WASHINGTON--(COLLEGIATE PRESSWIRE)--Jun 5, 2002--House 21st Century Competitiveness Subcommittee Chairman Howard P. ''Buck'' McKeon (R-CA) today announced the introduction of legislation to improve student access to higher education by streamlining federal red tape in the student aid system. The bill, based directly on recommendations submitted by school officials, educators, students and others over the past year through the ''FED UP'' project, will enhance access to financial aid for millions of students across the country.
''Over the last year, we have reached out to higher education professionals to identify burdensome regulations that needlessly hinder student access to financial aid at our nation`s colleges and universities,'' said McKeon. ''By all accounts, this has been a tremendous success, and college aid administrators have hailed it as an example of how government should work.''
''This legislation will help higher education officials spend less time with burdensome paperwork and more time helping students realize the dream of a college education,'' McKeon continued.
The legislation is a result of McKeon`s FED UP project (short for ''Upping the Effectiveness of Our Federal Student Aid Programs''), which used the Internet to identify and simplify burdensome regulations in the Higher Education Act that work against college students and personnel. Interested parties submitted recommendations to the FED UP website on how to streamline burdensome regulations. The project received approximately 3,000 responses from college officials, administrators, students, and other personnel who operate America`s institutions of higher learning, laying the groundwork for the reforms announced today.
College officials were enthusiastic about new efforts to simplify the regulatory process. ''FED UP is an example of how government should work,'' said David Sheridan, Dean of Enrollment at Stevens Institute of Technology and Federal Relations Chair for the Eastern Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. ''Those empowered by their responsibilities to voters and taxpayers seeking the feedback and collaboration of those with the specific expertise in the area, who are more aware than any how particular laws and regulations effect peoples` lives and work.''
House Education & the Workforce Committee Chairman John Boehner (R-OH) praised McKeon, Rep. Patsy Mink (D-HI) and other members of the subcommittee for their work on the FED UP project and said he believed it would advance quickly through the House this summer.
''I commend Rep. McKeon for his leadership for introducing this important legislation that will reduce the red tape burden on financial aid professionals and expand student access to higher education,'' said Boehner.
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SUMMARY: ''FED UP'' LEGISLATION TO REDUCE FEDERAL RED TAPE FOR AMERICA`S COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
The FED UP legislation incorporates a long list of common-sense technical changes to the Higher Education Act requested by individuals and institutions outside the Beltway. Collectively these common-sense changes will reduce federal red tape and remove unnecessary barriers that inhibit student aid programs, helping to maximize access to higher education for students. Specifically, the FED UP legislation:
* Helps to ensure students receive student loan funds quickly. Extends two provisions set to expire on September 30 that provide an incentive for institutions to keep their default rates low and allow students to receive loan funds faster. (Currently, schools with default rates under 10 percent for three consecutive years may waive the 30-day delay on providing loans to first-time borrowers who are first-year students. Schools that meet this low rate also may request one-term loans in a single disbursement, rather than the required multiple disbursement.)
* Helps students avoid defaulting on their student loans. Removes barriers to students seeking forbearance from lenders on student loan payments by eliminating the requirement that new agreements between lenders and borrowers be in writing (however, lenders must provide notice to borrowers of the terms of any new agreement). ''Forbearance'' is a process by which a borrower who is having temporary difficulty meeting his or her repayment obligations can contact the lender, explain the situation and obtain some form of relief - possibly in the form of an extension, reduced monthly payments for a period of time, no payments for a short time, or other options. The FED UP change will provide relief to student borrowers to help keep them out of default and make it easier for lenders to react more quickly to students` needs.
* Makes clear that federal scholarship aid can go to low-income and minority students for law school. Allows the U.S. Department of Education to provide scholarship aid to low-income and minority students to prepare for and attend law school, which is not currently mentioned specifically as an allowable use in the Higher Education Act.
* Makes clear that home-schooled students can receive federal student aid. Clarifies that home-schooled students are eligible for financial aid for higher education.
* Eases aid requirements for America`s Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). Allows Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) to apply for federal HSI grants without waiting two years between applications. This provision compliments President Bush`s FY2003 Budget request, which includes $89.1 million for the Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions program, an increase of $3.1 million, to expand and enhance support for postsecondary education institutions that serve large percentages of Hispanic students and help to close the gap between Hispanic students and their peers.
* Improves flow of information to students. Expands the use of technology to provide information, such as voter registration material, directly to students in a timely manner.
* Protecting students` grant aid upon withdrawal. Clarifies parts of the ''return of Title IV funds'' policy to better protect students` grant aid when he or she withdraws from a college or university.
* Corrects a drafting error in current law that mistakenly prevents students attending nonprofit foreign veterinary schools from completing their education by making them ineligible for the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program.
* Encourages higher education institutions to use technology in their reports to the federal government, including teacher quality reports.
* Allows financial aid professionals to use ''professional judgment'' in reevaluating a student`s financial need in cases where the student is a ward of the court.
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