The House of Representatives approved a renewal of the
Higher Education Act last week, which would place more stringent regulations on
the student loan industry, give colleges incentives to become more transparent
in their financial transactions and focus on controlling the rising cost of college
tuition.
The HEA legislation, known as the College Opportunity and
Affordability Act, passed the House by a vote of 354-58 — an overwhelming
bipartisan majority illustrating cross-party sentiments concerned with the need
to lessen obstacles for students seeking an accessible and affordable college
education.
Originally signed into law in 1965, the HEA is the main
piece of legislation governing federal regulation of postsecondary education.
The bill was last fully reauthorized in 1998, and though it is usually renewed
every five or six years, it has been under a series of extensions since its
last complete reauthorization.
Many of the amendments passed in last week’s legislation are
connected to the fees associated with higher education — fees that appear to be
slated for a constant upward path. An October 2007 report from the College
Board indicated that over the past five years, tuition and fees have increased
across all sectors.
“For too many years, the cost of a college education has
been spiraling out of control and closing the doors of higher education to
aspiring students,” the committee’s senior Republican member, Rep. Howard P.
“Buck” McKeon (R-Calif.) said in a press release. “Despite a considerable
federal investment, colleges and universities have continued to push tuition
upward.”
The greatest fee increase at UCSD occurred in 1991-92, in
which UC students experienced a 40-percent increase in fees as the state
struggled with a massive economic recession.
“With the College Opportunity and Affordability Act, we can
turn this trend around,” McKeon said. “To solve the college cost crisis, we’re
empowering consumers with meaningful information about college costs and
holding institutions and states accountable for keeping higher education
affordable.”
Colleges that are in the top 5 percent of their sector —
such as public, private, for-profit, two-year or four-year institutions — for
tuition raises over a three-year period would be required to report the reasoning
behind their increases to U.S. Department of Education Secretary Margaret
Spellings, as well as form a “quality efficiency task force” to discover why
their cost of attendance is rising more quickly than that of their peers.
“We are redoubling our commitment to college students and
parents by reining in skyrocketing tuition prices and making our whole system
of higher education far more consumer-friendly,” House Education and Labor
Committee Chairman Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) said in a press release
regarding the legislation.
The House also approved an amendment that requires colleges
to report annually to the Department of Education the amount of their endowment
spent on decreasing student fees. In addition, another amendment related to the
rising cost of college attendance was passed that would require colleges to
provide prospective students with information about probable tuition costs over
multiple years.
“The
admissions and financial aid practices more understandable to students and
their families, so we are not at odds with respect to the basic thrust of what
Congress is trying to achieve,” interim director of UCSD’s Financial Aid Office
Ann Klein said. “Until we see what finally emerges from the legislation, we
can’t conclude that the new law will actually improve ‘transparency,’ although
we’ll do our best to provide meaningful information to our applicants and
students here at UCSD.”
Other provisions illustrated concerns over rising textbook
costs, and would increase the amount of information both textbook companies and
colleges would make available for students about different price options.
Prompted by recent investigations into unlawful incentives
from lenders to colleges, the Department of Education would have increased
authority to regulate private student loans and put student loan companies
under more comprehensive scrutiny.
Changes to the Federal Pell Grant program would include
making the funds available year-round instead of just during the academic year,
as well as a $9,000 cap on the grant. Year-round scholarship aid would make the
grant more available to nontraditional attendees, who may need funds outside of
the regular school year.
In a speech at the National Community College Legislative
Summit, Spellings derided the HEA as full of red tape.
“It fails to address the real concerns of students and
families, such as a broken and byzantine aid system,” she said. “They’re adding
new layers of bureaucracy instead of emphasizing effectiveness and efficiency.”
Instead, Spellings promoted a more company-like approach to
higher education, explaining that business leaders would have a better grasp on
the best way to serve the consumer — college students.
