I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2690 

To address rising college tuition by strengthening the compact between the 

States, the Federal Government, and institutions of higher education 

to make college more affordable. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 12, 2007 

Mr. TIERNEY (for himself, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. HINOJOSA, 

Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Ms. CLARKE, 

Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. DAVIS of 

Illinois, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. EMANUEL, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. AL GREEN of 

Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. HOLT, Mr. 

JEFFERSON, Mr. KUCINICH, Ms. LEE, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mrs. 

MALONEY of New York, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. MCGOVERN, 

Mr. NADLER, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, 

Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. STARK, Ms. WATSON, Mr. WEXLER, and Ms. 

WOOLSEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To address rising college tuition by strengthening the compact between the States, the Federal Government, and 

institutions of higher education to make college more 

affordable. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘College Affordability and Accountability Act’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.— 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. References; effective date. 

Sec. 3. Findings. 

Sec. 4. State commitment to affordable college education. 

‘‘Sec. 132. State commitment to affordable college education. 

Sec. 5. Cost containment strategies. 

‘‘Sec. 133. Cost containment strategies. 

Sec. 6. Pell Plus. 

‘‘Sec. 401A. Incentives and rewards: Pell Plus. 

Sec. 7. Cooperative education rewards for institutions that restrain tuition increases. 

‘‘TITLE VIII—COOPERATIVE EDUCATION REWARDS FOR 

INSTITUTIONS THAT RESTRAIN TUITION INCREASES 

‘‘Sec. 801. Statement of purpose; eligible institutions. 

‘‘Sec. 802. Authorization of appropriations; reservations. 

‘‘Sec. 803. Grants for cooperative education. 

‘‘Sec. 804. Demonstration and innovation projects; training and resource 

centers; and research. 

Sec. 8. Study. 

Sec. 9. Articulation agreement demonstration program. 

‘‘Sec. 486A. Articulation agreement demonstration program. 

Sec. 10. Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance. 

5 SEC. 2. REFERENCES; EFFECTIVE DATE. 

6 (a) REFERENCE.—Whenever in this Act an amend7 ment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment 

8 to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference 

9 shall be considered to be made to a section or other provi10 sion of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 

11 et seq.). 

12 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as otherwise provided 

13 in this Act, the amendments made by this Act shall take 

14 effect on the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) A quality college degree is the cornerstone 

4 of the American dream, opening the door to job op5 portunity and professional fulfillment, while increas6 ing earning power by more than a million dollars 

7 over a lifetime; therefore, States and the Federal 

8 Government should do more to make it affordable 

9 and accessible to all qualified students because— 

10 (A) recent shifts in the economy have in11 creased the demand for college-educated work12 ers and increased the wage gap between college13 educated workers and those without a degree: 

14 in 2005, male college graduates earned 63 per15 cent more than male high school graduates and 

16 female college graduates had earnings that were 

17 70 percent higher than their counterparts with 

18 high school diplomas; 

19 (B) the country is projected to a have a 

20 shortage of college-educated workers in the 

21 coming years, which may reach as high as 12 

22 million workers by 2020; 

23 (C) low-income students have an annual 

24 unmet need for student financial assistance of 

25 $4,689 in college expenses at public colleges— 


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1 expenses not covered by grants, loans, work, or 

2 family savings; and 

3 (D) 50 percent of students work more than 

4 20 hours a week, while research shows that 

5 working less than 15 hours per week improves 

6 academic achievement and retention in college. 

7 (2) The proportion of State spending used on 

8 higher education has decreased dramatically over 

9 time, and as a result, students and their families, 

10 particularly working class and middle class families, 

11 have to pay a larger portion of college costs: 

12 (A) From the 2001–2002 to the 2006– 

13 2007 school year, tuition rose by 35 percent at 

14 four-year public institutions, 23 percent at pub15 lic two year institutions and 11 percent at pri16 vate four-year institutions. 

17 (B) Even after receiving financial aid, 

18 Americans find it increasingly difficult to pay 

19 for college. The percentage of a family’s income 

20 needed to pay for college after financial aid has 

21 increased for all families, but particularly for 

22 low-income families. Compared to 1992, low in23 come families needed to use an additional 16 

24 percent of their income to pay for an education 

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1 lies an additional 5 percent, while wealthy fami2 lies needed to use an additional 1 percent in 

3 2005. 

4 (3) Federal student aid is too focused on loans 

5 instead of grant aid because— 

6 (A) loans represented 52 percent of all fi7 nancial aid to undergraduate students in the 

8 2005–2006 school year, the highest proportion 

9 in recent years; 

10 (B) the share of the average cost at a pub11 lic four-year institution, which could be met by 

12 a Pell Grant, declined from 42 percent to 33 

13 percent from the 2001–2002 to 2005–2006 

14 school year; 

15 (C) in constant 2005 dollars, the value of 

16 the maximum Pell Grant declined by $298 be17 tween the 2002–2003 and 2005–2006 school 

18 year; and 

19 (D) average student indebtedness is 

20 $17,500 and up to a quarter of students use 

21 credit cards to pay for their education. 

