Government Relations

Washington Wire

May 2004

Washington Wire Archive | Search Washington Wire

IN THIS EDITION

Higher Education Act

College Access and Opportunity Act: A UW System analysis

On Wednesday, May 5, House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman John Boehner and 21st Century Competitiveness Subcommittee Chairman Howard “Buck” McKeon introduced “The College Access and Opportunity Act,” a bill to reauthorize the remaining portions of the Higher Education Act of 1965.  (The House has already passed bills authorizing several other portions of the Higher Education Act.)

The new House bill is built on three key principles:

  1. The legislation is crafted on the requirement of no additional cost.  Thus, the Committee had to make changes, especially in the area of loan consolidation and interest rates, to achieve additional dollars for new priorities.
  2. The legislation seeks to emphasize the need to “front-load” financial assistance, both in terms of increased Pell Grant funding and increased loan limits.  This was done to recognize the growing problem of students dropping out of school early often based upon financial challenges.
  3. It is not expected that this legislation will move beyond the Committee this year.  In the House of Representatives, there are divisions within both sides of the aisle and between Democrats and Republicans. The door has been left open for changes to improve the legislation which, if not passed in the 108th Congress, would likely be a starting point for next year. Because the current authorization expires in September, there is discussion in the U.S. Senate to pass a one-year extension and revisit HEA in the 109th Congress.
For institutions of higher education, there are several areas of "likes and dislikes" as it relates to the College Access and Opportunity Act.  The higher education community is united on three areas of concern.

One concern includes the regulatory burden of the bill.  The bill, for example, significantly expands data collected about institutional pricing and student financial aid.  A second area of concern is transfer credit.  The law would mandate data to be collected which would require a significant redesign of student record systems as well as an ongoing increase in personnel.  A third area of concern is accreditation and the reporting requirements that would impose an administrative and cost burden on higher education institutions.

The following is a preliminary analysis of the legislation:

Title I: Consumer Information and Public Accountability

Under section 131, Consumer Information and Public Accountability in Higher Education, institutions will be required to provide the following data for each academic year to the Commissioner of Education Statistics:

  • tuition and fees charged for a full-time undergraduate students;
  • the room and board charges for such a student;
  • the cost of attendance for a full-time undergraduate student;
  • the average amount of financial assistance received by a full-time undergraduate student;
  • the number of students receiving financial assistance;
  • the average net price for students receiving Federal, State or institutional financial assistance; and
  • the institutional instructional expenditure per full-time equivalent student.

On the basis of the data submitted, the Secretary of the Department of Education will calculate a “college affordability index” for each institution of higher education and the index will be made available publicly.

The college affordability index shall be equal to the percentage increase in the tuition and fees charge for a first-time, full-time, full-year undergraduate student between the first of and the three most recent preceding academic years and the last of those three academic years; divided by the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index-All Urban Consumers (Current Series) from July of the first of those three academic years to July of the last of those three academic years.

Effective June 30, 2008, an institution with a college affordability index exceeding 2.0 for any three-year interval ending on or after that date shall provide a report to the Secretary to include such things as:

  • an explanation of the factors contributing to the increase in the institution’s costs and in the tuition and fees charged to students;
  • a management plan stating the specific steps the institution is and will be taking to reduce its college affordability index;
  • an action plan, including a schedule, by which the institution will reduce increases or stabilize such costs and tuition and fees; and
  • if determinations of tuition and fees increases are not within the exclusive control of the institution, a description of the agency or instrumentality of State government or other entity that participates in such determinations and the authority exercised by such agency, instrumentality, or entity.

If it is determined that the institution has failed to comply with the management plan and action plan submitted by the institution following the next two academic years and has failed to reduce the college affordability index below 2.0 for two such academic years, the Secretary shall make a detailed report available to the public regarding costs and expenditures, shall place the institution on an affordability alert status, shall notify the institution’s accrediting agency; and may require the institution to submit to a review and audit by the Inspector General of the DoE.  Unlike H.R. 3311 introduced earlier, the current bill will not authorize the Federal government to withhold a percentage of such schools campus-based Federal funds.

If an agency or instrumentality of State government or other entity participates in the determinations of tuition and fee increases, they will be required to submit information to the Department of Education.

