Higher education has two main needs of Congress: the need for student aid and the need for increased and sustained scientific research support. The problem is that ever-more-aggressive competition for earmarked funds does not necessarily generate additional resources for institutions to share. (MLW)

An interview with the Department of Education's Secretary Shirley Hufstedler reveals her viewpoints on higher education's problems and their solutions and her own goals and priorities as the first secretary. Minority students, access to education, financial pressures facing institutions, and burdens on institutions trying to administer federal…

Evidence indicates that a higher education system operates among the federal government, state and local governments, and institutions. The three components share common goals and program interdependencies, especially in student and institutional aid. Recognizing a system exists and strengthening it through reauthorization of the Higher Education…

Institutional eligibility to receive federal funds as determined by the Office of Education is examined. The coordinated use of accreditation and accrediting agencies in the eligibility process is recommended. Priorities are presented to resolve the problems of determining institutional eligibility. (BH)

Next year, Congress will begin the process of reauthorizing the Higher Education Act, which governs the major student aid programs and other categorical support for colleges and universities administered by the Education Department. Major reauthorization issues include degree of access in Pell program, aid based on manpower planning, etc. (MLW)

The three great federal policy initiatives concerning higher education, the land-grant movement of the 1860s, the World War II-era decision to rely on universities for basic and applied research, and the GI Bill of 1944, have affected development of the American system of higher education more than any others. (MSE)