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Perkins Expires

Despite efforts of Senators Tammy Balwin (D-WI) and Patty Murray (D-WA), the Senate was unable to take up the House-passed measure to extend the Perkins program. After the House moved quickly this week to extend Perkins loans and send a measure to the Senate, the two Senate champions attempted to have the Senate quickly consider and pass the measure via a legislative procedure called a Unanimous Consent request. To be considered in this manner, no Senator must object, and HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) did object effectively killing the program, which expired September 30th.

The Senate could still take up the House extension bill that failed to get unanimous consent Wednesday, or Higher Education Act reauthorization could allow for a more permanent reinstatement of a program.

 

Perkins Extension Passes House, Still In Danger

The House has passed by voice vote, HR 3594, a measure which would extend the Perkins program for a year until it may be fully considered with the impending Higher Education Act reauthorization, which is expected this fall and spring. The Perkins program would expire on September 30th without the extension.

The Perkins program is a critical tool that allows UW to combine federal funds with additional investment by the university to offer needy students fixed, low interest loans. UW receives more Perkins loan volume than any other public institution in the nation — about 4,700 recipients in the 2013-14 school year for UW.

While the measure passed the House, the fate of the program is unclear in the Senate. Senate HELP Committee Chair Lamar Alexander (R-TN) has expressed a desire to let the program simply expire, which is in line with his ultimate goal of one loan, one form for higher education. Expiration would effectively kill the program.

Senate Democrats are working on passing the measure by Unanimous Consent, but it is unclear if the measure will be considered in time (i.e. today).

Perkins Deal Reached

The House and Senate have introduced bipartisan legislation to extend the Perkins program, which is set to expire in less than one week.

On the House side, Reps. Mike Bishop (R-MI) and Mark Pocan (D-WI) introduced bi-partisan legislation extending the authorization of the Perkins Loan Program, which is similar to a measure the duo introduced in June t. The measure,  HR 3594, Higher Education Extension Act of 2015, is expected to be considered and passed by the House next week.

 

Additionally, four Senate HELP Committee members introduced a bipartisan resolution today “expressing support for the continuation of the Federal Perkins Loan Program.” Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Rob Portman (R-OH), Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced a measure to express support to extend the Perkins program for this year. The introduction of the resolution signals broad support by the Senate to reauthorize the Perkins program for a year.

Perkins, the $1 billion campus-based loan program for exceptionally needy students, is just six days from expiring . While it has many backers in both chambers of Congress, most Republicans – including the House and Senate education committee chairmen – have shown no inclination to extend the program beyond Sept. 30.

The cost of the extension (approximately $250 million) will be paid for by limiting the grandfather clause, in that “grandfathered students” will only be able to take out Perkins loans through March 31, 2018 instead of throughout their entire academic career.

With the introduction of the pay-for and the bipartisan Senate resolution, the extending the program may move forward.

To read the House bill, click here.

To read the summary of the House bill, click here.

To read the bipartisan Senate resolution here.

College Scorecard Back in Spotlight

Over the weekend, the Obama Administration had two major announcements for higher ed, first the new College Scorecard and the inclusion of Prior Prior Year for Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

College Scorecard

The Administration launched their new College Scorecard, which rather than rank colleges as previously attempted, incorporates numbers new data points on colleges going back for several years so that individuals can make personal decisions as to a college’s value. It is a scaled back attempt at what the Administration has announced previously. Information published includes annual cost, average graduation rate, median salary after attending, average financial aid and debt, as well as demographic breakdown of the school and average SAT and ACT scores.

The new College Scorecard data does not rank colleges, but shows the share of a college’s former students who make some progress in paying down their federal loans within the first three years after leaving college. Additionally, the Scorecard provides the first comprehensive look at how much students, who receive federal loans and Pell Grants end up earning after they leave a specific college, both in the short term and long term, and if that is above or below the earning potential with simply a high school education. At present, the Scorecard includes the federal graduation rate, which only captures first-time, full-time students. The Administration has publicly committed to include a dedicated link to Student Achievement Measure (SAM) data on the Scorecard as soon as practicable.  The Administration’s incorporation of the SAM, which is a long-term effort of APLU and the UW participates in SAM, opens the metrics up to tracking student movement across postsecondary institutions to provide a more complete picture of undergraduate student progress and completion within the higher education system. SAM is an alternative to the federal graduation rate, which is limited to tracking the completion of first-time, full-time students at one institution.

One criticism at the new system is that the government’s new earnings data reflects only the achievements of students who received federal financial aid, which could significantly skew the data and either understate possibly overstate the actual median earnings of a college’s former students.

Nationally, the federal student loan repayment rates underscore that hundreds of colleges are producing large numbers of graduates (as well as dropouts) who are not technically in default on their loans but are nonetheless not making any progress in repaying their debt. At present, the government only holds colleges responsible only when their former students get so far behind on their loans that they default on their loan debt. The new data also shows, according to the White House, that at 53 percent of all institutions of higher education, fewer than half of former students are earning more than the typical high school graduate.

Prior-Prior Year

Additionally, the Administration announced that students applying for federal financial aid can do so three months earlier next year. Beginning October 2016, students will be allowed to use prior-prior year tax data to determine financial contribution and eligibility. Right now, students have to wait until after their parents file their current year tax returns. The move will allow students to use tax information from two years earlier that is received electronically through the IRS rather than waiting until after the new year and the current year’s tax calculation.

Allowing millions of students to apply for federal financial aid three months earlier using prior-prior year tax data will cost about $400 million in the first year due to an expected additional 50,000 students getting federal aid and enrolling in college.

Such a policy change has broad support in Congress, but Republicans have also expressed concern over the potential cost. Additionally, Senate HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) has expressed support for prior-prior year, but has stated it needs to originate from the higher education reauthorization and not an administrative move.

 

The College Scorecard is here. 

Read the Obama Weekly Address on the College Scorecard here. 

APLU”s statment on linking the Scorecard to the SAM data is here. 

APLU’s more general statement on the Scorecard here. 

House Education and Workforce Chairman Kline To Retire

House Committee on Education and Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) has announced he will not see re-election in 2016. Kline was first elected in 2002. Last election he won his district by 17 points, but the district was carried by Obama in the previous two presidential elections, making it a hotly contested area.

Kline has been chairman of the committee for the last five years and will serve the six year, House Republican Conference imposed maximum in the chair position. During his tenure, Kline has looked to revamp and reauthorize ESEA, HEA and countless other measures. It is unclear who the next committee chairperson will be.

Read more from Roll call.