Provisions of the Higher Education Act renewal approved by a House committee on Thursday includes year-round Pell Grants allowing students flexibility in enrollment schedules, a requirement that colleges report their reasons for increasing tuition for students and creation of an international education czar at the U.S. Department of Education.
After two grueling days of work, a House of Representatives committee on Thursday unanimously approved a bill to renew the Higher Education Act for five years and add new provisions to improve college access and success.
“It will help close the college access and completion gaps for low-income and minority students; improve the financial aid application and delivery system; and improve preparation so that low-income and first-generation college students are ready to succeed in college – academically, financially, and socially,” said U.S. Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, D-Texas, who chairs the House higher education subcommittee.
Called the College Opportunity and Affordability Act, the bill drew bipartisan support as it cleared the House Education and Labor Committee. The next stop is the House floor.
The bill is a companion to the College Cost Reduction Act, which provided $18 billion in new financial aid and was signed into law earlier this fall. The new bill covers the many provisions of HEA not affected by the Cost Reduction Act.
Proposed by Hinojosa and Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act would increase the funding ceiling for campus-based financial aid programs such as supplemental grants to needy students. For Black colleges, the bill would add more institutions to the list eligible for federal grants to HBCU graduate schools.
Overall, the bill would authorize another $200 million for supplemental grants and increase the program’s allowance for books and supplies. Up to $150 million in additional funding could become available for Title III HEA programs.
