I have some good news to report.
Politico has a great article detailing some of the changes in an education bill that recently passed Congress and is expected to be signed by President Bush. Here are some of the highlights:
In general, this bill is supposed to make college “more affordable and more accessible” to everyone. Unfortunately, these are used as political buzzwords that don’t carry much weight with average people who are really concerned with the issues if education. So, let’s move on to the next one.
The bill is said to include provisions to rein in tuition hikes, curb predatory lending to students, expand federal student aid and impose regulations on textbook companies. What this means is that the schools, lenders, and textbook manufacturers will have to be up-front with all the fine print. Although I knew what I was getting into when I started school, I can’t help but to think that some of this is going on. With distance learning taking off in the past couple of years with no downturn in sight, it has become very easy for almost anyone to get into school. One has to assume that some wrongdoing has been taking place at some point (even if that only entails not fully informing the student of what they are getting into).
Furthermore, Pell grants will become more widely available. Usually there has to be a very high level of need demonstrated by the student in order to get this grant. With the new rules in place, it will make it a little easier to get. The cap on a Pell grant is a little over $4,000. While that’s not a lot of money by today’s educational standards, anything will help.
A lot of the expenses incurred by a student are those associated with textbooks. This is a huge market. It seems that if a textbook simply has a few minor changes over the previous version, the student is required to buy the new one. This puts a damper on the used-textbook market as well. Under the new law, the textbook companies will be required to disclose the price of each textbook to the professor who orders it, as well as disclose any changes made over previous editions. By doing this, students, faculty, and school administration will be able to make an educated decision as to the need for the “new” version of the book.
In closing, I think this bill is very good news. I am very happy to see some legislation to keep things in check.
Read the article and see for yourself. I am sure you will agree.
Do you have any questions about distance education or anything in this post? Feel free to contact Scott anytime!