Washington Policy Update: Washington Policy Update Carol Graves Holladay


Washington Update: Washington Update Commission on the Future of Higher Education FY08 Budget Requests Higher Education Reauthorization Impact of Elections


Commission on the Future of Higher Education: Commission on the Future of Higher Education 19 Member Commission A series of public hearings Comprised of public officials and leaders from academics to business communities


CommissionFindings: Commission Findings College access, particularly for low-income and minority students, is limited by inadequate academic preparation, a lack of information and persistent financial barriers; The current financial aid system is confusing, complex and inefficient, and is therefore frequently unable to direct aid to the students who need it most; and There is a shortage of clear, comprehensive, and accessible information about the colleges and universities themselves, including comparative data about cost and performance.


Commission Recommendations: Commission Recommendations Student academic preparation should be improved and financial aid made available so that more students are able to access and afford a quality higher education. The entire student financial aid system should be simplified, restructured and provided with incentives to better manage costs and measure performance.


Commission Recommendations, Con’t.: Commission Recommendations, Con’t. 3. A "robust culture of accountability and transparency" should be cultivated throughout the higher education system, aided by new systems of data measurement and a publicly available information database with comparable college information. There should also be a greater focus on student learning and development of a more outcome-focused accreditation system.


CommissionRecommendations, Con’t: Commission Recommendations, Con’t 4. Colleges and universities should embrace continuous innovation and quality improvement. 5. Federal investments should be targeted to areas critical to America's global competitiveness, such as math, science, and foreign languages. 6. A strategy for lifelong learning should be developed to increase awareness and understanding of the importance of a college education to every American's future.


Spellings’ Action Plan: Spellings’ Action Plan Expanding the “effective principles” of No Child Left Behind to high schools, renewing a push by President Bush that Congress has thus far failed to carry out over two budget cycles. Spellings suggests that the higher education commission’s work could give a new impetus to this drive by showing how many high school students graduate unprepared to do college level work.


Spellings’ Action Plan: Spellings’ Action Plan Streamlining the process by which students apply for financial aid, to “cut the application time in half and notify students of their aid eligibility earlier than spring of their senior year to help families plan” to pay for college. Spellings said in an interview that the commission’s broader recommendation about reviewing and streamlining the entire federal system of student financial aid (which she described as “highly complicated, byzantine even") “certainly requires Congressional action,” and that she expected the Education Department to come up with a framework for such a review in the coming months.


Spellings’ Action Plan: Spellings’ Action Plan Building a national framework that provides “the same kind of privacy-protected student-level data we already have for K through 12 students,” and using “that data to create a higher education information system.” Spellings avoided using the loaded phrase “unit records” system to describe this project, which has been vigorously opposed by private colleges and leading Republicans in Congress, but her speech aims to ward off the objections they’ve raised about possible invasion of students’ privacy. “This information would be closely protected; it would not identify individual students, nor be tied to personal information — it wouldn’t enable you to go online and find out how Margaret Spellings did in her political science classes”.


Spellings’ Action Plan: Spellings’ Action Plan Providing “matching funds to colleges, universities and states that collect and publicly report student learning outcomes.” No additional details provided about this plan. Convening accreditors and other higher education leaders and policy makers to help prod the country’s college accreditation system away from its emphasis on inputs “toward measures that place more emphasis on learning.” “Currently, institutions are asked ‘Are you measuring student learning?’ and they check yes or no. That must change. Whether students are learning is not a yes or no question — it’s how? How much? And to what effect?”


Next Steps-What we know: Next Steps-What we know Staff hired to write legislation Legislation will be presented in next Congress Support for the measures D of ED staffing issues


FY 08 Budget Requests: FY 08 Budget Requests Pell Grant and other Fin Aid Programs Increase *Increase Pell Grant to cover 70% of the ave. in state tuition *Increase SEOG, Work Study, Perkins Loans, LEAP, TRIO and GEAR UP


FY 08 Budget Requests: FY 08 Budget Requests International Education *National Security Language Initiative *Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Program American Competitiveness Initiative (research) NIH Workforce Development – Perkins NASA Science National Endowments for the Humanities


Higher Education Reauthorization : Higher Education Reauthorization Title IV in Budget Reconciliation Package New Congress in February means new legislation If change in Congressional Control, complete reshift of focus for bill.