22 SEC. 4. STATE COMMITMENT TO AFFORDABLE COLLEGE 

23 EDUCATION. 

24 Title I is amended by inserting after section 131 (20 

25 U.S.C. 1015) the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 132. STATE COMMITMENT TO AFFORDABLE COLLEGE 

2 EDUCATION. 

3 ‘‘(a) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT REQUIRED.—No 

4 State shall reduce the total amount provided by the State 

5 for public institutions of higher education in such State 

6 for any academic year beginning on or after July 1, 2007, 

7 to an amount which is less than the average amount pro8 vided by such State to such institutions of higher edu9 cation during the academic years between July 1, 2002, 

10 and July 1, 2007. 

11 ‘‘(b) WITHHOLDING OF ALL EDUCATION ADMINIS12 TRATIVE FUNDS FOR VIOLATIONS.—Notwithstanding any 

13 other provision of law, the Secretary of Education shall 

14 withhold from any State that violates subsection (a) any 

15 amount that would otherwise be available to the State for 

16 administrative expenses and costs under any Federal edu17 cation program until such State has corrected such viola18 tion.’’. 

19 SEC. 5. COST CONTAINMENT STRATEGIES. 

20 Title I is further amended by inserting after section 

21 132 (as added by section 4) the following new section: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 133. COST CONTAINMENT STRATEGIES. 

23 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENTS.—Each institution of higher 

24 education shall in accordance with the requirements of this 

25 section engage in, and report upon, cost containment 


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1 strategies. Such strategies may include (but are not lim2 ited to) the following activities: 

3 ‘‘(1) bulk purchasing; 

4 ‘‘(2) joint faculty appointments; 

5 ‘‘(3) streamlining administration; 

6 ‘‘(4) energy conservation and savings; 

7 ‘‘(5) technological innovations; and 

8 ‘‘(6) joint degree offerings. 

9 ‘‘(b) FIVE-YEAR PLANS.—Within 2 years after the 

10 enactment of the Act, each institution of higher education 

11 shall submit a 5-year plan on their cost containment strat12 egies and any progress made to date to the Secretary of 

13 Education. 

14 ‘‘(c) RESEARCH INTO COST CONTAINMENT METH15 ODS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) RESEARCH AUTHORIZED.—From the 

17 funds appropriated under paragraph (2), the Sec18 retary is authorized— 

19 ‘‘(A) to conduct or provide for the conduct 

20 of research to identify methods of cost contain21 ment currently utilized by institutions of higher 

22 education and systems of such institutions, and 

23 research into other possible methods of cost 

24 containment; 

25 ‘‘(B) to disseminate— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the information obtained by such 

2 research to such institutions and systems; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) other research that has identified 

5 successful methods of cost containment; 

6 ‘‘(C) to publicly recognize institutions of 

7 higher education that are doing an effective job 

8 at cost containment; and 

9 ‘‘(D) to work together with such institu10 tions and systems to implement these methods. 

11 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

12 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

13 this subsection $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and 

14 such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 

15 succeeding fiscal years. 

16 ‘‘(d) CONSUMER INFORMATION.— 

17 ‘‘(1) ANNUAL REPORT REQUIRED.— 

18 ‘‘(A) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The Sec19 retary shall annually prepare and publish a re20 port on college affordability in America. The 

21 college affordability report shall provide, at a 

22 minimum, comprehensive information on— 

23 ‘‘(i) the sticker price, total price of at24 tendance, net tuition price, and net access 

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1 cation that participates in the Federal stu2 dent aid programs under title IV of this 

3 Act; 

4 ‘‘(ii) the percentage change in the list5 ed sticker price, total price of attendance, 

6 net tuition price, and net access price over 

7 a 3-, 5-, and 10-year time period for each 

8 such institution; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) the level of Federal and State 

10 support for higher education per capita 

11 and per pupil. 

12 ‘‘(B) ADVISORY GROUP.—To ensure that 

13 the annual college affordability in America re14 port provides consumer-friendly information, 

15 the Secretary shall convene an advisory group 

16 of students, parents, and college officials to 

17 help determine the information that shall be in18 cluded in the report. 

19 ‘‘(2) DATA DISSEMINATION.—The Secretary 

20 shall make publicly available the data collected pur21 suant to this section, including an institution’s net 

22 price tuition index as calculated in accordance with 

23 subsection (e). Such data shall be made available in 

24 a manner that permits the review and comparison of 

25 data submissions of individual institutions of higher 


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1 education. Such data shall be presented in a form 

2 that is easily accessible and understandable and al3 lows parents and students to make informed deci4 sions based on the average prices for full-time un5 dergraduate students and the institution’s rate of in6 crease in the sticker price, total price of attendance, 

7 net tuition price, and net access price. 

8 ‘‘(3) WEBSITE ENHANCEMENT.— 

9 ‘‘(A) WEBSITE INFORMATION.—In order to 

10 further enhance public knowledge and under11 standing of college affordability, the Secretary 

12 shall modify the college opportunities on line 

13 (COOL) web site. The goal of such changes 

14 shall be to make the website the single best 

15 source of information about applying to and 

16 paying for a postsecondary education. Such 

17 changes shall make the website more user 

18 friendly and facilitate the comparison of mul19 tiple institutions at the same time. Such website 

20 shall provide detailed tuition and student aid 

21 data for each institution (including data from 

22 the annual college affordability in America re23 port). As part of improving the website, the 

24 Secretary shall establish an advisory board of 

25 students and parents to guide the redesign. The 


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1 college price calculator required by paragraph 

2 (4) shall be included on the COOL website. 

