Higher Education Act Debate

In a July 30, 2008 press release, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings indicated support for many provisions contained in the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act that recently made its way through Congress and is awaiting the president's signature. However, she expressed concern about "the creation of more than 60 new, costly, and duplicative programs." She also felt that the legislation "falls short on strengthening accountability."

The complete bill, H.R. 4137, is available at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-4137. To see other versions of the bill, access the "Full Text on THOMAS" link from the Library of Congress on the left side of that page.

Post-secondary Institutions Revealed

The U.S. Department of Education has a new website entitled College Navigator which offers a wide range of information about approximately 7,000 post-secondary institutions in the United States. You can find information about degrees awarded and programs offered, campus safety, retention and graduation rates, fees and financial aid, etc. The website offers features such as building a list of schools for side-by-side comparisons, pinpointing school locations with an interactive map, exporting search results into a spreadsheet, and saving your session with your search options, results, and favorites.