The Higher Education Act (HEA) is the enabling statute of the federal higher education programs in the United States. The HEA was first enacted in 1965, and reauthorizes federal college and university programs every five years.

The most recent reauthorization of the law occurred on August 14, 2008, although it will likely not be fully implemented before 2010. The HEA addresses such issues as financial aid, student loan programs, retention policies, and services for students with special needs.

History

The Higher Education Act of 1965 was designed to strengthen the educational resources of our colleges and universities and to provide financial assistance for students in postsecondary and higher education. It also aimed at improving opportunities for adults who want to better their lives through education.

The law was enacted by Congress during President Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration to improve access to college by providing low-interest loans and grants to secondary school graduates and college students who could not afford to pay for college themselves or had trouble getting money from private lenders or banks.

In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson introduced a program of grants and loans that would allow Americans from all social classes to attend college. In 1971 the Pell Grant program was established; it provides full grants to undergraduate students who have not yet attained their bachelor’s degree

The Higher Education Act, which governs federal student aid, is due for reauthorization in 2013. This blog will serve as a forum for discussing the reauthorization process, offer analysis of key issues and legislation, and provide a venue for the higher education community to discuss how the Higher Education Act can best address the current challenges facing students and institutions.

The Higher Education Act (HEA) was first enacted in 1965 and is periodically reauthorized by Congress. The HEA has undergone several significant amendments since its passage more than 40 years ago, including those authorized by the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA), which provided important new provisions relating to college affordability, accountability, transparency and innovation.

The HEA was last reauthorized in 2008 with bi-partisan support in Congress and a signature from President George W. Bush. These bi-partisan efforts are reflected in many of the changes that have been made to the law over the last 40+ years – but it’s been four long years since we’ve seen a rewrite or significant update to this law. This blog aims to provide a space where members of the higher education community can engage in a discussion about what comes next.

The views expressed on this blog are those of their authors alone and do not reflect official

The Higher Education Act (HEA) is the authorizing legislation for Title IV federal student aid programs. The HEA is reauthorized every few years. When it’s under consideration, a number of education policy experts and advocates offer their visions of what higher education might look like in the future.

I enjoy reading these proposals because they’re an opportunity to think about different ways to make higher education better, more accessible to all students, and more affordable. The HEA was most recently reauthorized in 2008, and it will be time again soon. So I thought it would be interesting to explore some of the issues involved in higher education finance:

How does the HEA work? How do students get federal financial aid? What are the main criticisms of the current system?

The answers are a bit complicated.

Higher education today is seen as a key to social mobility, yet it is often the preserve of the most privileged. The Higher Education Act 2004 aims to widen participation in higher education by targeting certain groups that are under-represented. These groups include those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, ethnic minorities and disabled students.

In one sense, the widening participation agenda is nothing new. In the past 30 years, there has been a series of initiatives designed to encourage applications from these particular groups. However, the HEA 2004 differs from its predecessors in that it aims to make universities more accountable for their recruitment decisions by linking funding with success in widening participation.

The implications for universities will be significant: they will need to work harder and smarter to identify potential applicants who may not have previously considered higher education as an option for them. They will also need to develop more effective and targeted methods of attracting these groups into higher education, which are likely to involve considerable investment on their part and potentially some restructuring of their admissions policies.

HESA collects and disseminates information about students participating in higher education across the UK, including data on where they come from and the type of institution they attend. These data are used by government departments, agencies and other bodies to monitor progress towards widening participation targets.

When the Higher Education Act of 1965 passed, it did so with strong bipartisan support. The bill was introduced by a Democrat and supported by President Lyndon Johnson, but it passed through the Senate with significant Republican support. This was the first significant piece of federal legislation that aimed to make higher education more accessible to low-income Americans.

The Higher Education Act has been reauthorized multiple times since its initial passage in 1965. In 1972, Congress created Pell Grants, which provide funding directly to students in order to help them pay for college. In 1980, Congress established the loan program that would become known as the Perkins Loan Program. The Perkins Loan Program helped undergraduate students with the greatest financial need obtain low-interest loans to pay for their education.

In 1986, Congress created the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (or direct lending) as an alternative to the bank-based lending system that had previously been used for student loans. In direct lending, loans are originated and managed by the federal government rather than private banks.

One of the most important features of the Higher Education Act is its requirement that colleges and universities participating in Title IV programs, including federal student aid programs, make certain disclosures to current and prospective students. These disclosure requirements help our students and their families make informed decisions about the costs, benefits, and outcomes of attending a particular college or university.

Several amendments to the Higher Education Act increase these requirements. While these new disclosures are necessary for compliance with Federal regulations, this information also helps us to better understand the value of postsecondary education.

The new disclosures mandated by recent legislation include:

• Percentage of first-time, full-time students who receive a degree or certificate within 150% of normal time for that program;

• The median loan debt incurred by students who completed each program of study at that institution;

• Graduation rates;

• Transfer-out rates;

• Information on student diversity; and

• Income earned by graduates ten years after entering college.

Higher Education Act of 1965

The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA; P.L. 89-329, as amended by P.L. 105-244), is the authorizing statute for most federal higher education programs. Some programs authorized under HEA are mandatory, but the majority of HEA programs are discretionary, meaning that they are subject to annual appropriations by Congress. Authorization for most discretionary programs expires on September 30, 2015. Discretionary programs authorized under HEA include student aid programs authorized under Title IV.[1]

The reauthorization process began in 2013 with the introduction of a wide range of bills and proposals for reauthorizing the HEA and modifying various provisions of the law.[2] On July 24, 2014, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved S. 2481, the Strengthening America’s Schools Act (SASA), which would reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The bill includes several provisions that would amend HEATitle I and Title II.[3] On February 11, 2015, during consideration of a motion to proceed to S. 1177 (the Every Child Achieves Act), Senator Alexander offered an amendment that combines provisions from SASA