It has become increasingly difficult for the two major parties in Congress to reach agreement on major higher education legislation. As a result, the Higher Education Act is long overdue for reauthorization. Congressional stalemates on higher education legislation are not conducive to effective and productive governance in this important area of…

Background: Nearly two decades have passed since the last successful reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Since then, student loan debt and the accumulation patterns based on race have become a pressing issue to address in U.S. society. Purpose: Student debt is one of the key issues on the federal higher education policy agenda. The…

The accreditation process and the federal role in shaping it are clearly of critical importance for ensuring all students have access to quality postsecondary options. And yet, due to the complexity of the relationship among the federal government, accreditors, and institutions, and the opacity of the accreditation process itself, there is little…

The proposed College Affordability Act calls for a massive uptick in federal spending on higher education and increased access to federal student aid (which has been shown to inflate tuition), while easing the criteria for federal loan forgiveness, leaving the bill to American taxpayers. Americans need solutions that will drive down the price of…

The policy agenda provides a robust and compressive vision for Latino success in higher education; it outlines recommendations for how to make high-quality colleges and universities more affordable, increase access to financial aid, increase degree attainment, improve degree quality, and much more. The state of higher education today fails to…

This hearing of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions examines reauthorizing the Higher Education Act, focusing on opportunities to improve student success. Following an opening and prepared statement by Honorable Lamar Alexander (Chairman, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) and an opening statement by Honorable…

Last Thursday, the House of Representatives passed the College Opportunity and Affordability Act in a vote of 354-58. This legislation, H.R. 4137, moves Congress one step closer to the long-awaited reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which governs federal student financial aid and other programs that promote access for low-income…

The reauthorization of the Higher Education Act seeks to expand access to postsecondary education by recognizing the changing demographics of the campus community and by increasing potential funding for crucial programs. Other major changes enacted during the reauthorization process are discussed. (MLW)

This article presents arguments in favor of the federal government providing loans directly to higher education students (without intermediate lenders and secondary markets). It explains loan funding, processing, fund dispersal, college responsibilities, and remaining legislative hurdles. It attempts to dispel myths, such as that direct loans…

At this hearing, part of a series of hearings on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965, the Secretary of the Department of Education, Lamar Alexander, gave testimony designed to present the Bush administration's recommendations on reauthorization of the Act to the Congress. Before the Secretary's testimony the following…

The text is of a hearing before the House Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education of the Committee on Education and Labor in which House Concurrent Resolution 84 was discussed. The resolution called for disapproval of regulation pertaining to family contribution schedule for use during 1979-1980 award period under the Basic Educational Opportunity…

During the past five years, postsecondary student assistance programs administered by the Office of Education have enabled an estimated nine million students to receive a postsecondary education who might otherwise have been unable to do so. These programs include the Federally Insured Student Loan program, the National Direct Student Loan…

Commentary on a National Commission on Student Financial Assistance report examines: federal role in graduate education, reauthorizing the Higher Education Act of 1965, restoring university research in science and technology, redefining graduate education, transition to an information society, excellence and the graduate student. (MLW)

The transcript of the March 1979 hearings in the U.S. House of Representatives on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act and related measures are compiled in this document. The hearings were held to review not only the programs that expire in 1979 but all higher education programs that come under the jurisdiction of the House Subcommittee…

The Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965 has opened the doors of higher education to millions of academically qualified students. Like most bills that pass Congress, the HEA had resulted from numerous compromises. Congress has had several opportunities to review and modify the legislation over the years, but a solid foundation had been laid in 1965…