As college students and their families learned long ago, hitting the books usually comes with an equally draining hit to their pocketbooks. But a new law, passed last month, is trying to educate future college students on the financial realities of higher education.
The College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2008 is one attempt by the U.S. House of Representatives to make future college students more aware of the relative cost of different schools, and help them make a logical financial decision.
The act was the House’s version of the Higher Education Act, which was passed by Congress and signed by President George Bush on Aug. 14, according to the House Committee on Education and Labor website.
The new law requires colleges to submit tuition information, graduation rate statistics and extra costs for the institution to a government-maintained website. Prospective students will be able to see if a school has tuition rates among the highest 5 percent in the country or the lowest 10 percent, as well as if a college has had a large tuition increase in the last three years.
The new act would hold schools accountable for college costs by requiring colleges with the largest tuition increases to report the reasons for the increases to the U.S. Department of Education, according to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
‘[The act] addresses the major obstacles the students and families face on the path to college and reshapes our nation’s higher education system so that it operates in the best interest of consumers,’ Committee on Education and Labor spokeswoman Melissa Salmanowitz said in an email.
Bill sponsor Rep. John Tierney (D-Salem) said lawmakers are still working to help students confront the reality of college costs, including increasing Pell Grants, lowering interest rates on student loans and simplifying Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the annual government application for financial assistance.
‘A lot of students had been discouraged from applying for aid because of the complexity of the student aid applications,’ he said. ‘Students and parents are obviously paying a lot, so we need to be a partner in this.’
The House Committee on Education and Labor crafted the bill after spending years listening to the testimonials of students, parents, college faculty, financial experts and businesses.
‘It was oriented from information we heard from both traditional and non-traditional students who are now going back to school,’ Tierney said. ‘I’m a public school graduate myself, so I’ve always been conscious of the effort it takes to get a student through college.’
The bill will make higher education more accessible and affordable, Massachusetts Department of Higher Education spokeswoman Eileen O’Connor said.
O’Connor said the online lists will be good for prospective students.
‘The more info, the easier to understand and the more transparent, the better for all,’ she said.
Inflation is the No. 1 factor for driving up costs, alongside rising energy and health care benefit prices for the school’s employees, Boston University spokesman Colin Riley said.
‘It’s terrific that Congress in engaged and focusing attention on these critical questions and areas of accessibility and affordability and opportunity,’ Riley said. ‘As they look at it, they can find ways to create more opportunity and remove barriers, which is very good and beneficial to society.’