Senator Lamar Alexander, a former university president, served as the Secretary of Education, and the current Chairman of the Senate health is expected to make his legislative mark before his retirement. The senator announced he would not run for a fourth term coming this 2020.
Senator Lamar Alexander proposes a package of bills to reform the Higher Education Act (HEA). This will be the senator’s final legislative legacy. Known for his congeniality having to pass several bipartisan deals, the senator aims to pull out one final bill before his retirement.
The Student Aid Improvement Act of 2019 will permanently fund Minority Serving Institutions, including the six #HBCUs in Tennessee, and includes seven other bipartisan higher education proposals drafted by 35 Senators—20 Democrat, 15 Republican. pic.twitter.com/CfXarsNZT3
— Lamar Alexander (@SenAlexander) September 26, 2019
Lamar Alexander needs a lot of help
The proposal from Senator Lamar Alexander needs a lot of bipartisan approval to make it successful, and it is expected to pass on extreme scrutiny for it will define the future of higher education policies.
Pros
- Simplification of the Federal Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) – This bill proposes to simplify the process for a student applying for college financial aid. It aims to lessen the tedious process and limit application questions. Data sharing from the IRS is also requested to help answer other questions relevant to the application for financial aid.
- Reform of the Financial Aid prerequisites – College cost has always been a crucial factor in a student’s decision making in which course to take in college. This bill is one of those that require bipartisan approval. This ensures standardization of financial aid offers, a detailed but understandable definition of college grant policies, and proper definition of how college education loans work.
- Pell Grants made available for Incarcerated Individuals – The 1994 Congress excluded incarcerated Americans access to Pell Grants as amended in the sweeping crime bill. This made a negative impact on incarcerated people who have found difficulty in finding employment that could help them earn for a college education. Giving access to Pell Grant helps them proceed with their education and has been proven to lessen the risk of having them back to committing crimes again.
Looking forward to fruits of seeds planted by Lamar Alexander
Cons
- Scope and effect of Pell Grant – The grant is expected to be a decent help for the less fortunate to pursue college, what was not expected was the tight budget given on the increase intended for the Pell Grant program. The increase was just a barely noticeable $20. A small amount compared to the increase in tuition fees, school fees, and miscellaneous, even at the cheapest college today. This is a problem especially for students that are entirely relying on the grants like this to go to college.
- Inclusion of short programs – It may be a practical option to take short courses if you aim to gain quick credentials and apply for work. This is why Pell Grant has also accredited short programs to their coverage. The problem here though is that it may be a source of fraudulent applications into the Grant. It might open doors for predatory programs giving up false promises for a quick certificate. There are also suggestions that short programs often do not lead to long term sustainable opportunities to its graduates, definitely a waste of budget rather than going for full-term courses.
Overall, policies do have strong and weak points. Senator Lamar Alexander’s camp does hope things get ironed out in a way that will benefit the whole higher education for the years to come.
