Previous issues of this newsletter have described developments involving reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA). It is an important topic that does not always receive the attention of Congress it merits. The HEA is the primary law through which the U.S. Department of Education administers a wide range of programs and activities that include financial assistance for students, such as Pell grants, accreditation, and oversight of various rules and regulations. This legislation initially was passed in 1965. It has been rewritten on eight separate occasions since that year. In its most current iteration, although it was destined to expire at the end of 2013, the law has been extended by Congress. It is not clear when the next reauthorization will take place.
The U.S. Department of Education plays many fundamental roles. An example is enforcement in relation to civil rights at institutions that accept federal funds. Another key function is to collect data on colleges and universities around the United States. A valuable resource in that effort is the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), which produces The Digest of Education Statistics, a comprehensive reference for all levels of education. The 2020 version that was released in February 2022 is the 56th in a series of publications initiated in 1962. A compilation of statistical information covering the broad field of education from prekindergarten through graduate school, the Digest contains data on a variety of topics, including the number of schools and colleges, enrollments, graduates, educational attainment, finances, and federal funds for education.
Department Of Education Releases Updates To Its College Scoreboard
Updates to the Department’s College Scorecard were announced by the Department in February 2022. The effort includes an improved interactive web tool, along with the restoration of several metrics that assist students in gauging how their prospective institution compares to other colleges across costs, graduation rates, post-college earnings, and related metrics. An objective is to have these modifications reflect the Department's priority of supporting and encouraging inclusive, affordable postsecondary programs that provide strong career outcomes for students. Borrowers will be able to use this tool to determine cumulative student loan debt at both the institution-level and by field of study within each institution, as well as federal student loan repayment rates for the institution. The Department is publishing for the first time since 2018, both in the data files and on the consumer site, institution-level earnings data to provide an overall sense of the career outcomes for alumni. Additional information is furnished about graduates who are better off by having attended college, by showing the percentage of those earning more than the typical worker with only a high school diploma.
Renewal Of The Gainful Employment Plan
As reported on February 10, 2022 by Inside Higher Ed, the Department has proposed to impose regulations again to measure the gainful employment of graduates of for-profit colleges and nondegree programs at nonprofit colleges. The proposal was made in advance of upcoming continuation of negotiated rule making on various student aid regulations. The Education Department proposals would return to a system of measuring earnings versus debt of graduates of college programs. They also would require all institutions, including those that aren’t governed by gainful employment, to provide the department with information on completion rates, debt, and other trends by program. This topic has been the subject of intense debate for more than a decade. If the regulation takes effect, it would compare students’ earnings after graduation to their student-loan debts. Programs where graduates earn too little over a three-year period could lose access to federal student aid. Penalties would apply only to programs at for-profit colleges as well as nondegree programs at public or private nonprofit colleges. The Department’s proposals would return to a system of measuring earnings versus debt of graduates of college programs. They also would require all institutions, including those that aren’t governed by gainful employment, to provide information on completion rates, debt, and other trends by program.