The Higher Education Act (HEA) authorizes the major federal student aid programs that are responsible for the majority of financial assistance to postsecondary students. To encourage growth and change, it must be re-approved or "reauthorized" by Congress, generally every five years. In addition to major reauthorization bills, Congress also considers many bills that may directly or indirectly impact the HEA.
This month, a reauthorization of the HEA will be signed into law by President Bush after passing in both the House and Senate. The updated HEA includes provisions that open the door to federal oversight of campus anti-piracy efforts, directly impacting IT and ResNet practices in higher education.
Education Bill with Anti-P2P Clause Goes to Bush
PC Magazine, Aug. 1, 2008
The House on Thursday approved an education bill with a controversial anti-piracy provision still intact.
The bill, H.R. 4137, extends the Higher Education Act of 1965, but also authorizes the secretary of education to withhold federal financial aid money to schools that do not develop and implement solutions to reduce the amount of illegal downloading. A similar bill also passed the Senate.
The bill now moves to President Bush for his signature.
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Law Passed Making Colleges Become Copyright Police
DSL Reports, Aug. 2, 2008
The law is related to the governing of universities and has been around since the 1960’s. With this year's revision, there has been a lot of concern about the financial repercussions that could occur for colleges refusing to police their students, although a representative from the House Education and Labor Committee insists that colleges are only required to inform their students of campus policies and to promote the importance of copyright protection.
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No penalties for colleges that don’t enforce anti-P2P
ZDNet Education, Aug. 4, 2008
Although George Bush is expected to sign the Higher Education Act, reauthorized by both the House and Senate, provisions requiring academic institutions to police peer-to-peer traffic on campus has many colleges nervous. According to Ars Technica, the act does not contain any penalties for colleges that don’t prevent copyright infringement among their users.
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U.S. Bill Specifies State Higher Ed Spending
University Business, Feb. 2, 2008
The reauthorized HEA could force states to spend a minimum amount on higher education based on their past spending - or lose some federal funds. The provision is being called a "dangerous precedent" by critics, but is seen by supporters as a stopgap for rising tuition at public institutions.
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HEA: A Huge, Exacting Accountability Bill
Inside Higher Ed, Aug. 1, 2008
At more than 1,150 pages, the new bill is about 20 times longer than the Higher Education Act of 1965 that it modifies, creating 64 new programs and touching on issues as diverse as the availability of Pell Grants and illegal downloading of digital music and video. And the legislation, which finally passed both the House and the Senate by overwhelmingly margins on Thursday, has been in discussion on Capitol Hill, in one form or another, for most of this decade. It is five years overdue.
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A Bill That Took Longer Than a Bachelor's Degree
The Chronicle of Higher Education, Aug. 8, 2008
The long-overdue bill would set federal higher-education policy for the next five years, creating dozens of grant programs for colleges and students while imposing hundreds of new reporting requirements on institutions. It would crack down on conflicts of interest in the student-loan programs, press institutions and states to rein in tuition, and make it easier for for-profit colleges to become, or to remain, eligible to award federal student aid.
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The New Higher Education Act: Where It Comes Up Short
The Chronicle of Higher Education, Aug. 8, 2008
Given all the time and effort that went into it, do aspects of the final legislation fall short? What key measures have been left out? We asked six policy experts to describe some of the act's lost opportunities.
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Congress Creates Numerous New Grant Programs, to Secretary's Dismay
The Chronicle of Higher Education, Aug. 4, 2008
Margaret Spellings, the U.S. secretary of education, isn’t happy about the dozens of new grant programs tucked into a major higher-education bill that cleared Congress last week, and she’s making her displeasure known.
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Student Loans and Campus Security Draw Scrutiny From Lawmakers
University Business, June 2007
From hints of scandal in the private student loan industry to campus security in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, lawmakers and regulators are grappling with higher ed issues that have emerged unexpectedly, and tragically, since the start of the year.
Overshadowed by the headline-grabbing developments is the long-delayed reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA), which appears finally to be moving forward, although quietly.
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Apogee Joins With Tarleton State University
Austin, TX, February 26, 2008
Apogee announced today that it would begin managing the student residential network at Tarleton State University, providing digital television programming and broadband internet service to approximately 1,500 on-campus residents.
Under the agreement, Tarleton students will benefit from a broad selection of high-quality digital television programming, including a custom mix of local, HD, satellite and university broadcast channels - as well as five channels of streaming Direct-to-Desktop IP TV. Residents will also be able to select from a variety of tiered service levels for high-speed broadband internet, with custom speeds designed to meet the needs of the entire campus community.
View full press release »
About Apogee
Apogee offers complete communication services - digital cable, digital phone, wireless and wired broadband - specializing in developing and operating customized data network solutions for colleges and universities. With an Apogee Powered ResNet, colleges and universities can enhance their network infrastructure, while offloading the growing volume of administrative responsibilities associated with managing student networks.
As a trusted network partner and the ISP of record, Apogee lets universities focus on their true academic mission while developing a competitive techological edge for student residents.
Visit us online at www.apogeenet.net
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