A bill passed in the U.S. House on Thursday made several key changes to the federal government’s higher-education policy aimed at making colleges and universities more affordable and accessible.
A congressional committee has worked on the College Access and Opportunities Act for three years, and many of the more controversial provisions and amendments were removed or defeated before it finally passed 221-199 along largely partisan lines in the Republican-controlled House.
Related legislation to renew the Higher Education Act of 1965 must pass in the Senate and receive President Bush’s signature before any changes take effect.
Before H.R. 609 even reached the House floor, a provision that would have changed the formula for distributing government funding of three programs – Federal Work-Study, Perkins Loans and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants – was removed, according to a March 31 article in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Several of the bill’s provisions were significantly weakened by an amendment passed during the full House vote, including the creation of a “college affordability index.” It also changed a proposed requirement that any school that increased tuition by more than double the rate of inflation over a three-year period would have to explain why and create a plan to prevent future increases.
Schools that increased tuition will still have to report to the U.S. Department of Education, but the department cannot reject a school’s explanation for raising tuition.
If the amendment hadn’t passed, schools like the University, where tuition and fees have increased more than 11 percent for in-state students over the past three years, would have needed to report the price
increases and make a plan to prevent similar increases in the future. Although the University’s price has increased overall, the rate of increase has declined over the past three years.
The amendment, introduced by Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, also removed a provision that would have changed the way colleges are accredited.
Private-school interest groups opposed the provision because it would have given states authority over the private institutions.
Many of the provisions and amendments introduced by Democrats were defeated, including one that would have set a fixed interest rate for student loans at 3.4 percent, half the rate new borrowers will pay starting this summer.
“This is a down payment on reversing the raid on student aid,” Rep. Dale Kildee, D-Mich., said, referring to the $12billion reduction in federal student-loan programs that Congress approved in February, according to the article.
H.R. 609 contains dozens of changes to the original act.
Among them are an increase in the maximum Pell Grant award to $6,000 per year, more scholarships for students pursuing master’s or doctoral degrees in math, science and certain foreign languages, and a requirement that the Education Department make information about tuition, graduation rates, student/faculty ratios and average financial aid packages more easily available online to students and their families.
Several other provisions and amendments were defeated.
One would have required universities to accept transfer credits from educational institutions accredited by national agencies rather than the six regional accrediting agencies currently recognized.
Another would have required colleges and universities to report how students’ race was taken into account during the admissions process to the Education Department.
The Senate will vote on its own version of H.R. 609 in April, and if the bill passes, the two bills will be reviewed by a committee and combined before being sent to President Bush.
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