In addition, a relative price exemption clause says that the Secretary shall, for any three-year interval for which college affordability index are computed, determine and publish the dollar amount that, for each class of institution, represents the maximum tuition and fees charged for a full-time undergraduate student in the least costly quartile of institutions within each such class during the last year of such year interval.  An institution with a college affordability index  exceeding 2.0 for any such year interval, but that, on average during such three-year interval, charges less than such maximum tuition and fees, shall not be subject to the actions.

The Secretary may impose a fine in an amount not to exceed $25,000 on an institution of higher education for failing to provide the information in a timely and accurate manner or for failing to otherwise cooperate.

The legislation also calls for a GAO study and report of the policies and procedures implemented by institutions in increasing the affordability of postsecondary education.

In addition, the Secretary will conduct a survey of student aid recipients to:

  • identify the population of students receiving Federal student aid;
  • describe the income distribution and other socioeconomic characteristics of federally aided students;
  • describe the combinations of aid from State, Federal, and private sources received by students from all income groups;
  • describe the debt burden of educational loan recipients and their capacity to repay their education debts and the impact of such debt burden on career choices;
  • describe the role played by the price of postsecondary education in the determination of students of what institution to attend; and
  • describe how the increased costs of textbooks and other instructional materials affects the costs of postsecondary education to students.
Title III:  Institutional Aid

Under Grants to Part B Institutions, the legislation is amended to establish community outreach programs and collaborative partnerships between Part B institutions and local elementary or secondary schools.  Such partnerships may include mentoring, tutoring, or other instructional opportunities that will boost student academic achievement and assist elementary and secondary school students in developing the academic skills and the interest to pursue postsecondary education.

Title IV: Student Aid

Pell Grant

The amount of the Federal Pell Grant for a student eligible under this part is authorized at $5,800 for academic years 2005-2006 through 2010-2011, less an amount equal to the amount determined to be the expected family contribution with respect to that student for that year.

The legislation provides students who are enrolled full-time in a baccalaureate degree program of study at an eligible institution to be awarded two Pell Grants during a single award year to permit such students to accelerate progress toward their degree objectives by enrolling in academic programs for twelve, rather than nine, months.  The awards shall be limited to institutions where graduation rates are at least 30 percent.

The legislation also calls for a Pell Grants Plus:  Achievement Grants for State Scholars program.  President Bush proposed this program in his FY05 budget.  It is aimed at students who have completed a rigorous high school program of study established by a State or local educational agency, are enrolled full-time in the first academic year of undergraduate education, and are eligible to receive Federal Pell Grants.  The amount of the grant awarded under this shall be $1,000. (Presently, Wisconsin is not enrolled in a State Scholars program.)

TRIO

Under TRIO, the legislation reauthorizes TRIO and GEAR-UP. With regard to TRIO funds, the bill reserves 10 percent of TRIO funding in an account for novice, quality applicants. Because UW System campuses are effective at competing for federal TRIO funds, most, if not all, would not qualify as novice applicants.

Further, the legislation includes language sought by the UW Colleges to define “different campus” and “different population” for purposes of application for funding.  This will provide more flexibility for institutions to serve different populations at multiple campuses.

Campus-based Aid

Under campus-based aid programs, the legislation phases out the base guarantee portion of the distribution formula for Federal campus-based financial aid programs.  The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators is urging Congress to end the base guarantee. This proposal could have  a devastating effect on the Federal financial aid available to current and future UW System students. An initial UW System analysis shows the System as a whole could lose as much as $10 million if this proposal is adopted.

Further, the bill makes available additional allocations for certain institutions, whereby the Secretary may allocate up to 10 percent of the amount available in the program for institutions where more than 50 percent of the student body is comprised of degree-seeking Pell Grant recipients. Not one of the UW System institutions has a student body that is more than 50 percent Pell Grant-eligible.

Loan Costs/Consolidation/Lending Programs

In terms of loan costs, the legislation ensures all Federal student loans are based on a variable-rate, rather than a fixed rate.  Through the repayment period, there would be an interest rate cap (at 8.25 percent).  The bill will repeal the “single holder” rule to allow consolidation if consumers choose to do so.  Borrowers will now have the ability to compare rates.

