Welcome Changes

IN SPITE OF a new round of budget tightening and program cutting, the Congress this week approved funding for higher education programs at levels comparable to last year's appropriation. The move received over-whelming bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate and comes in response to pressure from a variety of groups and prominent educators--including Harvard President Derek C. Bok, who trekked to Washington twice last spring to lobby against cuts in student aid.

The law, which will make financial aid available to part-time students, is an important step toward recognizing the changing nature of higher education. In addition, the new law makes some small changes in the administration of federal programs which should help target funds more effectively.

Roughly 45 percent of the 12.2 million students enrolled in colleges and universities this fall attend school part-time according to the National University Continuing Education Association. For example, through the Harvard Extension School, Harvard professors are offering classes to 13,000 students this fall--6000 of whom will now be eligible for federal aid for the first time.

"Part-time students are a growing part of the undergraduate population. We are close to the time when the typical student is a part-time student," according to K. Patricia Cross, professor of administration, planning and social policy at the Harvard School of Education. The most rapidly growing group of part-timers is women aged 25-35 who are returning to school because of new job opportunities. Making federal aid available to part-time students shows a commitment to making college education available to a much broader segment of the population.

The new education law also tightens eligibility for federal loan and grant programs by requiring a means test for all students, requiring students to maintain a grade point average "consistent with their school's graduation requirements," and making it more difficult for students to claim financial independence from their parents. These provisions will remove some students from the aid rolls; however, for those who remain the level of aid available will increase, with cumulative guaranteed loan ceilings rising 40 percent and a small increase in the Pell Grant ceiling. Taken together, the changes in the new law--and the unchanged level of funding--are a welcome sign that the Congress has not forgotten the importance of higher education.