how did we get in this mess? and can we get out of it? sarah flanagan 2008 aapicu annual conference
TRANSCRIPT
How Did We Get in How Did We Get in this Mess?this Mess?
How Did We Get in How Did We Get in this Mess?this Mess?
And Can we Get Out of it?And Can we Get Out of it?Sarah FlanaganSarah Flanagan
2008 AAPICU Annual Conference2008 AAPICU Annual Conference
The Mess• College Cost & Pricing• Accreditation• Student Learning
Outcomes• Textbooks• Emergency Response• Credit Crisis• Meningitis
• Distance Ed• Post-Graduate Outcomes • Teacher Education• Drug & Alcohol• St. Loan Sunshine• Fire Safety• Missing Persons• Peer to Peer• Endowments
A Quick Perspective• GI Bill and the War on Poverty• Student Centered Aid
– Portability- Access and Choice
• Accreditation as a Barrier to Federal Control
1992– A Watershed• Proprietary Scandals
• Middle State Political Correctness
• Last of the Old Lions
“Moving to the Front Burner”
1993-2000• Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich:
More in Common Than you Think• The Student Aid Alliance• Dec 1995 Government Shut-down• Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997• 2000 Elections
Direct Lending1993
• Connected to National Service Debate (and student loan scandals)
• Done through the Budget Act• Sets Off Direct Lending v. FFELP
Wars• Partisanship Enters HEA politics
Clinton and Gingrich• Populist message by Brilliant Strategists• So Goes Campaigns, So Goes Policy
– Symbolic Politics as Policy– The Role of Polling– 30- Second Sound Bites– Policy by Anecdote
• Generational Turnover in Congress
Student Aid Alliance• Response to Contract with America, but
directed at both Gingrich and Clinton• Campaign tactics applied to Issue Politics
– Polling – Focus groups– Earned Media– Grassroots and Grasstops– Unified Message from DC
December 1995 Government Shut-down
• Contract with America dead
• Education central issue
• Education “saves” Clinton for second time
Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997
• Combines Education and Tax Relief— a traditionally democratic issue with a republican method
• Benefits Middle Class• Adds “Affordability” to “Access”• Pell Increase Rides the Wave but
Does not Drive it
2000 Elections
• Beginning of Fight for the Independent Voters
• Education #1 Issue for Independents
• Similar Education Policy
1998 HEA Reauthorization—End of
an Era• Last Education bill done “on time”
• Last of the Bi-partisan Leadership from the “Good Old Days” with policy first
• Benefited from the lack of interest in HEA (a last gasp on the “back burner”)
What is the New Era?Education as a Front
Burner Issue• NCLB• Rise in Independent Voters• Close Elections• Prop Schools Rise from the Ashes• New Interest Groups• Budget Deficits• Age of Accountability• International Competitiveness• Exploding College Prices
No Child Left Behind-- 2001
• Federal “Fix-It”, not Partners• Equalization and Equity of Resources
replaced with Student Assessment• The Birth of the Data God
—”Scientific Evidence”• Bi-partisan with Groups in tow• New players
Rise in Independent Voters
• In the 27 states that register states by party, the percentage of self-declared independents grew from 8 percent in 1987 to 24 percent in 2004
• About 40 percent of Americans call themselves independent
• 30 percent are considered “persuadable”
• Independents broke 2-1 for the Dems in the 2006 election
Close Elections• Increases partisanship, because so much is at
stake.• Need to boldly stake out differences, while
competing for the same voters, using the same tools.
• Even in recent elections that have been decisive for one party, the total vote differences needed to tip the balance of power has been remarkably narrow.
• Increased Need to Raise Campaign Funds
New Interest Groups• Education Trust• New America Foundation• Center for American Progress• Data Quality Campaign• The Institute for College Access and Success,
Inc.• Achieve• Education Sector• Campaign for America’s Future
Budget Deficits• More bi-partisan concern as Dems
have increased their credibility• The deficit is getting worse• The federal debt is larger• The pie is baked
Age Of Accountability• Business knows best (remember TQM?)