3 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY IN OTHER FORM.—In 

4 addition, the Secretary shall publish all of the 

5 institutional information found on the COOL 

6 website, minus the college price calculator, and 

7 instruct all local educational agencies to notify 

8 all their secondary schools of the publication of 

9 the COOL web site, both on-line and in-print, 

10 and of the steps necessary to procure such in11 formation both on-line and in-print. 

12 ‘‘(4) COLLEGE PRICE CALCULATOR.— 

13 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary 

14 shall establish a system for reporting to pro15 spective students and families on the net tuition 

16 price of institutions of higher education. Using 

17 the most recent data available, the Secretary 

18 shall make available the amount of aid typically 

19 granted for students based on family income 

20 and college attended. Such information shall be 

21 made available in the form of a web site price 

22 calculator that permits students to be able to 

23 enter an institution of higher education and 

24 their family income and be presented the sticker 

25 price, net tuition price, and net access price for 


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1 students in their income bracket in order to de2 termine the approximate cost of attending such 

3 a school. The calculator shall include a clear 

4 disclaimer that financial aid decisions are made 

5 on a case-by-case basis and that the included 

6 calculations are based on previous years’ data 

7 and can therefore serve only as general guide8 lines for the financial aid that a student may 

9 expect to receive. 

10 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION BY IN11 STITUTIONS.—Each institution of higher edu12 cation shall make available its sticker price, 

13 total price of attendance, net tuition price, and 

14 net access price and list examples of what fami15 lies in each of the quartile income brackets 

16 might be expected to pay in the net tuition 

17 price for the most recent academic year. This 

18 information shall be provided in written form 

19 and distributed to all students and applicants 

20 and made widely available to the public. 

21 ‘‘(e) NET TUITION PRICE INDEX.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, on the 

23 basis of the data submitted under subsection (a), 

24 calculate a net tuition price index for each institu25 tion of higher education submitting such data and 


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1 shall make the index available in accordance with 

2 subsection (b) as soon as operationally possible on 

3 the Department’s college opportunity on line 

4 (COOL) website. 

5 ‘‘(2) CALCULATION OF INDEX.—The net tuition 

6 price index shall be equal to the percentage increase 

7 in the net tuition price charged for a first-time, full8 time, full-year undergraduate student between a pre9 ceding academic year and the most recent academic 

10 year for which satisfactory data are available. 

11 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section: 

12 ‘‘(1) NET ACCESS PRICE.—The term ‘net access 

13 price’ means the average total price of attendance 

14 for full-time undergraduate students, minus the av15 erage grants, loans, and work-study provided to such 

16 students, for any academic year. 

17 ‘‘(2) NET TUITION PRICE.—The term ‘net tui18 tion price’ means the average tuition and fees 

19 charged to full-time undergraduate students, minus 

20 the average grants provided to such students, for 

21 any academic year. 

22 ‘‘(3) STICKER PRICE.—The term ‘sticker price’ 

23 means the average tuition and fees charged to full24 time undergraduate students by an institution of 

25 higher education for any academic year. 


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1 ‘‘(4) TOTAL PRICE OF ATTENDANCE.—The 

2 term ‘total price of attendance’ means the average 

3 tuition and fees charged to full-time undergraduate 

4 students, as well as the average of the other ex5 penses of such students related to obtaining a higher 

6 education, including housing (room and board if the 

7 student lives on campus, or rent or related housing 

8 costs if the student does not live on campus), books, 

9 transportation, for any academic year. 

10 ‘‘(5) TUITION.—The term ‘tuition’ means the 

11 average price of or payment for actual instruction of 

12 full-time undergraduate students at an institution of 

13 higher education, for any academic year.’’. 

14 SEC. 6. PELL PLUS. 

15 Subpart 1 of part A of title IV is amended by insert16 ing after section 401A (20 U.S.C. 1070a–1) the following 

17 new section: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 401B. INCENTIVES AND REWARDS: PELL PLUS. 

19 ‘‘(a) REWARDS FOR LOW TUITION.—For any institu20 tion of higher education that, for academic year 2008– 

21 2009 or any succeeding academic year, such institution’s 

22 annual net tuition price increase (expressed as a percent23 age) for the most recent academic year for which satisfac24 tory data is available is equal to or less than the percent25 age change in the higher education price index for such 


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1 academic year, the Secretary shall, notwithstanding any 

2 other provision of the law, provide such institution an 

3 amount sufficient to provide a 25 percent increase under 

4 subpart 1 of part A of title IV to each Pell Grant recipient 

5 attending such institution for the next award year begin6 ning after the date of such determination. Each such insti7 tution shall distribute any amounts received under this 

8 subsection among such Pell Grant recipients by increasing 

9 the amount of their Pell Grant awards by 25 percent. 

