Federal Level Education

After World War II and the establishment of Higher Education Act of 1965, the primary goal of equalizing educational opportunity to lower and middle income students became a national initiative (Mullhern et al. 2015). These initiative were provided through grants and financial aid. However, in recent years student loans have become an important part of the equation. Since the Great Recession in 2008, many states have not invested in higher education at pre-recession levels, which were already low from the previous recession (Mitchell, Palacious & Leachman). This has

Recently there has been a lot of debate about the importance of college education. Students are asking if it’s worth the debt to attend a four year university or community college. Some are thinking what are the benefits of a degree is in the workforce. With college tuition increasing and state fundings lowering, low income students are struggling to attain a higher education. College institutions should have a role to provide students higher education and equal opportunity to students to increase social mobility yet intergenerational reproduction of privilege has produced inequality in education.

Abstract: This paper will discuss the Federal Pell Grant and the legislation behind it as well as the Higher Education Act of 1965 and it’s reforms since then. This appears purpose is to show the faults within these programs and to then show possible ways people have tried to reform it. The final part of this paper will be my opinion on how the legislation can be fixed along with using data and information from recent research done on the subject. It is the hopes that these recommendations will then be used to further stabilize this piece of legislation in the future.

Higher education has become a staple of American society. With over 20 million students attending over 4,500 degree granting institutions, the role that higher education has played on larger society is paramount (Thelin, 2017). However, despite the popularity of higher education institutions, the exact purpose of higher education has changed from century to century and may serve different purposes depending on who is asked. Higher education today is arguably both a public and private good. While state and federal governments have invested in a variety of higher education initiatives, as well as assisted thousands of students with attending college through loans and scholarships in hopes that students use their acquired skills and

So it’s not that colleges are spending more money to educate students, it’s that they have to get that money from someplace to replace their lost state funding; and that’s from tuition and fees from students and families (Sanchez 1). While most institutions tried to keep costs down, some took advantage of the public perception that a high tuition means a quality education (Sanchez 2). The problems that students face now are rising tuition, increasing loans and lacking financial aid to compensate. The fastest growing income for public colleges and universities in our country is tuition. Most students must take out loans to make it through college now.

In 1965, the United States legislature passed a historical legislation called the Higher Education Act of 1965. This was an important legislation intended to strengthen the resources of our colleges and universities and to provide financial assistance to students in postsecondary and higher education. Today, this act remains the foundation for most postsecondary education subsidies, including the Federal Pell Grant program. Since its inception, the federal government has continued to provide varying amounts of funding for higher education in hopes of encouraging college enrollment by reducing college costs. Yet, according to the Department of Education, the United States, once ranked a global leader in postsecondary education, has

Presently, the availability of educational opportunities at the college and university level is a critical state and personal interest given the needs of the state for a well-educated workforce which has never been greater. Too many, the focal point of attending college is receiving a high paying job in the future. Unfortunately, in most states, tuition is on the rise and students who come from low-income families find themselves struggling to fund their education. According to legislatures, “The cost of college in New Jersey, as in the nation, continues to grow faster than the rate of inflation.” (State of New Jersey 1). In the national financial aid policy resources that are typically given to the neediest families are shifting towards

An ongoing key debate today in the United States, the home of the free and country full of opportunities, is whether or not college tuition should be free to all students. In the early 1900s, higher education was encouraged and seen as a “public good”, so it was paid for with increased tax revenues. By the late 1900s though, an argument arose that higher education benefited the individual; therefore, it was considered a “private good” in which the individuals and their families had the pay for it. This relates to the cost of higher education, whether higher education is affordable or not, especially for students from lower-income families. Also, where the responsibility for

The report shows that even though “state support for higher education increased by 13 percent from 1982 to 1998, tuition and fees increased by 107 percent over the same interval” (“Losing Ground”). At the federal level, while “more than fifty percent of federal financial aid was in the form of grants in 1982-1983, by 2002-2003 grants made up only forty percent of such aid,” Ronald Ehrenberg and Michael Rizzo state in “Financial Forces and the Future of American Higher Education,” which appeared in the July-August 2004 issue of Academe (Ehrenberg). They add that “during the mid-1970s, the average Pell Grant covered about 46 percent of the average costs, including room and board, of attending a public college or university. Last year, the average grant paid for less than 30 percent of the costs” (Ehrenberg). Low-income students are being squeezed out by middle- and upper- income students for available school

The Secretary of Education report charts the future of United States higher education and outlines various recommendations to improve it. As higher education evolves in unexpected ways, this new landscape demands innovation and flexibility from the institutions that serve the nation’s learners. The recommendations mentioned include assess, cost and affordability, financial aid, learning, transparency and accountability, and finally innovation. One of the most significant recommendations that needs to definitely be address is the issue of cost and affordability of higher education.

Hossler and Kwon (2015) examined the three shifts that affected financial aid policies at four year public colleges and universities, which were the economy, federal policy and demographic trends. These trends impacted economic conditions during the various periods. The authors reported that the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 was the beginning of the federal government’s involvement in providing financial aid to veterans interested in postsecondary education. During the 1940s and 1960s, this initiative caused an influx of students to enroll in college. This led to the expansion of community colleges. These trends aided in the passage of the next wave of federal programs such the National Student Loan Program, the Educational Opportunity

Polatajko, Mark M. "Performance Funding of State Public Higher Education; Has It Delivered the Desired External Accountability and Institutional Improvement?" (2011).

Federal funding and education have been hot topics of the 21st century. Former President Bush enacted the No Child Left Behind Act, whose effects continue to ripple through American education and society from elementary school years into undergraduate years. Therefore, Dr. Gray's point regarding federal funding and freedom is quite relevant now, just as much as it was a decade ago under Bush. Federal funding for universities exposes and exploits a philosophical dilemma: universities need funding to run obvious and simple. Universities also symbolize cultural and intellectual expansion; there is a distinct sense of freedom and exploration associated with higher education. Dr. Gray argues that more and more prevalent

One of the primary factors in the transition of the Student Affairs profession over the years has been political influences and government spending on higher education initiatives. Political officials hold an enormous amount of power over institutions of higher learning, especially those that are public. These representatives’ legislative powers can help or hinder the education community, specifically within Student Affairs. “The federal government provides funding for student aid, as well as for research and development” (McClellan & Stringer, 2009, p. 109) and that financial support often has great influence over the current endeavors that a University is pursing. Additionally, the government has an immense effect on the Student Affairs community through the legislative process. With the passing of the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, a flood of new students surged the higher education landscape, and the need for student services skyrocketed. According to Leddy (2009), there was a severe deficiency of student housing and a low number of faculty members nationwide, however, with the influx of veterans, colleges expanded to meet the increase in demand (para. 3). While the passing of this act, along with many others has positively affected the higher education landscape, the direct connection of politics in higher education and Student Affairs can best be seen during times of financial stress and cutbacks.

U.S. schools and colleges vary from numerous points of view. Some are open, others are independently employed individual; some are huge urban colleges, some are two-yr. group universities, others little rustic grounds. Some offer alumna and expert political stage, others point of convergence basically on undergrad instruction. Each of our more than 3, 000 schools and colleges has its particular and dissimilar mission. This aggregate differing qualities around organizations is one of the extraordinary strength of America's higher instruction framework, and has helped make it the best in the people. Protecting that assorted qualities is key on the off chance that we plan to serve the needs of our just social order.