With their attention occupied by tax reform last year, the higher education lobby had a muted response to the GOP's first crack at overhauling the student aid system and how it keeps colleges accountable.
That’s begun to change over the last month as major higher ed associations have issued forceful criticisms of the PROSPER Act, as Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have labeled their update to the Higher Education Act, while also alerting member institutions about perceived serious problems with the bill.
The timing may seem odd, with the groups only becoming engaged on the bill about a month after it advanced out of committee. But over the last few weeks, major lobby groups have had their first chance to seriously examine the legislation, which overhauls the system of federal student loans and grants and curtails benefits for graduate students in particular. The nearly 600-page bill would also scale back accountability measures introduced by the Obama administration while opening up Pell Grants to more short-term programs. The full implications of a new loan repayment benchmark for colleges, as well as a graduation-rate requirement for minority institutions that receive targeted federal funds, are unclear.
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/02/07/higher-ed-groups-criticize-house-gops-financial-aid-bill-lawmakers-corral-support