Higher education is a critical tool for social mobility, but today, students and their families face significant challenges. It is against this backdrop that the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) convened the Task Force on Higher Education Financing and Student Outcomes. This group has identified several areas of federal policy ripe for reform that…

This hearing of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions focuses on reauthorizing the Higher Education Act through financial aid simplification and transparency. The following committee members presented opening statements: (1) Honorable Lamar Alexander, Chairman, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; and (2)…

In 1994, Congress passed and President Clinton signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (P.L. 103-322), which, among other things, made prisoners ineligible for Pell Grants. However, concerns about the financial and social costs of the growing prison population combined with concerns about the recidivism rate of released…

This report provides a brief overview of the major provisions of the Higher Education Act (HEA), organized by title and part. Appendix A of this report provides detailed appropriations figures for HEA programs, from FY2019 through FY2023. Appendix B gives a brief overview of the General Education Provisions Act, which applies to the majority of…

Although the nature of higher education and the students we serve have drastically changed since the passage of the 1965 Higher Education Act, little has changed regarding the award and disbursement of financial aid. In 1965, the typical college student was likely between 18 and 21 years old, living on campus, and a full-time student. In contrast,…

Deregulation of for-profit colleges led to a precipitous rise in enrollments from 1990 to 2010. Since 2010, regulation, investigations, and sanctions have led to enrollment declines in for-profit postsecondary institutions. Initially barred from receiving Title IV federal funds, in the form of Pell Grants and Stafford Loans, for-profit colleges…

As the novel coronavirus spreads across the country, the pandemic has raged through United States correctional facilities with little regard to the health of the incarcerated. The pandemic also affected access to postsecondary education and adult education in correctional facilities. As a result, prison education programs--including postsecondary…

This hearing of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions focuses on reauthorizing the Higher Education Act through improving college affordability. The following committee members presented opening statements: (1) Honorable Lamar Alexander, Chairman, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; and (2) Honorable Patty…

Former Vice President Joe Biden recently released the Biden Plan for Education beyond High School, which details several policy proposals that would take higher education in the wrong direction. The recommended policies would make higher education costlier and degrees less meaningful--all while pouring billions of dollars into a broken system. The…

This First Look report presents selected findings about student financial aid during the 2017--18 academic year. These findings are based on data from the 2017-18 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, Administrative Collection (NPSAS:18-AC). NPSAS:18-AC is a national study of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled any time between July…

This Summary presents selected findings from "2017-18 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, Administrative Collection (NPSAS:18-AC): First Look at Student Financial Aid Estimates for 2017-18. NCES 2021-476." The full report is about student financial aid during the 2017-18 academic year. These findings are based on data from the…

While the Pell Grant covers a substantial proportion of college tuition for low-income students, it has covered only two full-time semesters per year and has not included any support for summer courses through most of its history. As research has shown that continuous enrollment throughout the year increases college persistence and completion, the…

In accordance with the Reports Consolidation Act of 2000, the OIG reports annually on the most serious management and performance challenges the Department faces. For FY 2024, we identified seven management challenges for the Department: (1) Implementing pandemic relief laws for elementary and secondary education; (2) Implementing pandemic relief…

This hearing of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions examines reauthorizing the Higher Education Act, focusing on examining proposals to simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Following opening statements by the Honorable Lamar Alexander (Chairman, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) and…

The article is an analysis which focuses on the years after the Great Recession, to show the interplay between federal and state policies. The first year after American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) federal stimulus funds ended, Fiscal Year (FY) 2012, coincided with new federal Pell Grant eligibility restrictions. State appropriations for…