Title IV – Deficit Reduction Act: Title IV – Deficit Reduction Act The Deficit Reduction Act covered all Title IV provisions from the Higher Ed Reauthorization bill and was passed on February 6, 2006.


DRA – Subtitle A – Higher Education Provisions: DRA – Subtitle A – Higher Education Provisions (Sec. 8002) Eliminates the 50% rule with respect to distance education, where it currently limits the relative number of courses an institution of higher education (IHE) may offer by telecommunications, and the relative number of students who may be enrolled in such courses, for purposes of student assistance program eligibility. (Continues application of the 50% rule to correspondence courses.)


DRA – Subtitle A – Higher Education Provisions: DRA – Subtitle A – Higher Education Provisions (Sec. 8003) Establishes a program of: (1) academic competitiveness grants for first and second year undergraduate students; and (2) national science and mathematics access to retain talent (SMART) grants for third and fourth year undergraduate students of physical, life, or computer sciences, mathematics, technology, engineering, or critical foreign languages. Establishes the Academic Competitiveness Council.


DRA – Subtitle A – Higher Education Provisions: DRA – Subtitle A – Higher Education Provisions (Sec. 8004) Reauthorizes the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program. Extends authority for federal insurance on student loans, and for the guaranteed loan and consolidated loan programs. Refers to loan processing and issuance fees rather than an administrative cost allowance. (Sec. 8005) Increases loan limits. (Sec. 8006) Increases PLUS loan interest rates. Establishes a special allowance support level to be used in a formula for calculating excess interest to be recaptured by the Treasury.


DRA – Subtitle A – Higher Education Provisions: DRA – Subtitle A – Higher Education Provisions (Sec. 8007) Provides for student loan deferments of up to three years for individuals serving on active duty or performing National Guard duty during a war or other military operation or emergency. (Sec. 8008) Revises loan terms and conditions relating to: (1) disbursement to students studying abroad; and (2) repayment plans for direct loans. Provides for gradual reduction of loan origination fees paid by student borrowers under the FFEL program.


DRA – Subtitle A – Higher Education Provisions: DRA – Subtitle A – Higher Education Provisions (Sec. 8009) Revises consolidation loan requirements. Requires the Secretary of Education (the Secretary, under this title) to offer direct consolidation loans to eligible borrowers who have been denied consolidation loans or consolidation loans with income-sensitive repayment terms by an eligible lender. Eliminates in-school consolidation loans. Provides for similar terms and conditions for FFEL consolidation loans and DL consolidations loans. (Sec. 8010) Revises requirements for disbursements of student loans. (Sec. 8011) Revises requirements for IHEs as lenders.


DRA – Subtitle A – Higher Education Provisions: DRA – Subtitle A – Higher Education Provisions (Sec. 8013) Continues certain limitations on special allowance payments under HEA, as amended by the Taxpayer-Teacher Protection Act of 2004 (TTPA), by eliminating specified TTPA termination dates. Prescribes an additional limitation on special allowance payments for loans from proceeds of tax-expt issues. Continues TTPA authorization of increased maximum amount, & new borrower eligibility, for HEA's loan forgiveness program for school teachers who teach certain subjects in high-poverty schools-sets guidelines for private school teachers to qualify for forgiveness program. (Sec. 8014) Establishes a limited federal default fee. Revises administrative requirements for: (1) insurance percentage; (2) treatment of exempt claims; (3) consolidation of defaulted loans; (4) documentation of forbearance agreements; (5) voluntary flexible agreements; (6) the default reduction program; (7) exceptional performance insurance rate; and (8) uniform administrative and claims procedure.