• Learning can be measured and numbers can tell us everything
• Data leads, policy follows
• Einstein, “Because something can be counted, doesn’t mean it counts”
International Competitiveness
• They believe us• The future success for individuals
and the nation are dependent on access to higher ed
• We are a public good, with lots of governmental support
Explosion of College Prices
• Growth in Tuition far outpaces growth in median family income
• FY 2008 Pell Grant program will cost $18 billion for a $4,731 maximum grant-- more than 2 of the 12 congressional subcommittees entire allocations (five years Pell program costs were $10 b)
• Last year’s average increase in tuition and fees at private colleges was $1,404
Household Income vs. Tuition, Fee, Room, and Board Charges
(2006 Constant Dollars)
$14,127
$30,367
$12,796$6,877
$48,201
$39,961
$0
$20,000
$40,000
$60,000
$80,000
$100,000 MedianHouseholdIncome
PrivateFour-Year
PublicFour-Year
Colleges Losing the “White Hat”
• Cost• Scandals
– AAU– Student Loans– Study Abroad
• Rise of Prop Schools
Increasing Resentment of Colleges
• Most Americans (and elected officials) understand the economic need for postsecondary education
• Lots of federal support makes no dent• Congress (like the American people)
feels it can’t keep up• Is it worth it?
Leads to New Question:What are we getting for
our Money??• Asked by parents and by elected
officials• Spellings answers with language
she knows: NCLB; accountability, data, student learning outcomes
• Questions regarding “appropriate federal role” do not resonate
HEA Reauthorization –Final Stages
1998 Last Reauthorization2003-04 Scheduled ReauthorizationFeb 2006: Bill Split in two, key student aid
portions become lawMarch 2006: Rest of HEA passes House and DiesJuly 2007: Senate approves 2-part HEASeptember 2007: Student aid portions become
lawFebruary 2008: House approves Rest of HEAMarch 31, 2008: Targeted Conference Completion
Effects on Campus• What will affect your campus?
• When will these impacts be felt?
• What are our most significant victories and losses?
Dominant Issues for Congress
• Turning Student Loan Cuts into Pell Grant Dollars
• College Pricing (including textbooks)• Student Loan Sunshine• Issues de jour (V-TECH, illegal file sharing,
fire safety, missing students)• Teacher Education Accountability• Student Debt
Dominant Issues for NAICU
• College Pricing• Accreditation• Student Learning Outcomes• Student Loan Sunshine• Protecting Campus-based aid
& LEAP• Preserving Pell (against
front-loading, other ideas)• Student loan cuts—
opportunities and risks• Increased Loan Limits• Student repayment
options
• Transfer of Credit• Teacher Education
Mandates• Articulation Agreements• Last Dollar• Reporting Requirements
(file sharing, textbooks, emergency response, U-CAN, missing persons, fire safety, distance ed, drug & alcohol etc.)
• Integrity
Cost: Senate• “Watch Lists” of state and national price
increases ranking institutions above “HEPI”• State and national lists ranking schools by
change in tuition and fees over previous 2 years
• Development of net price calculators by institutions within 3 years
• Inclusion of net price information by income quartile in admissions materials
House Cost Provisions• Top 5 % of institutions by sector (and nationally)
with largest percentage increase in tuition over 3 years must submit report to Secretary and establish quality efficiency task forces with annual benchmarks
• Lists of top and bottom 5 % of schools by price and sector
• Sec of Ed develops net price calculator that all schools must adopt and place on web site
• PEPI
House: Higher Ed Pricing Summary Page
• Undergrad Tuition and Fees• For three preceding years
– Net price by income quintile ($35K increments
– Average % and $ change in tuition and fees
– Average % change in per-student instructional spending
And then Even More• All U-Can Information• Graduation rate information by
income quintile through IPEDS• Additional reports to Sec. by any
college whose net tuition rises above a new PEPI including reports on efforts to restrict future increases
Transfer of CreditBEGAN• Prop Schools: Automatic Transfer among
all Title IV schools• CHEA Principle: No Discrimination based on
Regional or National AccreditationLIKELY END• Publish Transfer of Credit Policy• Publish Articulation Agreements
Student Learning Outcomes
• Accreditation as a Regulatory Tool• Emphasis on Fixed Measures and
Comparability• Inevitable Drift Toward Formal
Assessment Instruments• Closely Related to Price Concerns–
What are we paying for?
