With the cost of college soaring and the national six-year completion rate below 60 percent, the federal government's support for higher education is facing heightened scrutiny. What kind of regulation and accountability should Congress impose on what might be termed the world's largest voucher program--Washington's hefty funding of Pell grants…

With the cost of college soaring and the national six-year completion rate below 60 percent, the federal government's support for higher education faces heightened scrutiny. What kind of regulation and accountability should Congress impose on Washington's hefty funding of Pell grants and subsidized loans? As legislators turn their attention to…

Kevin Carey, vice president for education policy and knowledge management at New America, notes that lawmakers charged with writing a new Higher Education Act (HEA) face a dilemma. Innovation in the higher-ed marketplace is badly needed to improve student learning and break the relentless cycle of increasing cost that puts college out of reach for…

"Liberal Education" spoke with two higher education policy experts on what they expect and hope for from the Biden administration. Viviann Anguiano is an associate director for postsecondary education at the Center for American Progress. Eric R. Felix is an assistant professor at San Diego State University, specializing in higher…

It took five years, dozens of drafts, and a total of 14 extensions, but Congress last week was finally on the verge of passing a bill to renew the Higher Education Act, the major law governing federal student aid. The bill, after approval by the U.S. House of Representatives, was headed to the Senate, where a final vote was planned for late last…

The Senate education committee approved a pair of bills that would reduce government subsidies to student-loan companies, increase student aid, and set higher-education policy for the next five years. The Senate's budget-reconciliation measure would use the savings derived from reducing subsidies to student-loan companies to pay down a portion of…

With passage of the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, the Higher Education Act (HEA) is now reauthorized. What effect will it have on U.S. higher education? Students receiving Pell grants will find that college is more affordable while those who feared that the government would exert control over learning outcomes have breathed a…

The 1981 policy statement of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) is presented. AASCU believes that low tuition offers the primary guarantee of access to educational opportunity with far more certainty than student aid programs alone. Aspects of the Higher Education Act of 1980 that AASCU has strongly supported…

The National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) has identified public policy issues of interest to its membership in 1997, including those in budget and appropriations, college costs and pricing, distance learning and technology, environmental health and safety, federal audit and accounting standards, Higher Education…

Financial aid plays a critical role in the postsecondary education of Latino students. However, very little comprehensive and easy to understand information is available about what types or how much financial aid Latinos receive. The goal of this brief is to provide timely and accurate information about how Latino undergraduates currently…