Federal Policy Landscape

1. Federal Policy Landscape Bryan Cook Center for Policy Analysis American Council on Education

2. Who is ACE? • Over 1,800 college and university members (representing all sectors). • ACE members represent about 80 percent of students enrolled

3. ACE Mission ACE, the major coordinating body for all of the nation's higher education institutions, seeks to provide leadership and a unifying voice on higher education issues and to influence public policy through advocacy, research, and program initiatives.

4. ACE Representation • ACE role is to coordinate and lead • Not everyone wants to be coordinated or led

5. Public Private Two-year Four-year University Presidential Associations ACE AACC AGB CCCU HACU NAICU AASCU UNCF NAFEO AJCU ACCU APLU AAU

6. Current Policy Environment

7. Policy Concerns for Higher Education • Rising Cost

8. Price of College

9. Policy Concerns for Higher Education • Rising Cost • Student outcomes

10. Student Outcomes • Graduation/completion Rates • Academically Adrift • Modest gain in critical thinking • Students don’t work hard • Employment Rates

11. Policy Concerns for Higher Education • Rising Cost • Student outcomes • Accountability/accreditation

12. Productivity ? “We’re conducting a productivity study.”

13. Federal Efforts to Improve Postsecondary Education • Increased reporting and disclosures • College Affordability and Transparency Center • Accreditation • Gainful employment

14. Goal • “…While a majority of career colleges play a vital role in training our workforce to be globally competitive, some bad actors are saddling students with debt they cannot afford in exchange for degrees and certificates they cannot use.” • US Secretary of Education • Arne Duncan

15. In general, at a traditional institution, a gainful employment program is a non-degree certificate program of at least one year. What is a Gainful Employment Program?

16. What is a Gainful Employment Program? Yes No

17. What is a Gainful Employment Program? Yes No

18. What is a Gainful Employment Program? No Yes

19. What is a Gainful Employment Program? No Yes

20. What is a Gainful Employment Program? No Yes

21. What is a Gainful Employment Program? No Yes

22. What is a Gainful Employment Program No Yes

23. Gainful Employment Consumer Disclosures Disclosures by program on website by July 1, 2011 Occupations Total program costs On-time completion rates Job placements Median loan debt

24. Gainful Employment Data Data reported to ED by October 1, 2011 Student identifier information (SSN, DOB, name) Program identifier information (OPEID, CIP) Private loan borrowing Institutional loans Enrollment information

25. Gainful Employment

26. Three Tests Debt measures Repayment rate at least 35% Student debt payment less than 12 percent of graduate’s total income Student debt payment less than 30 percent of a graduate’s discretionary income

27. Three Tests Consequences Fail one year = additional disclosures Fail two years = warnings to students Fail three years in four = loss of Title IV eligibility

28. Other things to keep and eye on… • Veteran and service member data • Report on History of IPEDS

29. Information Required to Be Disclosed Under the Higher Education Act of 1965:Suggestions for Dissemination

30. Why This Report? • Compliance • Needle in a haystack • ESL • Graduation rates = Students Right to Know • Federal Disclosures • List of Disclosures

31. Recommendations? • Compliance and communication • Single webpage to access information • “3 Click” maximum

32. Why Follow these Recommendations? • Student Friendly • Avoid more disclosures

33. Changing Use of IPEDS

34. Questions