10 ‘‘(b) REWARDS FOR GUARANTEED TUITION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) BONUS.—For each institution of higher 

12 education that the Secretary of Education deter13 mines complies with the requirements of paragraph 

14 (2) or paragraph (3) of this subsection, the Sec15 retary shall, notwithstanding any other provision of 

16 the law, provide such institution an amount suffi17 cient to provide a 10 percent increase under subpart 

18 1 of part A of title IV to each Pell Grant recipient 

19 attending such institution for the next award year 

20 beginning after the date of such determination. Each 

21 such institution shall distribute any amounts re22 ceived under this subsection among such Pell Grant 

23 recipients by increasing the amount of their Pell 

24 Grant awards by 10 percent. 


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1 ‘‘(2) 4-YEAR INSTITUTIONS.—An institution of 

2 higher education that provides a program of instruc3 tion for which it awards a bachelor’s degree complies 

4 with the requirements of this paragraph if such in5 stitution guarantees that for any academic year be6 ginning on or after July 1, 2008, and for each of the 

7 4 succeeding continuous academic years, the net tui8 tion price charged to an undergraduate student will 

9 not exceed— 

10 ‘‘(A) the amount that the student was 

11 charged for an academic year at the time he or 

12 she first enrolled in the institution of higher 

13 education, plus 

14 ‘‘(B) the product of the percentage in15 crease in the higher education price index for 

16 the prior academic year, or the most recent 

17 prior academic year for which data is available, 

18 multiplied by the amount determined under 

19 subparagraph (A). 

20 ‘‘(3) LESS-THAN 4-YEAR INSTITUTIONS.—An 

21 institution of higher education that does not provide 

22 a program of instruction for which it awards a bach23 elor’s degree complies with the requirements of this 

24 paragraph if such institution guarantees that for 

25 any academic year (or the equivalent) beginning on 


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1 or after July 1, 2008, and for each of the 1.5 suc2 ceeding continuous academic years, the net tuition 

3 price charged to an undergraduate student will not 

4 exceed— 

5 ‘‘(A) the amount that the student was 

6 charged for an academic year at the time he or 

7 she first enrolled in the institution of higher 

8 education, plus 

9 ‘‘(B) the product of the percentage in10 crease in the higher education price index for 

11 the prior academic year, or the most recent 

12 prior academic year for which data is available, 

13 multiplied by the amount determined under 

14 subparagraph (A). 

15 ‘‘(c) MAINTAINING AFFORDABLE TUITION.—For any 

16 institution of higher education whose increase in the an17 nual net tuition price (expressed as a percentage), for the 

18 most recent academic year for which satisfactory data is 

19 available, is greater than the percentage increase in the 

20 higher education price index for such academic year, the 

21 Secretary shall require such institution to submit to the 

22 Secretary the following information, within 6 months of 

23 such determination: 


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1 ‘‘(1) a detailed report on the exact causes for 

2 the net tuition price increase that outlines revenues 

3 and expenditures; and 

4 ‘‘(2) cost containment strategies to lower net 

5 tuition prices. 

6 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) NET TUITION PRICE.—The term ‘net tui8 tion price’ has the same meaning as provided in sec9 tion 133(f). 

10 ‘‘(2) HIGHER EDUCATION PRICE INDEX.—The 

11 term ‘higher education price index’ means a statis12 tical measure of change over time in the prices of a 

13 fixed market basket of goods and services purchased 

14 by colleges and universities through current fund 

15 educational and general expenditures (excluding ex16 penditures for research), as developed by the Bureau 

17 of Labor Statistics pursuant to section 131(c)(4).’’. 

18 SEC. 7. COOPERATIVE EDUCATION REWARDS FOR INSTITU19 TIONS THAT RESTRAIN TUITION INCREASES. 

20 The Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101 

21 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following 

22 title: 


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1 ‘‘TITLE VIII—COOPERATIVE EDU2 CATION REWARDS FOR INSTI3 TUTIONS THAT RESTRAIN 

4 TUITION INCREASES 

5 ‘‘SEC. 801. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE; ELIGIBLE INSTITU6 TIONS. 

7 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this title to 

8 award grants to institutions of higher education or com9 binations of such institutions that have restrained their 

10 net tuition price increases in order to encourage such insti11 tutions to develop and make available to as many of their 

12 students as possible work experience that will aid such stu13 dents in future careers and will enable such students to 

14 support themselves financially while in school. 

15 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTIONS.—An institution of 

16 higher education shall be eligible to apply for a grant 

17 under this title if such institution, and a combination of 

18 such institutions shall be eligible to apply for such a grant 

19 if each institution in such combination— 

20 ‘‘(1) for the academic year for which the insti21 tution is applying, keeps such institution’s annual 

22 net tuition price increase (expressed as a percent23 age) for the most recent academic year for which 

24 satisfactory data is available equal to or less than 


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1 the percentage change in the higher education price 

2 index for such year; and 

3 ‘‘(2) for such academic year, provides the guar4 antee required by paragraph (2) or (3) of section 

5 401A(b). 

6 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) COOPERATIVE EDUCATION.—For the pur8 pose of this title the term ‘cooperative education’ 

9 means the provision of alternating or parallel periods 

10 of academic study and public or private employment 

11 in order to give students work experiences related to 

12 their academic or occupational objectives and an op13 portunity to earn the funds necessary for continuing 

14 and completing their education. 

15 ‘‘(2) HIGHER EDUCATION PRICE INDEX AND

16 NET TUITION PRICE.—The terms ‘higher education 

17 price index’ and ‘net tuition price’ have the same 

18 meaning as provided in section 133(f). 

