The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Education have taken some steps to connect college students with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to help them pay for food, but gaps in planning and execution remain. Effective July 2024, a new law gave Education authority to share students' Free Application…

Homeless youth and youth in foster care are often unprepared for the transition to adulthood. Given the economic benefits of college, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to examine the college experiences of these vulnerable youth. GAO examined: (1) college enrollment and completion for foster and homeless youth; (2) the extent to…

The transcripts of a hearing held in September 1977 include statements of the deputy commissioner of education for student financial assistance, a representative of financial aid administrators, congressional representatives, and a federal official concerned with eligibility and agency evaluation. Prepared statements of these and other…

This is a report evaluating the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), which is designed to track federal student financial aid (Title IV) programs and provide research and support functions such as prescreening of aid applicants for eligibility and enrollment status. The report finds that the Department of Education has made only limited…

Distance education--offering courses by Internet, video, or other forms outside the classroom--is a fast growing part of postsecondary education. The Government Accounting Office (GAO) was asked to review the state of distance education at Minority Serving Institutions, which are schools that serve high percentages of minority students, including…

The U.S. House Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education of the Committee on Education and Labor met in Missoula, Montana for an oversight hearing on the student aid delivery system. An opening statement from Pat Williams is followed by a report of the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance on the issue of multiple data entry (MDE)…

This is a summary of the 120 bills and resolutions related to higher education and passed by the 1996 session of the Virginia General Assembly. Bills address issues affecting all of Virginia higher education as well as those specifically affecting the Council of Higher Education. Brief summaries of each bill follow a listing of all the higher…

Public Law 93-508 directed the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs to conduct a thorough study and investigation of the administrative difficulties and opportunities for abuse that would be occasioned by enactment of some forms of variable tuition assistance allowance program, and to submit a report within a year. The report contains: background…

The complete text of the U.S. Senate bill 969 hearings is presented in four volumes. Parts 1 and 2 cover the first day of the hearings; parts 3 and 4 cover the second day. (S. 969 would extend the maximum entitlement of educational assistance benefits for eligible Vietnam era veterans from 36 to 45 months. The bill restricts this extension to…

This statement of Cornelia M. Blanchette to the U.S. Senate Committee on Labor and Human Reources discusses Department of Education information management systems that support the financial aid programs authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. These programs help the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP), the…

Hearings on the charging of processing fees to low- and middle-income students who apply for federal student assistance under Title IV of the Higher Education Act are presented. Attention is focused on whether the Department of Education's decision to eliminate the "check-off" option from the forms provided by the major processors…

The text of federal oversight hearings on Title III of the Institutional Aid Program is presented. Statements by various college administrators, higher education association representatives, and state legislators are included. The proposed regulations were issued pursuant to Title III of the Education Amendments of 1980. In addition to clarifying…

Testimonies are presented from U.S. Senate hearings on oversight of Title III of the Higher Education Act, Developing Institutions Programs. The new eligibility criteria established by the Education Amendment of 1980 for schools seeking to compete for grants under the Title III institutional aid programs are being reconsidered. The institutional…

This paper assesses the likely impact of proposed changes in the Office of Postsecondary Education's method of calculating parental base-year income on determining eligibility for student financial aid. In examining applicant data the study concludes that the change to use of prior, prior year (PPY) income is not a good proxy for the current prior…

A handbook of terms and definitions for describing students in postsecondary education includes technical and vocational schools as well as various forms of adult education and nontraditional study. Input was gathered from 40 national organizations and 29 federal agencies; 20 organizations and agencies provided field test sites. The guide's…