Three years after signing the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965--legislation that established the Basic Education Opportunity Grant (now called the Pell Grant)--President Lyndon Johnson declared that "every man, everywhere, should be free to develop his talents to their full potential--unhampered by arbitrary barriers of race or birth or income."…

To address some of the financial challenges facing low-income students, federal policymakers enacted a provision in the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) that makes financial literacy a required service of all TRIO programs (or, in the case of McNair, simply makes permissible). Effective August 2008, these programs started offering…

In the "Higher Education Opportunity Act" of 2008, Congress charged the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance with conducting a review and analysis of regulations affecting higher education to determine the extent to which regulations are overly burdensome and need to be streamlined, improved, or eliminated. Specifically, Congress…

This report reviews the status of government agencies and operations that have been identified as at "high risk" for waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement; describes successful progress in some agencies; and looks at recent reform legislation. Six categories being targeted include accountability of defense programs, ensuring that all…

A review of the history of regulation in federal student financial aid programs indicates dramatic change and growth in the last three decades. Regulations of particular importance to aid administrators are highlighted, and two conclusions about recurring concern for the deservedness of aid recipients are drawn. (Author/MSE)

The way that the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) should conduct its quality assurance function of monitoring a processing contractor is described. For the following quality assurance procedures, information is provided on the goal of the procedure, activities to be measured, measures, and the role of…

The need for efficient and effective systems to deliver financial assistance to students and to administer the Guaranteed Student Loan (GSL) program is assessed, and recommendations for improving delivery systems are provided. Attention is directed to the delivery of Pell Grant and campus-based assistance, the provision of information to current…

A framework for monitoring quality control (QC) of processor contracts administered by the Department of Education's Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) is presented and applied to the Pell Grant program. Guidelines for establishing QC measures and standards are included, and the uses of a sampling procedure in the QC system are…

A number of current issues and initiatives in higher education are highlighted, including impending reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, the need for advocacy of higher education in public policy arenas, a University of Florida program combining accountability and institutional autonomy, and institutional compliance with nonresident alien…