Administration Seeks to Use Federal Student Aid and Accreditation to Control Tuition and Student Outcomes

Posted by Kent Talbert on February 13, 2013

In its policy plan released after the State of the Union message, the Obama Administration intends to leverage federal student aid and the accreditation process to control the price of tuition and student outcomes in higher education.  The release--"The President's Plan for a Strong Middle Class & Strong America"--consists of eight pages of bullet points on initiatives of the second term.

On higher education, the plan seeks to link "value, affordability, and student outcomes . . . [to] determinations about which colleges and universities receive access to federal student aid." This will be done either by "incorporating measures of value and affordability into the existing accreditation system[,][] or by establishing a new, alternative system of accreditation . . . [for receipt of] federal student aid based on performance and results." The plan re-opens the issue of the reach of the federal government into historically non-governmental functions.  

At the K-12 level, when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) did not get reauthorized, the Administration proceeded to issue legally questionable conditional waivers. Just last week Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions questioned the authority for the conditions in a hearing on waivers.  

Whether executive action will be invoked to force changes in tuition or a school's eligibility for Title IV student aid remains an open question.  Colleges, universities, and accreditors should remain alert. 

 

 

Has the Department of Education Missed a Deadline for its December NACIQI Hearing?

Posted by Robert Eitel on November 08, 2010

As folks who follow accreditation matters know, the first meeting in several years of the National Advisory Committee for Institutional Quality and Improvement (NACIQI) is set for December 1-3, 2010.  That meeting was originally scheduled for September, but last August the Department postponed it to December. 

But it looks as though the Department may have missed a regulatory deadline relating to the December meeting.  34 C.F.R. § 602.34(d) requires that the Department publish at least thirty days prior to the NACIQI meeting a Federal Register notice inviting interested parties, including those who have filed written comments, to make oral presentations before the NACIQI.  The 602.34(d) notice is critical because it often, if not always, sets a deadline for making the request to present oral testimony, explains the mechanics for making the request, and includes other information helpful to the presenters. 

Interestingly, in its August 23, 2010, notice rescheduling the NACIQI hearing from September to December, the Department said that it would publish another notice asking for oral presentations:
 
[A] subsequent Federal Register notice will publish another meeting notice and invite individuals and groups to submit requests to make oral presentations before the NACIQI on the agencies proposed for review.
 
75 Fed. Reg. 51,758 (2010).  During today's teleconference meeting of the NACIQI, the Department staff indicated that the Department intended to publish the required notice in the next day or two.  But it is unfortunate that the Department has missed an important regulatory deadline for the first meeting in years of the NACIQI. 

NACIQI Elects Chairman and Vice Chairman

Posted by Robert Eitel on November 08, 2010

The National Advisory Committee for Institutional Quality and Improvement (NACIQI) held a teleconference meeting today, November 8, to handle various administrative matters relating to its upcoming December 1-3 meeting.  I had the opportunity to attend the meeting.

The NACIQI unanimously elected Cameron Staples its Chairman and Arthur Rothkopf its Vice Chairman.  Interestingly, Staples (a member appointed to the NACIQI by the House Democrats) was nominated by Larry Vanderhoof (a Senate Democratic appointee) and seconded by Arthur Keiser (a House Republican appointee).  Rothkopf (a House GOP appointee) was nominated by Susan Phillips (appointed by Secretary Duncan) and seconded by Bruce Cole (a Senate Republican appointee).  

Both Staples and Rothkopf have impressive resumes.  Staples is a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives and chairman of its finance committee.  He has been a member of the Connecticut legislature since 1993 and is a Visiting Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School teaching legislative advocacy.   He ran briefly for Attorney General earlier this year but withdrew after four months of campaigning.

Rothkopf has had a long career in law, government, and education.  Most recently, he served as a senior vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce overseeing education and workforce initiatives.  Prior to that, he was President of Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, having come from the U.S. Department of Transportation, where he served as Deputy Secretary and General Counsel during the George H.W. Bush administration.  Rothkopf was a partner at a major D.C. law firm before joining 41's administration.

All in all, a good start that will provide the Committee with some seasoned leadership.