Schools with default rates under 10 percent for three consecutive years will be permitted to waive federal rules, including a rule requiring them to wait 30 days before providing loans to first time borrowers and first-year students.

The bill will preserve both the FFEL and Direct lending programs.

Information

Section 483(a) is amended to expand information dissemination regarding eligibility for Pell Grants especially to low-income students and parents.

Institutions will be required to report a significant amount of data to the Federal government.  A College Consumer Profile will include such information as the academic programs of the institution, a summary of student outcomes for full-time undergraduate students, the process for students to register complaints with the accrediting agencies or associations, penalties regarding suspension of eligibility for drug-related offices, and the policies of the institution for accepting transfer of credit.

The bill mandates that an institution will have a transfer credit policy, disclose any transfer of credit policies, and follow those policies (as proposed originally in H.R. 3311).

The guaranty agency in the state will be required to provide the Secretary with information to develop web links and access for students and families to a comprehensive listing of the postsecondary education opportunities programs, publications, Internet Web sites, and other services available in the State for which such agency serves as the designated guarantor.  Special emphasis will be required to ensure that populations traditionally underrepresented in postsecondary education are made aware of the availability of such information.

Distance Education

A distance education demonstration program is amended to establish a college affordability demonstration program to show increased innovation in the delivery of higher education and student financial aid.  The program will show how this innovation results in reduced costs for students as well as institutions by accelerating degree or program completion, increasing availability of, and access to, distance components of education delivery and other alternative methodologies.

Additional Issues

The legislation includes a study to be conducted of the best practices of States in assessing undergraduate postsecondary student learning, particular as such practices relate to public accountability systems.  The association responsible for the study shall be a national, non-partisan or bi-partisan entity representing States or State officials with expertise in evaluative and qualitative policy research for best practice models, the capacity to convene experts and to formulate policy recommendations.  The national advisory committee shall consist of a representative of the Secretary of DoE and individuals with expertise in state accountability systems, student learning assessments, student flow data, transitions between K-12 and higher education; and federal higher education policy.  UW System should seek a seat at the table.

The legislation is amended to increase amounts for teachers in mathematics, science, or special education, and reading specialists. Presently, there is State legislation that would eliminate that schools be required to have a reading specialist.

Throughout the bill, program uses of funds will be explained to include education or counseling designed to improve the financial and economic literacy of students and, where applicable, their parents.

The bill also includes a number of provisions designed to ease higher education participation for current and former members of the military.

Lastly, the bill prohibits students from receiving a federal grant, work or loan assistance if they have been convicted of an offense under Federal or State law involving the possession or sale of a controlled substance.

* Congress is expected to begin mark-up of the bill in mid-June.

Perspective

ACE's Hartle on higher education challenges
By Nik Hawkins, WISCAPE

Terry Hartle likes to compare the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act to the Lord of the Rings film trilogy: “You either love it or you hate it, it takes a very long time, you can never tell what’s going on, and everywhere you look you are surrounded by weirdos.”

Hartle, senior vice president of government and public affairs for the American Council on Education in Washington, D.C., provided this and many other insights into the federal government’s role in higher education during a frank talk on the UW-Madison campus on April 27. The lecture was sponsored by the Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education (WISCAPE).

Often drawing chuckles from the crowd, Hartle outlined the evolution of federal involvement in higher education, specifically in the realm of financial aid.  He also treated the audience to an insider’s view of the disputes involved in the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act currently underway in Washington.

“It has usually been a very bipartisan piece of legislation,” Hartle said.

For this reauthorization, Hartle said members of Congress were working to reach agreement over a fixed versus variable interest rate for consolidated loans, a proposed federal panel that would oversee international education programs, and a proposal to limit tuition increases, among other issues.

Congress was not expected to finish the reauthorization this year, Hartle said.  But he is hopeful that the end product will be satisfactory for colleges and universities.

“I don’t think we’ll see any major changes in this reauthorization,” Hartle said.

The current reauthorization of the Higher Education is the eighth since 1965. Regardless of what comes out of this process, Hartle said several other issues will continue to influence the relationship between higher education and the federal government, including enrollment growth, the increase in non-traditional students, and the rise of distance education.  Federal policymakers will also keep campus accountability on their radars in the coming years, Hartle said.