19 ‘‘SEC. 802. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; RES20 ERVATIONS. 

21 ‘‘(a) APPROPRIATIONS AUTHORIZED.—There are au22 thorized to be appropriated to carry out this title 

23 $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and such sums as may 

24 be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years. 


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1 ‘‘(b) RESERVATIONS.—Of the amount appropriated 

2 in each fiscal year— 

3 ‘‘(1) not less than 50 percent shall be available 

4 for carrying out grants to institutions of higher edu5 cation and combinations of such institutions de6 scribed in section 803(a)(1)(A) for cooperative edu7 cation under section 803; 

8 ‘‘(2) not less than 25 percent shall be available 

9 for carrying out grants to institutions of higher edu10 cation described in section 803(a)(1)(B) for coopera11 tive education under section 803; 

12 ‘‘(3) not to exceed 11 percent shall be available 

13 for demonstration projects under paragraph (1) of 

14 section 804(a); 

15 ‘‘(4) not to exceed 11 percent shall be available 

16 for training and resource centers under paragraph 

17 (2) of section 804(a); and 

18 ‘‘(5) not to exceed 3 percent shall be available 

19 for research under paragraph (3) of section 804(a). 

20 ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Appro21 priations under this title shall not be available for the pay22 ment of compensation of students for employment by em23 ployers under arrangements pursuant to this title. 

24 ‘‘SEC. 803. GRANTS FOR COOPERATIVE EDUCATION. 

25 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is author2 ized— 

3 ‘‘(A) from the amount available under sec4 tion 802(b)(1) in each fiscal year and in accord5 ance with the provisions of this title, to make 

6 grants to institutions of higher education or 

7 combinations of such institutions that have not 

8 received a grant under this paragraph in the 

9 10-year period preceding the date for which a 

10 grant under this section is requested to pay the 

11 Federal share of the cost of planning, estab12 lishing, expanding, or carrying out programs of 

13 cooperative education by such institutions or 

14 combinations of institutions; and 

15 ‘‘(B) from the amount available under sec16 tion 802(b)(2) in each fiscal year and in accord17 ance with the provisions of this title, to make 

18 grants to institutions of higher education that 

19 are operating an existing cooperative education 

20 program as determined by the Secretary to pay 

21 the cost of planning, establishing, expanding, or 

22 carrying out programs of cooperative education 

23 by such institutions. 

24 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM REQUIREMENT.—Cooperative 

25 education programs assisted under this section shall 


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1 provide alternating or parallel periods of academic 

2 study and of public or private employment, giving 

3 students work experience related to their academic 

4 or occupational objectives and the opportunity to 

5 earn the funds necessary for continuing and com6 pleting their education. 

7 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) The amount of each grant awarded 

9 pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) to any institution 

10 of higher education or combination of such in11 stitutions in any fiscal year shall not exceed 

12 $500,000. 

13 ‘‘(B)(i) Except as provided in clauses (ii) 

14 and (iii), the Secretary shall award grants in 

15 each fiscal year to each institution of higher 

16 education described in paragraph (1)(B) that 

17 has an application approved under subsection 

18 (b) in an amount which bears the same ratio to 

19 the amount reserved pursuant to section 

20 802(b)(2) for such fiscal year as the number of 

21 unduplicated students placed in cooperative 

22 education jobs during the preceding fiscal year 

23 (other than cooperative education jobs under 

24 section 804 and as determined by the Sec25 retary) by such institution of higher education 


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1 bears to the total number of all such students 

2 placed in such jobs during the preceding fiscal 

3 year by all such institutions. 

4 ‘‘(ii) No institution of higher education 

5 shall receive a grant pursuant to paragraph 

6 (1)(B) in any fiscal year in an amount which 

7 exceeds 25 percent of such institution’s cooper8 ative education program’s personnel and oper9 ating budget for the preceding fiscal year. 

10 ‘‘(iii) The minimum annual grant amount 

11 which an institution of higher education is eligi12 ble to receive under paragraph (1)(B) is $1,000 

13 and the maximum annual grant amount is 

14 $75,000. 

15 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not 

16 award grants pursuant to paragraphs (1)(A) and 

17 (1)(B) to the same institution of higher education or 

18 combination of such institution in any one fiscal 

19 year. 

20 ‘‘(5) USES.—Grants under paragraph (1)(B) 

21 shall be used exclusively— 

22 ‘‘(A) to expand the quality and participa23 tion of a cooperative education program; 

24 ‘‘(B) for outreach in new curricular areas; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(C) for outreach to potential participants 

2 including underrepresented and nontraditional 

3 populations. 

