IHEP Statement on Aim Higher Act
Published Jul 25, 2018
On July 24, 2018 U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) and other Democratic lawmakers introduced the Aim Higher Act, a proposal to reauthorize the Higher Education Act of 2008. IHEP President, Michelle Asha Cooper released the following statement:
"This newest Higher Education Act proposal includes provisions that take bold steps to narrow inequities in college access, affordability and success by strengthening and protecting federal need-based aid, supporting targeted degree-completion strategies, enhancing transparency, and expanding educational opportunities for some of the most vulnerable students—those who are incarcerated.
"We applaud key reforms outlined in the Aim Higher Act such as increasing the maximum Pell Grant, permanently indexing the grant to inflation, strengthening the program with more mandatory funding, preserving the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, and facilitating more seamless institution-to-institution reverse credit transfers. Additionally, the proposal corrects critical flaws in current federal policy by reinstating access to Pell Grants for incarcerated students and overturning the ban on student-level data collection–a measure that will help students, families, college leaders, and policymakers answer critical questions about higher education outcomes.
"As reauthorization conversations continue, we hope to see some provisions of the bill strengthened even further, such as the federal-state partnership to make community college free. Our read of the public summary suggests that the proposal is designed as a last-dollar program. With adjustments, including shifting to a first-dollar program and expanding to more four-year colleges, the proposal could better target funding toward the lowest income students who often struggle to pay non-tuition college expenses.
"As federal policymakers consider HEA reauthorization, we urge them to prioritize the needs of low-income students, students of color, and other historically underserved populations and to design legislation that truly enhances college opportunities and promotes economic mobility."
