aid team has extraordinary leadership under [Chief Operating Officer] Bill Taggart, and is working very hard ... so far conversion has gone impeccably well," he said. Duncan also said he had no concerns about a large last-minute wave of schools transitioning to Direct Loans because so many schools have already converted. He told Guthrie to call him personally if he hears of any service issues.
Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA) remarked positively on the Department's Direct Loan training and outreach efforts. He commented that of the seven universities in his district, one (Penn State) was a model Direct Loan school, but that the other six are really struggling because "it doesn't work well for them." He asked if the Department had a Plan B for schools that were not successful in switching. "We have a Plan B and a Plan C," said Duncan. "But we are focusing on Plan A." Duncan told Thompson that if he arranged a meeting with the six schools, "we will send staff out next week" to assist them.
Duncan also highlighted the administration's Elementary and Secondary reauthorization proposal to make college- and career-readiness for all students a major goal, including some initiatives that may reduce college costs for participating students. It includes a College Pathways and Accelerated Learning program that would help expand access to accelerated learning opportunities for high school students, such as Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses, dual-enrollment programs that allow students to take college-level courses and earn college credit while in high school, and "early college high schools" that allow students to earn a high school degree and an Associate's degree or two years of college credit simultaneously.
By Darrill Anderson
Associate Director of Communications
Media Coverage
Duncan Defends Planned Switch to Direct Lending in Appearance Before House Panel Chronicle of Higher Education (A paid subscription may be required.)
Posted 03/04/10 to www.NASFAA.org. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited. Please submit Web site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org.
