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FEDERALhearing transcript

High Impact

Senate Hearing on Updating the Higher Education Act

Original title: REAUTHORIZING THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT: ACCESS AND INNOVATION

January 1, 2020

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The Frame

What this does

This hearing is part of the legislative process to rewrite the Higher Education Act, which governs federal student aid and college regulations affecting millions of students and institutions nationwide.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

College Students

Changes to the Higher Education Act will impact federal financial aid eligibility, loan terms, and institutional regulations.

Higher Education Institutions

Colleges and universities are subject to federal regulations and funding requirements defined by the Higher Education Act.

What changed

Last recorded activity January 1, 2020.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions held a hearing on January 25, 2018, to discuss updating the Higher Education Act. The committee focused on how federal regulations can be adjusted to support innovation and better serve a modern, diverse student population.

Key Facts

The committee is working toward reauthorizing the Higher Education Act by early spring 2018.
38 percent of college students are 25 years or older.
58 percent of college students work while enrolled in school.
Over 25 percent of college students are raising children.
38 percent of the 21 million higher education students attend school part-time.
Georgetown University economists predict a shortage of 5 million workers with postsecondary skills by 2020.
Over 95 percent of jobs created during the post-recession recovery went to college-educated workers.

Why It Matters

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Higher Education Act?

It is the primary federal law that governs how the government provides student financial aid and regulates colleges and universities.

Why is the Senate holding these hearings?

The Senate Committee is gathering information and expert testimony to draft updates to the Higher Education Act to better reflect current student needs and technological changes.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Focus on Non-Traditional Students

The hearing explicitly highlights a shift in focus toward the needs of older, working, and part-time students rather than just traditional full-time undergraduates.

Higher Education Act

Connected Entities

personJoe May“Chancellor, Dallas County Community College District”Map →

personDonna Linderman“University Dean for Student Success Initiatives, City University of New York”Map →

personLamar Alexander“Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions”Map →

personMichael Larsson“Founder and President, Match Beyond”Map →

personPatty Murray“Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions”Map →

personDeborah Bushway“Independent Higher Education Consultant”Map →

personBarbara Brittingham“President, Commission on Institutions of Higher Education”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance80
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy20
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment5
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz10
Current news / social attention level

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