4 ‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.—Each institution of higher edu5 cation or combination of such institutions desiring to re6 ceive a grant under this section shall submit an application 

7 to the Secretary at such time and in such manner as the 

8 Secretary shall prescribe. Each such application shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) set forth the program or activities for 

10 which a grant is authorized under this section; 

11 ‘‘(2) specify each portion of such program or 

12 activities which will be performed by a nonprofit or13 ganization or institution other than the applicant 

14 and the compensation to be paid for such perform15 ance; 

16 ‘‘(3) provide that the applicant will expend dur17 ing such fiscal year for the purpose of such program 

18 or activities not less than the amount expended for 

19 such purpose during the previous fiscal year; 

20 ‘‘(4) describe the plans which the applicant will 

21 carry out to assure, and contain a formal statement 

22 of the institution’s commitment which assures, that 

23 the applicant will continue the cooperative education 

24 program beyond the 5-year period of Federal assist25 ance described in subsection (c)(1) at a level which 


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1 is not less than the total amount expended for such 

2 program during the first year such program was as3 sisted under this section; 

4 ‘‘(5) provide that, in the case of an institution 

5 of higher education that provides a 2-year program 

6 which is acceptable for full credit toward a bach7 elor’s degree, the cooperative education program will 

8 be available to students who are certificate or asso9 ciate degree candidates and who carry at least one10 half the normal full-time academic workload; 

11 ‘‘(6) provide that the applicant will— 

12 ‘‘(A) make such reports as may be essen13 tial to ensure that the applicant is complying 

14 with the provisions of this section, including the 

15 reports for the second and each succeeding fis16 cal year for which the applicant receives a grant 

17 with respect to the impact of the cooperative 

18 education program in the previous fiscal year, 

19 including— 

20 ‘‘(i) the number of unduplicated stu21 dent applicants in the cooperative edu22 cation program; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the number of unduplicated stu24 dents placed in cooperative education jobs; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the number of employers who 

2 have hired cooperative education students; 

3 ‘‘(iv) the income for students derived 

4 from working in cooperative education 

5 jobs; and 

6 ‘‘(v) the increase or decrease in the 

7 number of unduplicated students placed in 

8 cooperative education jobs in each fiscal 

9 year compared to the previous fiscal year; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(B) keep such records as are essential to 

12 ensure that the applicant is complying with the 

13 provisions of this title, including the notation of 

14 cooperative education employment on the stu15 dent’s transcript; 

16 ‘‘(7) describe the extent to which programs in 

17 the academic discipline for which the application is 

18 made have had a favorable reception by public and 

19 private sector employers; 

20 ‘‘(8) describe the extent to which the institution 

21 is committed to extending cooperative education on 

22 an institution-wide basis for all students who can 

23 benefit; 


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1 ‘‘(9) describe the plans that the applicant will 

2 carry out to evaluate the applicant’s cooperative edu3 cation program at the end of the grant period; 

4 ‘‘(10) provide for such fiscal control and fund 

5 accounting procedures as may be necessary to assure 

6 proper disbursement of, and accounting for, Federal 

7 funds paid to the applicant under this title; 

8 ‘‘(11) demonstrate a commitment to serving all 

9 underserved populations; and 

10 ‘‘(12) include such other information as is es11 sential to carry out the provisions of this title. 

12 ‘‘(c) DURATION OF GRANTS; FEDERAL SHARE.— 

13 ‘‘(1) DURATION OF GRANTS.—No individual in14 stitution of higher education may receive, individ15 ually or as a participant in a combination of such in16 stitutions— 

17 ‘‘(A) a grant pursuant to subsection 

18 (a)(1)(A) for more than 5 fiscal years; or 

19 ‘‘(B) a grant pursuant to subsection 

20 (a)(1)(B) for more than 5 fiscal years. 

21 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of a 

22 grant under section 803(a)(1)(A) may not exceed— 

23 ‘‘(A) 85 percent of the cost of carrying out 

24 the program or activities described in the appliVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:07 Jun 14, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2690.IH H2690

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1 cation in the first year the applicant receives a 

2 grant under this section; 

3 ‘‘(B) 70 percent of such cost in the second 

4 such year; 

5 ‘‘(C) 55 percent of such cost in the third 

6 such year; 

7 ‘‘(D) 40 percent of such cost in the fourth 

8 such year; and 

9 ‘‘(E) 25 percent of such cost in the fifth 

10 such year. 

11 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE.—Any provision of law to 

12 the contrary notwithstanding, the Secretary shall not 

13 waive the provisions of this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(d) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—If the Secretary 

15 determines that a recipient of funds under this section has 

16 failed to maintain the fiscal effort described in subsection 

17 (b)(3), then the Secretary may elect not to make grant 

18 payments under this section to such recipient. 

19 ‘‘(e) FACTORS FOR SPECIAL CONSIDERATION OF AP20 PLICATIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In approving applications 

22 under this section, the Secretary shall give special 

23 consideration to applications from institutions of 

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1 tions for programs which show the greatest promise 

2 of success because of— 

3 ‘‘(A) the extent to which programs in the 

4 academic discipline with respect to which the 

5 application is made have had a favorable recep6 tion by public and private sector employers; 

7 ‘‘(B) the strength of the commitment of 

8 the institution of higher education or combina9 tion of such institutions to cooperative edu10 cation as demonstrated by the plans and for11 malized institutional commitment statement 

12 which such institution or combination has made 

13 to continue the program after the termination 

14 of Federal financial assistance, 

15 ‘‘(C) the extent to which the institution or 

16 combination is committed to extending coopera17 tive education for all students who can benefit, 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(D) such other factors as are consistent 

20 with the purposes of this section. 