DRA – Subtitle A – Higher Education Provisions: DRA – Subtitle A – Higher Education Provisions (Sec. 8015) Provides for mandatory funds for FY2006 to be available to the Secretary in a specified limited amount for: (1) administrative costs under the DL and FFEL student loan programs; and (2) account maintenance fees payable to guaranty agencies under FFEL. Authorizes appropriations, but eliminates mandatory funding, for such administrative expenses in FY2007-FY2011. Continues mandatory funding for FY2007-FY2011 for account maintenance fees payable to guaranty agencies under FFEL. Limits such fees to not more than 0.1% of the original principal amount of outstanding loans on which insurance was issued under FFEL. (Sec. 8016) Revises cost of attendance and family contribution requirements.


DRA – Subtitle A – Higher Education Provisions: DRA – Subtitle A – Higher Education Provisions (Sec. 8018) Revises guidelines for determining a student's eligibility for the simplified needs test (SNT) and automatic-zero expected family contribution (AZ-EFC). (Sec. 8019) Revises need analysis requirements to treat active duty members of the military as independent students. Exempts from consideration assets from any small business with 100 or fewer full-time or full-time equivalent employees that is owned or controlled by the family. Excludes consideration of certain assistance provided by a state to offset a specific component of the cost of attendance, under specified conditions.


DRA – Subtitle A – Higher Education Provisions: DRA – Subtitle A – Higher Education Provisions (Sec. 8020) Makes eligible for student assistance distance education, including certain instructional programs that use or recognize direct assessment of student learning in place of credit hours or clock hours as the measure of student learning. (Sec. 8020) Makes eligible for student assistance distance education, including certain instructional programs that use or recognize direct assessment of student learning in place of credit hours or clock hours as the measure of student learning. (Sec. 8021) Requires any student who has pled guilty or no contest to (or been convicted of) a crime involving fraud in obtaining title IV funds to repay the funds in full to the Secretary or loan holder before being considered eligible again.


DRA – Subtitle A – Higher Education Provisions: DRA – Subtitle A – Higher Education Provisions Specifies that a conviction for a drug-related offense affects a student's title IV eligibility only if it occurs during the period when the student is enrolled and receiving title IV student aid. (Sec. 8022) Revises requirements relating to institutional refunds. (Sec. 8023) Establishes a college access initiative. Directs the Secretary to require each guaranty agency to gather information on programs and student aid available in the state in which it is designated. Requires such information to be made available for free to the public, particularly to traditionally underrepresented populations, via web sites, publications, and other state services. (Sec. 8023) Increases, from 10% to 15%, the maximum portion of disposable wages for any pay period which may be garnished to repay a student loan under HEA (unless the individual consents to a greater portion).


Elections : Elections Possible Switch in House means: Need 15 pick ups – 35 in play Chairman George Miller (D-CA) Dale Kildee, Vice Chair (D-MI) Possible Switch in Senate means: Need 6 pick ups Chairman Ted Kennedy Chris Dodd, Vice Chair (D-CT)


Elections - Statehouses: Elections - Statehouses Broadening gap of the belief in state funding higher education and the decrease of state funding (basic public right vs. limits to what the state can provide) 36 Statehouses are up for grabs – 28 of 50 are now in Republican control States are becoming more “purple” will lead to gridlock


Elections - Statehouses: Elections - Statehouses 2 Major Issues College affordability Need based Aid Overarching Issues Community College Support Brain Drain K-20 Councils Credit Transfer


Elections: Elections Impact on Higher Education Reauthorization House will roll back all legislation Senate will rewrite legislation slated to be passed in March/April Appropriations (discretionary spending) Rollback of provisions of Deficit Reduction Act


Elections: Elections Timetables Committee realignment – February/March Legislative work – “first 100 days” Accomplishments Appropriations Schedule


New Issues: New Issues Student Loan Interest Rate Cut Pell Grant increase Oversight and Investigations NCLB roll back


Carol Graves Holladay: Carol Graves Holladay Hurt, Norton and Associates 503 Capitol Court, NE Suite 200 Washington, DC 20002 202-543-9398 Carolholladay@hurtnorton.com