“You think this is unlikely?” he said. “Then let me remind you of four words – ‘No Child Left Behind.’  As higher education becomes more important to the livelihood of the nation, and as it consumes more federal dollars, the balance between the needs of the government and the needs of the campus will be increasingly strained.”

A copy of Hartle’s speech is available at http://www.wiscape.wisc.edu/publications.

-- Nik Hawkins is a project assistant for WISCAPE, a UW-Madison center that seeks to engage key stakeholders in ongoing dialogue about postsecondary education.

System News

UW-Stout wins $750,000 federal grant

The Vocational Rehabilitation Program at UW-Stout has been awarded a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to increase the number of counselors available to serve workers with disabilities.

The five-year Long-Term Training Grant in Rehabilitation Counseling will provide scholarships for 80 students completing their master's degrees in Vocational Rehabilitation with a concentration in counseling. The funds will also help the campus attract potential students and, in turn, reduce shortages of rehabilitation counselors in the U.S.

UW System Federal Priorities available online

The collection of UW System Federal Priorities for Fiscal Year 2005 is now available through the UW System website.

Congressional offices both in districts and in Washington received a binder of these priorities in February and March. The online collection is in. pdf format, allowing users to easily find and print the documents they need.

The collection is available through the UW System Government Relations website at http://www.uwsa.edu/execvp/govrel/federal-priorities/.

Wisconsin adds insight to National Research Council report

In 2003, the National Research Council published "Protecting Participants and Facilitating Social and Behavioral Sciences Research." The document represented the final report of the Panel on Institutional Review Boards, Surveys and Social Science Research, established by the National Research Council to complement the report (primarily on research in the biomedical sciences) from the Institute of Medicine.

UW System Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Cora Marrett served as the panel's chair, and Robert Hauser, UW-Madison Vilas Research Professor of Sociology, was an active member of the panel. The report has received attention from the social sciences institutional review board on the UW-Madison campus, as well as from the Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Through OHRP, the report is being analyzed for action by the National Science and Technology Council, the interagency group that the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy coordinates.

Bionanotechnology conference at UW-Madison in June

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle has declared the first week in June to be "Entrepreneurs and Research Week" in Wisconsin  in recognition of the need for innovation in the state and to highlight some important events that week.

One of those events is a conference at UW-Madison, "BIONANOTECHNOLOGY: Nanotechnology + Bioscience: Opportunities in the Bionanotech Convergence Zone."

Over the past several years, there has been increasing intersection of two important scientific fields, nanotechnology and biotechnology. The convergence of these two major high-tech fields with their large base of academic research supported by extraordinary growth in federal R&D budgets is creating exciting new possibilities in a wide range of R&D and commercial applications. These range from health care to energy production to environmental protection and beyond.

This one-day conference, the Second Annual Wisconsin Nanotechnology Conference, is designed to provide an introduction to this emerging field of bionanotechnology and explore some of the opportunities that are rapidly emerging from the nano + bio research base at UW-Madison, as well as nationally.

This conference provides a special opportunity to hear and meet the Keynote Speaker, Dr. Jeffrey Schloss, of the NIH. Dr. Schloss is a leading national figure in the National Nanotechnology Initiative and is leading efforts at the National Institutes of Health in their nanotechnology programs. NIH has recently announced planning stages for a series of Nanomedicine Medicine Centers and other important bio-nano programs are being planned by NIH. Be sure to attend this unique opportunity to learn about nanotechnology at NIH.

Who should attend: In short, anyone who wants to learn more about how advances in biotech and nanotech are converging to create new R&D and business opportunities.

  • Industry - researchers, R&D managers, strategic planners, business development people;
  • Legal and Financial community - Angel investors, VCs, corporate investors, investment analysts, IP attorneys;
  • Government - legislators, economic development representatives officials involved with business development and growth;
  • Education - faculty, staff and students interested in learning more about this emerging field.

Register now -- seating is limited. For conference and registration information go to http://nano.engr.wisc.edu/bionano/.

Questions or Comments?

E-mail washingtonwire@uwsa.edu or contact Kris Andrews, Assistant Vice President for Federal Relations, UW System.

University of Wisconsin System: http://www.wisconsin.edu
Washington Wire: http://www.uwsa.edu/execvp/govrel/wwire/index.htm

Washington Wire Archive | Search Washington Wire