Likely End Game: Accreditation and Student
Learning Outcomes• NACIQI reconfigured• Limitations on Secretarial Authority• Clear protections for Schools and
Accreditors to prevent one from contolling the other
Requires “respect” for religious missions
Student Loan Sunshine• Uniform disclosures and certification to
all students who borrow federal or private loans
• Applies to non-Title IV colleges• Struck: Restrictions on Bankers serving
on college boards and vice versa• Struck: Restrictions on
Charitable Contributions
Preservation of Programs
• Pell Grant “front-loading” defeated
• All Campus-based programs and LEAP reauthorized
• Campus-based aid formula preserved
Enhancements to Student Aid
Positive• Increases in student loan limits (undergraduate and
graduate)• New repayment options for students with high debt to
income; public service and non-profit loan forgiveness; lower interest rates and elimination of O fees
• $11 billion for Pell Grants (yielding an increase of $490 per student for AY 2008-09 over the appropriated max)
Negative Lenders are cutting borrower benefits• Uncertainty of PLUS loans• Effect of Cuts on Capital Markets unclear
Last Dollar (mainly a House problem)
• GEAR UP & 3 new grant programs• Designed to ensure no college “cuts” as
student’s institutional aid package because of additional federal grant dollars
• Brings in federal oversight and rules for institutional grant aid
Final: Language most likely struck
Teacher EducationGains• Removed initial Value-Added assessment models of teacher
ed programs• Eliminated Rankings of Institutions in State Report Card• Prohibits a national system of teacher certification
Losses
• Every college with a teacher ed program must set annual quantifiable goals in accordance with goals set by the Secretary of Education (senate) or State (house) in such areas as:
subject shortage areas (i.e. math, science, l.e.p) – special populations (special ed, rural and urban, etc.)
Articulation Agreements (House)
• Secretary to carry out program with the states to “develop, enhance and implement comprehensive articulation agreements among institutions in a State”
• Encourages such things as “common course numbering, general education core curriculum”
End: Private Colleges Removed from Mandate
Integrity• 50 Percent Rule• Incentive Compensation• 90/10• Default Rate Window
End Game: Props Likely Gain Ground
Reporting Requirements
• File Sharing• Textbooks• Emergency Response• U-CAN/ Navigator• Missing Persons• Fire Safety• Cost • Endowments
• Distance Ed• Post-Graduate
Outcomes (Senate• Grad Rates by
Student Aid Recipient• Drug & Alcohol• Student Loan
Sunshine• Meningitis
Textbooks• Publishers must provide pricing information to
those who select books on campus• Requires “unbundling”• Requires ISBN, retail price to be published with
class schedules (to maximum extent practicable)• Upon request, colleges must make info avail
available to outside bookstores• Language protecting academic freedom
and institutional autonomy
P2P File Sharing• Requires disclosures to students on school
policies for illegal downloading that are identical in both House and Senate, with bi-partisan support and Hollywood push
• Colleges must develop a plan for alternatives to illegal downloading and to explore technology-based deterrents (House) Authorizes grant program
to develop pilot programs
Campus Emergencies• Require campus policies on
emergency response including 30-minute notification rule
• Procedures must be publicized and tested annually
Overall Assessment
• We Have Won Many Clear Victories– Most blatant Price Controls Defeated– Student Aid Programs Maintained and
Expanded – Accreditation & Student Learning Outcomes– Transfer of Credit– Ability to Package our Own Aid– Charitable Contributions from Banks
Greatest Negative Effects on Campus
• Massive New Reporting Requirements
• New Federal Pressure on Tuition Increases
And on the Eastern Front—
Finance Committee• Also interested in College Cost• Endowment pay-outs• Increased Scrutiny of non-Profits• New 990s• Expired provisions:
– IRA Rollover– Tuition deduction
New Lobbying Rules• Applies if you have any staff member on
campus who spends more than 20 percent of his/her time advocating on federal issues or preparing for such actions
• If you hire an outside lobbyist, you must make sure they are reporting you on their own lobbying disclosure form and you must follow special gift ban and travel rules
Where Do We Go From Here?
• This week, this month, this year:– Engage with members of Congress– Tell your school’s story– Effect on your institution
• Building for Next Phase: Repair the Partnership– Document your compliance costs– NAICU efforts: U-Can and Together We-Can
Sources• A. Clayton Spencer, “The New Politics of Higher
Education”, Financing a College Education. Phoenix. AZ: Oryx Press, 1999, pp. 101-119.
• Constance Cook, Lobbying for Higher Education: How Colleges and Universities Influence Federal Policy, Vanderbilt University Press, 1998.
• www.independentvoting.org• www.independentvoice.org• Stan Collender: Various FY 2008 Budget Briefings• College Board, “Trends in College Pricing 2006”.