The 109th Congress ended having taken virtually no action on Higher Education Reauthorization for three consecutive years.
NAFEO, either working solo or in concert with partners, was able to make some progress on key legislation of importance to its members, pave the way to advance several pieces of legislation in the 110th Congress, and lay the foundation for sorely needed appropriations for our member institutions. Examples of successful actions NAFEO took during 2006 include:
NAFEO is poised to educate the members of the 110th Congress, state executives and legislators, foundation and corporation executives and other stakeholders about the accomplishments, needs, and challenges of America’s black colleges and universities and how strengthening these institutions will strengthen America.
NAFEO’s Legislative Agenda for the 110th Congress is contained in a separate section on this website. I highlight two priority areas that are aligned with priority action areas identified by Education Secretary Margaret Spellings: accessibility and accountability:
In the area of accountability NAFEO will seek to have Congress increase Pell grant funding and provide a guarantee of adequate grant aid to cover at least the average cost of four-year public colleges and universities nationwide as determined in latest annual College Board’s Trends in College Pricing.
NAFEO will also work to get Congress to address the twin issues of simplifying the federal financial aid application process for students and reducing the regulatory/paperwork burdens. NAFEO will also encourage congressional consideration of early notification of eligibility of financial aid—as early as 9th grade, as an incentive for students achievement. Early eligibility notification could be tied to other federal means-tested benefits such as the federal free- and reduced-lunch program.
In the area of accessibility, NAFEO will also seek to get the nation to adopt a higher education funding formula that invests more public dollars in MSIs and community colleges, that are educating disproportionate percentages of students of high need and in some instances lower preparation.
Finally, in the area of accessibility, NAFEO will seek federal intervention to encourage states that are falling short in their obligation to strengthen public HBCUs after years of unequal support for HBCUs and HWCUs.
Data also suggest that HBCUs are faring proportionately better at preparing and graduating African American students for the growth and high-need industries than are most of the HWCUs for example: HBCUs constitute only 3% of American colleges and universities. They are enrolling about 16% of African American students in colleges and universities but they are graduating 30% of all African American students receiving a four-year undergraduate degree. In the sciences, engineering, and math, they are graduating nearly 40% of all African American students receiving a four-year degree, 50% in teacher education, and nearly 60% in health sciences.
Although these successes are occurring at HBCUs, Thomas Mortenson, Senior Researcher for The Pell Institute, conducted a state survey and found that the flagship institutions are by-and-large disengaging from educating the growing populations of their states, where they are continuing to receive the lion’s share of state higher education dollars. Recent Ed Trust and NCSL reports corroborate this finding. The data suggest flagship institutions are awarding larger shares of their scholarship dollars to students of greatest advantage and fewer dollars to those of least advantage. NAFEO data indicate that while this is going on states are violating the terms of the Adams v. Califano ruling by investing disproportionately fewer dollars in public HBCUs. NAFEO will seek to end these patterns and practices.
In the area of accountability, NAFEO will identify and advance several national models of student achievement and institutional success that recognize academic freedom -a special concern of the First Amendment—and permit colleges to determine for themselves on academic grounds who may teach, what may be taught, how it may be taught and how success may be measured. The models we will advance will also recognizes the fact that there can be no universal standard of success for higher education that does not take into account the diversity of mission and make-up of the 4,300 higher education institutions.
Please support NAFEO in its effort to be a voice for blacks in higher education and for education preparation, access, equity and success. To learn more about how you can assist NAFEO, please call Mr. Atif Harden, Advocacy Coordinator (202) 552-3302.
2007 © | NAFEO | National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education - If You can Dream it, You can Achieve it at an HBCU.