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Higher Ed Reauthorization

Increasing student access to financial aid

In spring 2007, the College Board proposed several amendments to HEA, which it believes would complement Congress's efforts to improve our nation's teacher education programs, simplify the student financial aid process, and expand access to postsecondary education. Through its College Scholarship Service Assembly, the College Board has provided national leadership in the area of financial aid for more than 50 years; we are deeply committed to the concept of need-based aid. We believe that the increased availability of need-based aid will improve access to and success in postsecondary education. Accordingly, the College Board recommended the following:

  • Increase the Federal Pell Grant Maximum: While Congress has taken significant steps to increase the maximum award through the annual appropriations process, we urge the committee to move rapidly to establish an award level that will meet the financial needs of a growing college-ready and college-going population.
  • Address loan repayment inequities: Many former students have unmanageable student debt burdens. The provisions for loan repayment should be restructured to diminish the inequities, as proposed by the Institute for College Access and Success.The proportion of income that borrowers are expected to devote to repayment should be capped, and provisions for economic hardship should be revised to make them less onerous.
  • Modify annual and cumulative loan limits: Since reauthorization will govern borrowing authority through at least 2010, loan limits for students ought to be adjusted to recognize changes in the cost of living. There is considerable evidence that students are borrowing increasing amounts of money from private sector lenders. While annual loan limits for freshmen and sophomores were increased last year, cumulative loan limits have not been raised for at least a decade. We recommend further increases in student loan limits to give borrowers more access to loans that carry the lowest possible rates and the best possible terms.
  • Ensure and expand postsecondary access to immigrant students: More than 60,000 immigrant high school students graduate annually, many with hopes of continuing on to college. Unfortunately, many of these well-prepared students are not able to receive needed student financial aid due solely to their status of residence. Student financial aid policies, both federal and state, should be reexamined to support the college access goals of these deserving students. In particular, we urge Congress to approve the DREAM Act and the American Dream Act. The DREAM Act and American Dream Act restore states' rights to determine residency for in-state tuition. The DREAM Act would repeal Section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, a federal provision that requires any state that provides in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants to provide the same tuition rate to out-of-state residents. Section 505, therefore, discourages many states from offering in-state tuition rates to undocumented students wishing to attend postsecondary institutions in the states in which they reside. Repealing this provision would restore a state's right in determining criteria for higher education benefits for state residents.
  • Explore simplification of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA): We support revising the current form through better customization of filer questions and more thorough instructions. We also support efforts to pilot cooperation between the U.S. Department of Education and the Internal Revenue Service to draw income directly from the IRS to complete the FAFSA. We commend Congress for taking some initial steps toward this simplification process and urge a thorough review and redesign of the FAFSA form to ensure that it is much more user-friendly.

In addition, we provided suggested legislative language that would address the following issues in HEA:

  • Create incentives that would encourage institutions of higher education to award special certifications for new teachers who were prepared to teach AP courses
  • Change terminology of expected family contribution to federal eligibility index
  • Modify the assessment rate on student income in calculating student aid eligibility
  • Allow institutions to use an institutional methodology to award institutional need-based grants in excess of federal need
  • Expand GEAR UP activities to include support for financial literacy awareness and skills

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