21 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL SPECIAL CONSIDERATION.— 

22 The Secretary shall also give special consideration to 

23 applications from institutions of higher education or 

24 combinations of such institutions which demonstrate 


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1 a commitment to serving all underserved popu2 lations. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 804. DEMONSTRATION AND INNOVATION PROJECTS; 

4 TRAINING AND RESOURCE CENTERS; AND RE5 SEARCH. 

6 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary is authorized, 

7 in accordance with the provisions of this section, to make 

8 grants and enter into contracts for— 

9 ‘‘(1) the conduct of demonstration projects de10 signed to demonstrate or determine the feasibility or 

11 value of innovative methods of cooperative education 

12 from the amounts available in each fiscal year under 

13 section 802(b)(3); 

14 ‘‘(2) the conduct of training and resource cen15 ters designed to— 

16 ‘‘(A) train personnel in the field of cooper17 ative education; 

18 ‘‘(B) improve materials used in cooperative 

19 education programs if such improvement is con20 ducted in conjunction with other activities de21 scribed in this paragraph; 

22 ‘‘(C) furnish technical assistance to institu23 tions of higher education to increase the poten24 tial of the institution to continue to conduct a 


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1 cooperative education program without Federal 

2 assistance; 

3 ‘‘(D) encourage model cooperative edu4 cation programs which furnish education and 

5 training in occupations in which there is a na6 tional need; 

7 ‘‘(E) support partnerships under which an 

8 institution carrying out a comprehensive cooper9 ative education program joins with one or more 

10 institutions of higher education in order to (i) 

11 assist the institution other than the comprehen12 sive cooperative education institution to develop 

13 and expand an existing program of cooperative 

14 education, or (ii) establish and improve or ex15 pand comprehensive cooperative education pro16 grams; and 

17 ‘‘(F) encourage model cooperative edu18 cation programs in the fields of science and 

19 mathematics for women and minorities who are 

20 underrepresented in such fields 

21 from the amounts available in each fiscal year under 

22 section 802(b)(4); and 

23 ‘‘(3) the conduct of research relating to cooper24 ative education, from the amounts available in each 

25 fiscal year under section 802(b)(5). 


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1 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISION.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out this section, 

3 the Secretary may— 

4 ‘‘(A) make grants to or contracts with in5 stitutions of higher education, or combinations 

6 of such institutions; and 

7 ‘‘(B) make grants to or contracts with 

8 other public or private nonprofit agencies or or9 ganizations, whenever such grants or contracts 

10 will make an especially significant contribution 

11 to attaining the objectives of this section. 

12 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.— 

13 ‘‘(A) The Secretary may not use more than 

14 3 percent of the amount appropriated to carry 

15 out this section in each fiscal year to enter into 

16 contracts described in paragraph (1)(A). 

17 ‘‘(B) The Secretary may use not more 

18 than 3 percent of the amount appropriated to 

19 carry out this section in each fiscal year to 

20 enter into contracts described in paragraph 

21 (1)(B). 

22 ‘‘(c) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—A recipient of 

23 a grant or contract under this section may use the funds 

24 provided only so as to supplement and, to the extent pos25 sible, increase the level of funds that would, in the absence 


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1 of such funds, be made available from non-Federal sources 

2 to carry out the activities supported by such grant or con3 tract, and in no case to supplant such funds from non4 Federal sources.’’. 

5 SEC. 8. STUDY. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education shall 

7 commission the National Research Council to conduct a 

8 national study to determine the viability of developing and 

9 implementing standards in environmental, health, and 

10 safety areas to provide for differential regulation of indus11 trial laboratories and facilities, on the one hand, and re12 search and teaching laboratories on the other. The Na13 tional Research Council shall make specific recommenda14 tions for statutory and regulatory changes that are needed 

15 to develop such a differential approach. 

16 (b) REPORT.—The Secretary of Education shall sub17 mit the list of those regulations that impose the greatest 

18 compliance costs on institutions of higher education and 

19 make recommendations for statutory changes to ease the 

20 compliance burden to the Committee on Health, Edu21 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Com22 mittee on Education and the Workforce of the House of 

23 Representatives. 


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1 SEC. 9. ARTICULATION AGREEMENT DEMONSTRATION 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 Part G of title IV is amended by inserting after sec4 tion 486 (20 U.S.C. 1093) the following new section: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 486A. ARTICULATION AGREEMENT DEMONSTRATION 

6 PROGRAM. 

7 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE; DEFINITION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this sec9 tion to allow demonstration programs that are mon10 itored by the Department of Education to encourage 

11 institutions of higher education to enter into articu12 lation agreements or consortia groups, as a means to 

13 lower tuition prices to students. 

14 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this 

15 section, the term ‘articulation agreement’ means an 

16 agreement between institutions of higher education 

17 that specifies the acceptability of courses in transfer 

18 toward meeting specific degree requirements. 

19 ‘‘(b) DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS AUTHORIZED.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized 

21 to select institutions of higher education, systems of 

22 such institutions, or consortia of such institutions 

23 for voluntary participation in an articulation agree24 ment demonstration program. 

25 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTIONS.—Except as 

2 provided in subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D), 

3 only an institution of higher education that is 

4 eligible to participate in programs under this 

5 title shall be eligible to participate in the articu6 lation program authorized under this section. 

