U.S. Reps. Ron Kind, D-Wis., and Tom Petri, R-Wis., discussed the Higher Education Act at the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents meeting Friday.
As members of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, the two Congressmen are helping to write the latest version of the federal government’s plan for improving higher education. They told the board that their work is intended to help alleviate some of the fiscal pressure that universities such as UW are experiencing as a result of recent budget cuts.
“In these roles and elsewhere, these two Wisconsin leaders demonstrate their strong support for and understanding of the value and benefits of postsecondary education,” UW System President Katherine Lyall said in a statement.
Among other things, the Higher Education Act coordinates and authorizes the federal government’s financial-aid programs. Kind and Petri are now drafting the next five-year revision to the act.
Kind described a proposal he introduced that would alleviate concerns about another proposal from Rep. Howard McKeon, R-Calif., that would withhold federal financial aid from colleges and universities that increase tuition by more than twice the rate of inflation. Kind suggested, instead, to offer incentives to states to spend more of its own money to fund higher education, reducing the costs for “harmless” students.
“There is no greater priority from my perspective than talking about access and affordability,” Kind said.
Kind also said Congress is expected to freeze the level of funding from Pell grants for the next fiscal year. This move would be the first time in 10 years that the program would be affected in this way. However, a decision will not be voted on until the House of Representatives returns to session this week.
Another provision noted by Petri was his plan to change the rules that govern eligibility for funding under the TRIO program, which provides federal funds for minority, disadvantaged and first-generation college students who start at UW’s two-year colleges before transferring to a four-year campus.
Interpretation of this law currently causes problems for UW because it views UW colleges as one institution, even though it has 13 two-year campuses, because it has one chancellor and a centralized financial-aid process. Under the law, this means UW colleges only receive one TRIO grant, and only 27 percent of eligible students get funding from the student-support-services portion of the program.
Petri added that the House is looking at the new version of the act as seven separate bills, allowing more attention to be paid to each new provision. He said they have already passed four of the seven bills. The Senate, however, will probably pass the measures as one package, Petri said.
Kind and Petri represent nearly half of the UW System’s 26 total campuses, Lyall noted in her introduction of the two Congressmen. They include universities in Eau Claire, La Crosse, Oshkosh, Platteville, River Falls and Menomonie; and the two-year colleges in Fond du Lac, Menasha, Manitowoc, Sheboygan and Richland Center.
Kind referred to his district as a “mecca for higher-education learning,” adding that he is devoted to Wisconsin colleges and universities and takes into account what is important to the state.
Petri agreed and complimented the board for its work in maintaining priorities and direction for the university.
“If we are to prosper as a state, it will be in large part due to the University of Wisconsin,” Petri said.
