Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) discusses the importance of the American family as he addresses “Opportunity For All, Favoritism to None,” the Heritage Foundation’s annual policy summit. Photo by Tanner Howard / Medill News Service
WASHINGTON — The new Congress will take up legislation this year to make higher education more affordable, especially for working parents striving for a college degree, Sen. Mike Lee told a conservative-leaning think tank Tuesday.
Lee, R-Utah, said policy-makers should view the family as “much more than a socializing unit. It’s an incubator of human success.”
Last year Lee introduced the Higher Education Reform and Opportunity Act, a bill that would let states implement their own college accreditation systems. It didn’t pass. At the Heritage Foundation on Tuesday, he called for higher education to be “more available and more affordable to those who need it most” with a focus on working parents seeking to obtain a degree.
The current accreditation system in the United States works on two levels: nationally and regionally. Nationally accredited institutions are typically for-profit schools, and are evaluated at lower academic standards than regionally accredited schools.
Lee’s HERO Act, as it’s called, focuses on the regional accreditation system. Currently, the Department of Education recognizes six regional accreditation boards, instead of directly accrediting universities at the federal level. Each accreditation board is responsible for accrediting schools and universities within its jurisdiction, ensuring that each school “meets established standards” expected from those institutions.
Schools and universities must be accredited for students to receive financial aid from the federal government.
But Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., called this system a “cartel” between “the federal government, regional accreditation boards, and universities” that has driven up the cost of higher education. He argued that statewide accreditation would supplement the current system, and “would empower individuals to make the most” out of their educational experience.
DeSantis urged his fellow lawmakers to pass a new version of the bill in 2015. He said there is a “mismatch between costly university degrees and job opportunities.”
“We have a curious situation in which the need for advanced knowledge and skills has been steadily increasing while the value of a traditional degree has been declining,” DeSantis said.
The rising price of college education is a pressing issue for education reformers, with the average cost of a private four-year institution going up 146 percent over the past 30 years, from $12,716 (adjusted to 2014 dollars) to $31,231. As of 2014, the average loan debt per student was $29,400, with 70 percent of students graduating with debt.
President Barack Obama has also offered proposals to rein in college tuition costs; one would create an evaluation system measuring the effectiveness of each university. While approaches vary, both political parties see student loan debt, which stands at more than $1.2 trillion, as a crucial goal in need of addressing.
“The debt represents a millstone which makes it far more difficult for [college graduates] to reach the middle class,” DeSantis said.
