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--- Friday --- November 14, 1997 --- Vol. 1 --- No. 73 ---
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THE NATIONAL UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
www.negp.gov
__________ __________
PARENTAL GUIDANCE | SPOTLIGHT |
Trustees of the Fairfax | |
County library system voted | COMPASSIONATE AGGRESSION |
down a compromise proposal that | |
would have allowed parents to | Student loan default |
prohibit their preteen children | rates are down for the |
from surfing the Internet on | fifth year in a row, |
library computers in an attempt | according to the U.S. DoEd. |
to screen them from inappropri- | U.S. Ed Sec Richard Riley |
ate material (Tousignant, WASH | attributes the good news to |
POST, 11/13). Charles Fegan, | both a strong economy and |
a board member and author of | get-tough policies passed |
the proposal, was shocked at | by Congress that allow the |
the 7 to 3 vote against his | DoEd to go after bad debts. |
compromise. "I couldn't | |
understand all the furor that | For example, schools with |
was generated by this thing," | default rates that exceed |
he said. "This doesn't | 25% for at least three |
encroach on anyone else's | years, or 40% in one year, |
freedom. It doesn't do | could be banned by the DoEd |
anything with the contents of | from participating in |
the Internet -- there's no | college aid programs. |
censorship. It just says, | |
'Parents, you're responsible.'" | New regulations also |
Board member Pamela Spencer | allow federal officials to |
voted against the proposal | seize defaulters' federal |
because she said the plan | income-tax refunds or |
offered parents a "false safety | garnish their wages. |
net." Spender: "The onus | |
should be on them to sit down | "We're trying to be |
and discuss this with their | compassionately aggressive |
children. They already have | with collections," |
the prerogative of having their | explained one DoEd |
child to use the Internet by | official. (#2) |
telling them not to." |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"The Pell Grant was born in controversy, and it continues to be
surrounded by controversy to this day."
Thomas Wolanin, adjunct professor of educational policy and
political science at George Washington U. (#1)
_______________________________________________________________
| (c) by the Education Policy Network, Inc. |
| 1255 22nd Street NW; Washington, D.C. 20010; 202/724-0124 |
| EPN, Inc. hereby authorizes further reproduction and |
| distribution with proper acknowledgement. |
| Publisher: Barbara A. Pape |
|_______________________________________________________________|
============== TABLE OF CONTENTS ==============
HIGHER EDUCATION
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Pell grants turn 25. (#1)
STUDENT LOAN NEWS: Defaults decline. (#2)
BYTES AND PIECES
ELECTRONIC CAMPUS: A new age for southern schools. (#3)
GOVERNANCE
APPOINTED VS. ELECTED: Prince George's board struggle.(#4)
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===== HIGHER EDUCATION =====
*1 HAPPY BIRTHDAY: PELL GRANTS TURN 25
The quarter-century-old Pell Grant program is the focus of a
two-day conference in Washington, D.C., this week, sponsored by
the College Board. "The success of the program, I believe, is in
its simplicity: namely, that no student with the talent drive
and desire should be denied the opportunity for a postsecondary
education solely because of a lack of financial resources," said
former Senate Claiborne Pell (D-R.I.), principal sponsor of the
grant program.
Participants at the conference, held 13-14 November, will
explore how Pell Grants have assured educational opportunity, and
assess the future of the program given changes in higher
education funding, writes a College Board press release. Several
higher education policy experts will present papers on the
subject as catalysts for discussion.
"The Pell Grant was born in controversy, and it continues to
be surrounded by controversy to this day," writes Thomas
Wolanin, adjunct professor of educational policy and political
science at George Washington U, in a 25-year history of the Pell
Grant program. Wolanin presents several questions that will be
examined during the conference: "Should federal aid for higher
education be channeled to students or to institutions? Should
Pell Grants be heavily targeted to students from the lowest-
income families? Should the Pell Grant be an entitlement?"
Eight commissioned papers will "serve as the heart of the
conference," and address Wolanin's queries. Besides Wolanin's
25-year history of the Pell Grant program, the papers are:
"Linking Access and Aspiration: The Dual Purpose of Pell
Grants;" Martin Kramer; consultant; Berkeley, Calif.
"The Vision and Reality of Pell Grants: Unforseen
Consequences for Students And Institutions;" Sarah Turner; U
of Virginia;
"The Impact of Pell Grants on Student Persistence;" Hohn
Lee; JBL Associates; Bethesda, Md.;
"The Role of Pell Grants in the Employment and Training
System;" Anthony Carnevale; Educational Testing Service;
Washington, D.C. and Louis Jacobson; WESTAT, Rockville, Md.;
"Demographic Trends and Their Impact on the Future of the
Pell Grant Program;" Samuel Kipp; Kipp Research and
Consulting; Sacramento, Calif.;
"Achieving the Initial Purposes of the Pell Grant Program;"
Arthur Hauptman; consultant; Arlington, Va.; and
"Priorities for Federal Student Aid Policy: Looking Beyond
Pell;" Michael McPherson; Macaester College and Morton
Schapiro; U of Southern California.
