Student Financial Aid for Higher Education: An Evaluation of Proposed Federal Legislation.

Congressman O'Hara, as chairman of the Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education, has presented a bill for student financial aid for higher education (H.R. 3471). The first question is how well do the provisions of the bill serve broader societal goals? After summarizing the bill and examining provisions and implications of the bill that affect the furtherance of equal access and a viable postsecondary educational system, the bill was found to do little in the way of furthering these goals and, in fact, it neutralizes some of the progress made by the Educational Amendments of 1972. H.R. 3471 offers nothing to encourage greater institutional diversity and in some instances it is positively harmful, discriminating against high-tuition schools and schools that price at cost. While it does include provision for protecting the student as consumer, this amounts to little more than recognition of the issue. Insofar as the bill enables more people to obtain some kind of postsecondary education, it promotes greater access; however, by using "the leverage of Federal student aid in such a way to encourage the creation and utilization of low-cost educational opportunities,"the bill, in design and implementation, leads toward a kind of access that is neither equitable nor efficient. (Author/KE)