Higher Education Act
The Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) was enacted during the Great Society. This initial legislation embodied the spirit of its times: to promote equal opportunity for underprivileged individuals. Since 1965, reauthorizations to this education legislation have occurred at least once per decade. The central focus of the HEA’s programs (and its subsequent amendments) has been to increase access and persistence in higher education. These major programs fall primarily into four categories: (1) student financial aid; (2) services to help students better prepare for, access, and succeed in education beyond high school; (3) aid to higher education institutions; and (4) aid to improve teacher training efforts in colleges and universities.
There are seven titles in the HEA that are up for reauthorization each time Congress amends the HEA: (1) Title I, General Provisions; (2) Title II, Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants; (3) Title III, Institutional Aid; (4) Title IV, Student Assistance; (5) Title V, Developing Institutions; (6) Title VI, International Education Programs; and (7) Title VII, Graduate and Postsecondary Improvement Programs. The nucleus of the HEA is the student aid programs that are authorized under Title IV including grant aid, loans, and work-study assistance. The Pell Grant program is the largest Title IV student aid program and is the largest governmental appropriation for students with need who want to pursue a higher education.
Congress primarily implements incremental changes to the HEA rather than sweeping, comprehensive changes. These marginal adjustments in the administration and funding of HEA programs, however, potentially impact a large number of students and institutions. In the 1970s, for example, the federal government was urged to expand support to a broader range of students. In the 1980s, the federal government increased institution-level accountability measures for student loan default rates through the HEA. Important financial aid–related policy changes enacted in reauthorization efforts in the 1990s included, but were not limited to, higher limits on loan borrowing, expanded eligibility for student-loan programs that increased the number of middle- and upper-income borrowers, and a reduction in interest rates for borrowers.
Each policy adjustment made in HEA reauthorizations triggers policy considerations for states and higher education institutions. The specific impact of even marginal adjustments to the HEA differs across states given their unique social, political, and economic contexts. If reauthorization trends of decreased federal government investment in need-based student grant aid and increased measures of accountability continue, states and institutions may face significant policy choices associated with funding postsecondary access and opportunities for disadvantaged students.
| BIBLIOGRAPHY:
James B. Stedman, The Higher Education Act: Reauthorization Status and Issues (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2003); and Thomas R. Wolanin, ed., Reauthorizing the Higher Education Act: Issues and Options (Washington, DC: Institute for Higher Education Policy, 2003). |
Janet M. Holdsworth
SEE ALSO: Education; Great Society; Johnson, Lyndon B.