EDUCATION/POLITICS: “The sprawling, 542-page revamp of the Higher Education Act released Friday [12-1-17] by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R., N.C.), chairwoman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, kicks off what is likely to be a rocky and drawn-out legislative process aimed at reshaping college education.
The bill, previewed earlier this week by The Wall Street Journal, would update the Higher Education Act of 1965 by overhauling student-loan programs, mandating more transparency on graduates’ earnings and jettisoning much of the existing regulatory framework on for-profit colleges. The bill, titled the Promoting Real Opportunity, Success and Prosperity Through Education Reform (PROSPER) Act, must still work its way through the House, while an initial Senate version isn’t expected until 2018.
Early reactions from colleges and student advocates—all with powerful lobbyists in Washington—suggest actually turning the wish list into law would be a steep uphill battle…
The bill aims to fundamentally reorient the college marketplace by focusing on student outcomes. It includes a provision that would require the publication of graduates’ salaries five and 10 years after school, breaking out data down to the academic-program level rather than just for an entire college.”
-Douglas Belkin and Melissa Korn, “Higher Education Act Proposal Primes Fight Over Future of Colleges,” The Wall Street Journal online, Dec. 2, 2017 07:00am