On the campaign trail, President Joe Biden's higher education agenda featured prominent promises to forgive student loan debt and make community college debt free. But as Congress continues to debate these high-profile proposals, Biden's Department of Education has signaled its intent to use a little known yet powerful regulatory process to take…

Rising college prices and student debt, the growth and collapse of online for-profit colleges, and expansions of federal grant, loan, and loan forgiveness policies have increased calls for more accountability in our higher education system. And there is significant consensus among lawmakers that the existing set of quality assurance policies for…

Education tax credits provide federal financial aid to a wide expanse of American taxpayers; however, little research or analysis has been done on these costly programs. There has been little evidence of its link to college enrollment growth. This descriptive paper outlines the establishment of education tax credits, their original intent, and the…

Policy analysis issues in a recent study of quality control in the basic grant delivery system are reviewed, and the validity of the findings as reported is discussed. The study's design and implementation, derivation and presentation of findings, and relevance of the findings to the study's policy recommendations are examined. (MSE)

This paper offers proposals for streamlining and simplifying the federal student loan programs in light of legislative and budgetary changes in progress during the early part of the Clinton Administration. The recommendations are based on 35 proposals submitted by institutions, associations, guaranty agencies, secondary markets, lenders, and loan…

The House Subcommittee on Human Resources and Intergovernmental Relations met to hear testimony from leaders in government and higher education on managing the federal direct student loan program. Focus was on the Department of Education's plans to correct existing management problems of the Guaranteed Student Loan Program and implement the…

Reviews activity in Congress, federal agencies, and higher education associations as legislation to extend and improve the 1972 Higher Education Amendments is being fashioned. Issues include a public vs. private debate regarding use of the Basic Opportunity Grant program (BOG) to foster access as opposed to choice among institutions. (JT)

The federal Hope Scholarship program, designed as a middle-class tax break, required substantial negotiation and diverse, often conflicting tactics to become policy. The story of the idea's creation and its journey to policy, based on interviews with over three dozen college officials, Clinton administration aides, lawmakers, and others is…

Congress is considering major changes in federal student aid programs that, if approved, would result in the largest increase in the cost of college in the nation's history. Colleges and universities must now consider how reduced federal student aid would affect their enrollment, and make federal policymakers understand the potential impact of…

An evaluative study was done by the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance of the structure and costs of multiple data entry (MDE) processing for work on applications for higher education financial aid through federal programs. The Committee reviewed reports, met with Department of Education staff, completed a position paper, and…

This critique by staff of the Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges analyzes the findings and recommendations of a report submitted to the California Legislature in March 1980 after a 16-month investigation of state financial aid goals and policies. A synopsis of the report is provided first, summarizing findings in the areas…

The uneven but significant role of policy research in forming federal student financial aid programs in the last 15 years is discussed and the implications for the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act in the mid-1980's are examined. (MSE)

Research on changes in the design of the federal Pell Grant Program between 1973-74 and 1988-89 is reported, with focus on changes in the formulas used to calculate the Student Aid Index and the payment schedule, especially with reference to actual direct and indirect college attendance costs. (Author/MSE)

This paper outlines the major issues to be considered, and the tasks to be undertaken, by the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance's Subcommittee on Need Analysis and Delivery System. In particular, the subcommittee's plans to address the following three areas are described: (1) opportunities for further simplification and…

This evaluation study developed 29 recommendations concerning the implementation of direct loans in providing financial assistance to postsecondary school students. The investigation included examination of a current Department of Education (ED) pilot program, a video teleconference to discuss direct lending with 23 individuals in education…