According to the release, the Pell Grant program has awarded
more than $100B to an estimated 30 million postsecondary students
since it was funded 25 years ago.
For more information, contact The College Board; 45 Columbus
Avenue; New York, N.Y. 10023-6992; 212/713-8000;
www.collegeboard.org.
*2 STUDENT LOAN NEWS: DEFAULTS DECLINE
The percentage of students defaulting on college tuition
loans has declined for the fifth year in a row, according to a
new report issued by the U.S. DoEd. The current default rate
stands at 10.4%, which is half of what it was in the early 1990s.
According to the report, defaults have declined despite an
increasing number of students borrowing for postsecondary
education nationwide.
"We're trying to be compassionately aggressive with
collections," explained David Longanecker, assistant secretary
for postsecondary education. "We don't break knees, but we're
trying to get every dollar we can."
Longanecker was referring to get-tough policies instituted
at the DoEd. The WASH POST notes that new regulations call for
the DoEd to ban schools that have record high default rates from
participating in federal college aid programs (Sanchez, 11/13).
Another policy allows the DoEd to collect money be seizing the
federal income-tax refunds or garnishing the wages of debtors.
Besides new policies, Ed Sec Richard Riley attributed the
decrease in defaults to the strength of the nation's economy.
According to the paper, the average amount of a defaulted
student loan is about $3,000. A loan "is considered in default
when six months pass without payments being made," writes the
paper.
Schools using President Clinton's direct lending program, in
which students borrow money straight from the Treasury instead of
private lenders, boast a lower average default rate than other
schools. The POST reports that about 4% of students from the
first 92 colleges participating in the direct lending program
defaulted.
===== BYTES AND PIECES =====
*3 ELECTRONIC CAMPUS: A NEW AGE FOR SOUTHERN SCHOOLS
Ky. Gov Paul Patton last week announced the opening of the
new Southern Regional Electronic Campus, which will allow
students from across the South to tap this electronic marketplace
to enroll in courses at scores of colleges and universities
(SOUTHERN REGIONAL EDUCATION BOARD press release, 11/5). "The
barriers of geography and time that have limited higher education
for many are being pushed aside," said Mark Musick, president of
SREB.
The Electronic Campus, created by SREB, will open to
students in January 1998. Initially more than 100 courses will
be available for students, with the number of courses expected to
skyrocket in the fall of 1998. Students will be able to directly
connect to the college or university via an "electronic hot
link." From the press release: "Once the students are linked to
the college they can get detailed information about courses,
registration and support services. In most cases, they will be
able to register for the course via the Internet."
Colleges and universities participating in the program are
required to agree to SREB's "Principles of Good Practice," which
will guarantee quality-control for students. According to the
release, the "Principles" will be used to:
guide the development of electronically delivered courses to
ensure that characteristics of good teaching and learning
are addressed;
ensure at the institutional level the quality of the program
or course that is seeking acceptance by the Electronic
Campus;
review the quality of the program or course before being
sent by a state higher education agency for listing by the
Electronic Campus.
Students and others interested in the Electronic Campus can
enter the campus at www.srec.sreb.org. For more information,
contact SREB; 592 Tenth Street NW; Atlanta, Ga. 30318-5790;
404/875-9211; www.sreb.org.
==== GOVERNANCE ====
*4 APPOINTED VS. ELECTED: PRINCE GEORGE'S SCHOOL BOARD STRUGGLE
School board members in Prince George's County, Md., would
be appointed in the future, under a new plan proposed by Md.
Delegate C. Anthony Muse (Klick, Prince George's County JOURNAL,
11/7).
"This is about replacing what isn't working," said Muse.
"Failing grades, financial mismanagement and failure to turn it
around must be the school board. Why? Process of elimination.
We've shuffled teachers, [restructured troubled schools]. ... We
said it was the parents' faults. We've done everything."
Under Muses' plan, one staff member in both the county
executives' Cabinet and on the County Council staff would be
"dedicated to educational issues and would oversee the proposed
appointed board," writes the paper. House Appropriations
Chairman Howard Rawlings (D) also has proposed replacing the
county's elected school board with an appointed one." The
legislature is in the midst of deciding what role the state
should play as Prince George's County ends decades of court-
ordered busing.
"It's a bad idea," argued Councilman Thomas Hendershot (D).
"In a democracy, it is always a mistake to take power away from
the people." However, Muse noted that "most people don't even
vote for school board people."
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