HIGHER EDUCATION ACT

The Congress is now in the final stages of reauthorizing the Higher Education Act. Substantial progress has been made in both the House and Senate versions of this vital bill including:

• Changes in the so-called "half-cost" limitation on the Basic Education Opportunity Grant (BEOG). Un­der current law not more than half of a student's allowable education costs may be paid for by a BEOG. The House bill eventually will permit 70 percent of these costs while the Senate permits 60 percent. The final provision should be a major step forward to students. Changes in this provision will also help to redress the imbalance that currently exists between the aid received by public and private colleges with the latter currently receiving more aid even though they enroll fewer students.

• Inclusion of eligibility for part-time students in the campus-based student aid programs and under the loan programs. Only full-time students have been eligible for this aid.

• Changes in Title I of this Act that should allow for more flexibility in the provision of higher education to workers.

On the negative side the new bill, in seeking to correct some abuses in the loan program, may very well saddle students and their families with heavy interest burdens under the new loan programs. One further area of great concern is the proposal which was defeated in the Senate Committee to provide BEOGs to students in elementary and secondary schools. This is yet another attempt to provide some version of tax credits or vouchers to nonpublic schools. For all of the reasons that Congress rejected tuition tax credits in 1978, we urge defeat of this scheme.

The new Higher Education Act shows the potential for providing yet another advance in federal aid to our system of post-secondary education. We urge that a bill consistent with the policies spelled out here be enacted without delay. As the largest organization in the country representing college faculty, this measure is of vital importance to our members.