Schumer Announces Passage Of Higher Education Bill With His Provisions To Protect Upstate NY Families And College Students From Soaring Tuition And Textbook Costs

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Schumer Announces Passage Of Higher Education Bill With His Provisions To Protect Upstate NY Families And College Students From Soaring Tuition And Textbook Costs

As Cost of Tuition and Textbooks Tripled Over the Past Two Decades; Families and Students Struggle To Keep Up with Increases Schumer: Making College More Affordable is a Critical Step for America's Competitiveness

As the cost of a college education continues to rise, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced Senate and House passage of comprehensive legislation reauthorizing the Higher Education Act of 1965. The bill, the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEA) of 2008, will help students and families cope with the rising costs of college tuition and school materials by adding new measures to simplify loan applications, increase transparency and improve consumer protections. HEA also expands grant and loan forgiveness programs for teachers and nurses and improves education opportunities for service members. Both the Senate and House have approved the bill, and it will now go to the President for his signature.

"In today's America, getting a college degree must not become a luxury," said Schumer. "With costs on the rise and nearly two-thirds of today's college students graduating with debt, this legislation comes at just the right time to help families and students better manage the rising costs and hard-to-decipher aid information. Parents should not need an accounting degree to fill out financial aid forms, and this legislation will both simplify that process and provide families with critical information to make better decisions as education consumers."

The enhanced bill, The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEA) of 2008, will help students and families by holding colleges more accountable for rising costs of tuition and textbooks. The cost of college has tripled in the last twenty years and many students and families are struggling to keep up.

Making Financial Aid More Consumer Friendly

HEA provides increased transparency and simplification for the financial aid process. To simplify the financial aid process, replaced a complex, 7-page Free Application Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form with for a simple, two-page form called, "EZ-FAFSA." HEA is also encouraging the Department of Education to work with the IRS to share tax data which parents and students are currently required to enter into both their tax forms and then their FAFSA form in order to be eligible for financial aid. This could put an end to the needlessly repetitive task of filling in the same tax information on two separate federal forms. HEA also will create a loan repayment counseling program.

Two of Schumer's financial aid provisions were included in the bill to transform the financial aid process and provide clarity at two separate stages in the application process. First, the Model Institution Financial Aid Offer Form will provide colleges and universities with a standardized financial aid form that clearly states how much a student will truly pay for their education, differentiating between the aid that has to be paid back and that which does not. The standardized form option will include information on:

* The total costs of tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and transportation and miscellaneous expenses.
* The amount of financial aid that the student does not have to repay, such as scholarships and grants offered to the student for the year, and the conditions under which the aid would be renewable each year.
* The amount of work-study assistance offered to the student, and the conditions that the student has to fulfill for the work-study assistance.
* Information about loans that the student, or a parent of the student, is eligible for such year and the loans that the covered institution recommends for the year, including information on applicable interest rates and other terms and conditions of the loans, including the estimated monthly repayment amount.
* Where a student or the student's parent can seek additional information regarding the financial aid offered.
* And finally, schools would have to provide the net cost of attendance for the year to each student, clearly stating the total cost less the total free aid. Currently, while a school may offer more financial aid, its higher cost of attendance could offset any benefit. Under the new bill, student would be able to directly compare the bottom line cost of attendance for various colleges.

"The financial aid forms given to parents and students were far too complicated. This new form will make it easier for parents and students to compare financial aid awards and decide which school gives them the most bang for their buck," Schumer said.

Second, HEA also includes practical and important private lender disclosure requirements during the application process, including the "Schumer Box" for private student loans - a successful consumer protection used by the credit card industry. The "Schumer Box" is an easy to read chart, using non-technical terms that will describe the various loan scenarios, including information on the different loan amounts, interest rates, and payment periods. The "Schumer Box" will tell a student how much he or she will owe each month, including interest, in order to pay off the loan.

Reigning in the Cost of Textbooks

HEA also includes provisions to reduce the cost of textbooks. Textbooks publishers will be required to unbundle expensive course materials that often provide extra materials that students don't need. In addition, colleges and universities will publish textbook and course material pricing information on their online course catalogues.

HEA also includes a new program to make competitive grants available to 10 colleges or universities to set up a course material and textbook rental program. This pilot program is based on the Affordable Books for College Act, which Schumer introduced in 2005. In May, Schumer sent a letter to Chairman Kennedy, Ranking Member Enzi, Chairman Miller, and Ranking Member McKeon from the Senate and House Education Committees, respectively, requesting that a pilot program for course material rentals be included in the final conference report of the bill.

"With students paying an average of $900 per year on textbooks alone, it is critical that we start looking at new ways to provide students with the materials they need without saddling them with staggering bills." Schumer added. "As any student knows, that first trip to the bookstore can be an unwelcome reminder that the costs of school don't begin and end with tuition and room and board. This bill is taking an important first step to alleviate the high, additional college costs by providing schools with grants to buy materials, hire staff, and set up a rental program to help ease the pain on the pocketbook."

Increasing Education Affordability for Pell Grantees, Servicemembers, Teachers, and Nurses

HEA will:

* Increase the maximum Pell Grant award to $6,000 for 2009 and $8,000 for 2014 and make these grants available to students year-round. The Federal Pell Grant Program provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduate and certain post baccalaureate students to promote access to postsecondary education.
* Prevent student loan interest from accruing for active duty servicemembers and National Guard members during activation, up to 60 months, when serving in a combat zone.
* Create a new capitation grant program to help nursing schools enroll more students and authorizes additional funds for nursing schools to recruit nursing faculty.

Promoting Innovative and Effective Teacher Preparation Programs

The bill will also improve teacher quality in America's schools. With the need for first-class teachers in our public schools greater than ever, the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 will look to train and retain effective teachers in new and innovative ways. By teaming teacher education programs with high-need districts, it will promote putting the best teachers in the schools that need them most. This legislation will also introduce rigorous preparation, induction and residency programs into teacher preparation programs across the country to foster and train the next class of high-quality educators.

Strengthening College Preparation Programs

HEA will enhance TRIO and GEAR UP programs which offer students, especially low-income and first-generation college students, preparation for the challenges of higher education. TRIO programs will be expanded to require activities focused on improving students' financial literacy. New procedural provisions will also be put in place to ensure that TRIO program applicants are assessed fairly and accurately. HEA will make it possible for GEAR UP programs to offer early intervention activities, as well as extended school day and dropout recovery programs.

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