Last Thursday, the House of Representatives passed the controversial Protecting Academic Freedom in Higher Education Act, HR 2117, to the Senate. If approved, this resolution would repeal several policies that will govern student financial aid programs and the operation of higher education institutions nation wide.
Introduced in October 2010 by the Department of Education, the three policies targeted by the repeal would establish a uniform definition of the credit hour for allocating federal financial aid, a state-by-state method for processing student complaints and the requirement of higher education and post secondary vocational institutions accreditation. If unchanged, these policies are scheduled to go into effect in July 2014.
HR 2117 was originally introduced to the house last June by Republican North Carolina representative and Chairwoman of the Education and the Workforce Committee (EWC), Virginia Foxx. Since then, the proposed repeal has ignited heated debates between the houses.
In an official response to the repeal, dated on Feb. 27, the Executive Office of President Barack Obama explained that repealing these regulations nullifies policies that ensure the integrity of student financial aid programs guaranteed under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965.
“These regulations are necessary to prevent the inflation of academic credits attributed to post secondary education courses that could result in the over-awarding of Federal student aid. Congress should not prevent the Secretary of education from responsibly administering these programs and ensuring that consumers and taxpayers are protected from fraud, waste and abuse.”
However, the EWC released a statement of its own, claiming that these regulations “inject the federal government into issues that are traditionally academic or state affairs” and that they “could prove to be very harmful for the higher education community.”
Southeastern President John L. Crain commented on both the polices and the repeal, pointing out that since both are still under scrutiny the exact measure of their impact is currently unknown. However, if the repeal succeeds it could remove possible complications for the university.
“The two regulations this act would repeal are relatively new and still being interpreted and implemented,” said Crain. “Neither was particularly ‘directed’ at public universities but cause us to be concerned about added cost associated with compliance as well as potential unintended consequences. If enacted, the repeal would allow us to avoid these potential complications and cost.”
After being passed by the house, HR 2117 is now under deliberation by the United States Senate and no date for a decision has been announced officially. More information on the resolution and Department of education policies can be found online at www.govtrack.us.