A Senate hearing on Thursday focused on improving college financial transparency — from total costs and student aid packages, to acceptance and completion figures — to help students and families make more informed choices when selecting a college.
While the bulk of the conversation during the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing centered on ways to improve the College Scorecard, standardize student aid terms and definitions, and improve early cost estimates, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle also discussed alternatives to four-year degrees, including community colleges, as a way for families to control costs.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) noted that half of the students at George Mason University started their higher education journey at community colleges, mainly at Northern Virginia Community College, which has developed strong transfer ties with the public four-year institution. That partnership has resulted in lower costs for students.
“On graduation day, you can’t tell from GPA who started at community college, you can’t tell from the jobs they’re getting or the graduate programs they are going to, but the one way you can tell is by how much debt they have,” he said.
More than just transparency
A couple of the hearing witnesses argued that improving access through additional services and funding is crucial, and should be tied with better transparency.
“Transparent prices are meaningless if students cannot meet them,” said Mark Huelsman, director of policy and advocacy at the Hope Center for Student Basic Needs at Temple University. He called for a federal-state partnership that would guarantee tuition- or debt-free public college.
But some Republicans pushed back on increased funding as a way to improve affordability, noting that colleges appear to raise their prices when the federal government provides more in student grants and loans. Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) said improved outreach to better inform students of options could be effective. He noted that he couldn’t afford a four-year institution out of high school, so he first attended a community college and then joined the Army Reserves while in medical school on his way to becoming a physician.
It’s not easy, but “there are choices out there, other than just getting money from the federal government,” Marshall said.
Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) added that apprenticeships are another alternative, noting the committee’s hearing the previous day on apprenticeships. He also cited pre-apprenticeships and early college for high school students, as well as the new Workforce Pell program, which will provide grants for eligible short-term workforce education programs.
“There are pathways to making an education very affordable,” he said, but most colleges and universities haven’t changed their business models to keep up with the demands of students and employers, who are focused more on skills than degrees.
AACC comments
Earlier this fall, the committee asked stakeholders for information about college costs and values. In its comments to the panel, the American Association of Community Colleges noted that the College Scorecard only includes data on students receiving federal student aid, which excludes a significant number of community college students. It also noted that the committee should consider new ways to capture noncredit education in consumer tools like the Scorecard.