7 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION.—An institution of 

8 higher education described in section 

9 102(a)(1)(C) shall not be eligible to participate 

10 in the articulation program authorized under 

11 this section. 

12 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL RULE.—Subject to subpara13 graph (B), an institution of higher education 

14 that meets the requirements of subsection (a) of 

15 section 102, other than the requirement of 

16 paragraph (3)(A) or (3)(B) of such subsection, 

17 and that provides a 2-year or 4-year program of 

18 instruction for which the institution awards an 

19 associate or baccalaureate degree, shall be eligi20 ble to participate in the demonstration program 

21 authorized under this section. 

22 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each institution, system, 

24 or consortium of institutions desiring to participate 

25 in a demonstration program under this section shall 


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1 submit an application to the Secretary at such time 

2 and in such manner as the Secretary may require. 

3 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each application shall in4 clude— 

5 ‘‘(A) a description of the institution, sys6 tem, or consortium’s consultation with a recog7 nized accrediting agency or association with re8 spect to quality assurances for the articulation 

9 programs to be offered; 

10 ‘‘(B) a description of the articulation pro11 gram to be offered; 

12 ‘‘(C) a description of the students to whom 

13 the articulation programs will be offered; 

14 ‘‘(D) an assurance that the institution, 

15 system, or consortium will offer full cooperation 

16 with the ongoing evaluations of the demonstra17 tion program provided for in this section; and 

18 ‘‘(E) such other information as the Sec19 retary may require. 

20 ‘‘(d) SELECTION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the first year of the 

22 demonstration program authorized under this sec23 tion, the Secretary is authorized to select for partici24 pation in the program not more than 100 institu25 tions, systems of institutions, or consortia of instituVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:07 Jun 14, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2690.IH H2690

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1 tions. For the third year of the demonstration pro2 gram authorized under this section, the Secretary 

3 may select not more than 250 institutions, systems, 

4 or consortia, in addition to the institutions, systems, 

5 or consortia selected pursuant to the preceding sen6 tence, to participate in the demonstration program if 

7 the Secretary determines that such expansion is war8 ranted based on the evaluations conducted in accord9 ance with subsections (f) and (g). 

10 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting institu11 tions to participate in the articulation program in 

12 the first or succeeding years of the program, the 

13 Secretary shall take into account— 

14 ‘‘(A) the number and quality of applica15 tions received; 

16 ‘‘(B) the Department’s capacity to oversee 

17 and monitor each institution’s participation; 

18 ‘‘(C) an applicant’s— 

19 ‘‘(i) financial responsibility; 

20 ‘‘(ii) administrative capability; and 

21 ‘‘(D) the need to ensure the participation 

22 of a diverse group of institutions with respect to 

23 size, mission, and geographic distribution. 

24 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—In selecting institutions to 

25 participate in the articulation program in the first or 


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1 succeeding years of the program, the Secretary shall 

2 give priority to applicants that involve a large num3 ber of schools; public and private agreements; inno4 vative technology to help reduce costs; and, multi5 state projects. 

6 ‘‘(4) NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

7 available to the public and to the Committee on 

8 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen9 ate and the Committee on Education and the Work10 force of the House of Representatives a list of insti11 tutions, systems or consortia selected to participate 

12 in the articulation program authorized by this sec13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(e) EVALUATIONS AND REPORTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall evalu16 ate the demonstration programs authorized under 

17 this section on an annual basis. Such evaluations 

18 specifically shall review— 

19 ‘‘(A) the extent to which the institution, 

20 system or consortium has met the goals set 

21 forth in its application to the Secretary; 

22 ‘‘(B) the number and types of institutions 

23 participating in the programs offered; 

24 ‘‘(C) the cost containment strategies pur25 sued and the success of such strategies; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) the effective use of technologies to 

2 keep college prices low, while maintaining qual3 ity. 

4 ‘‘(2) REPORTS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Within 18 months of 

6 the initiation of the demonstration program, the 

7 Secretary shall report to the Committee on 

8 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 

9 Senate and the Committee on Education and 

10 the Workforce of the House of Representatives 

11 with respect to the evaluations of the dem12 onstration programs authorized under this sec13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—The Sec15 retary shall provide additional reports to the 

16 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

17 Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on 

18 Education and the Workforce of the House of 

19 Representatives on an annual basis regarding— 

20 ‘‘(i) the demonstration programs au21 thorized under this section; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) best practices to contain college 

23 costs.’’. 


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1 SEC. 10. ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON STUDENT FINANCIAL 

2 ASSISTANCE. 

3 Section 491(j) (20 U.S.C. 1098(j)) is amended 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

5 (4); 

6 (2) by striking the period at the end of para7 graph (5) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

8 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

9 paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(6) convene a task force of experts, to be rep11 resentative of the key constituents in higher edu12 cation— 

13 ‘‘(A) to determine the best methods to fi14 nance higher education in the long-term; 

15 ‘‘(B) to help public institutions utilize 

16 long-term budgeting to plan for the future; 

17 ‘‘(C) to review the trends of financing of 

18 higher education; and 

19 ‘‘(D) to define the role played by the 

20 States, the Federal government, families, and 

21 outside entities in financing higher education, 

22 and determine the best methods to strengthen 

23 this partnership.’’. 

Æ 


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