Higher education funding in Biden's "Build Back Better"

Predictions were that the long-anticipated proposal to "Build Back Better" would result in higher education funding shrinking from what many hoped. The implications of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022 signed by President Biden reflected a hard fought battle that includes several significant take-aways.

The most visible features of BBB include; increasing Pell Grants, supporting HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions. Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs) enroll about the same number of Black students as HBCUs and require attention, although they have not received the same level of support.

College retention and completion grants included in the funding proposal are considered revolutionary and could lead to a new era of focus on not only getting underserved students in the door but out the door and into lucrative workforces. Focusing on undeserved students is especially important in the face of continued decline in enrollments, most dramatically reflected in minority-serving institutions, with early common application figures for 2022 showing a reversal of the decline. While some education leaders bemoan the reduction of scope of higher education funding, President Biden remarked, "No one got everything they wanted, including me, but that's what compromise is. That's consensus. And that's what I ran on."

The Biden administration's attention to higher education is warranted at a time when revolutionary forces are underway. Steve Mintz summarized the factors driving the revolution and responses education leaders might consider. Included among Mintz' factors of revolution is the question of whether or not college is for everyone, especially in the face of emerging alternative approaches that "rebalance our goals by allocating a far larger share of public resources toward non-college pathways" that are more directly focused on skills development and career preparation. Reinforcing the importance of broad institutional commitment, a new quality assurance group, the Workforce Talent Educators Association, is poised to recognize, and perhaps even accredit, institutions for their effectiveness in preparing students for work.

With 65% (and continuing to grow) of the COVID relief funds designated for students having been spent, U.S. Department of Education Under Secretary Kvaal reported significant impact for individual students and institutions. Kvaal responded to skeptical legislators that proper oversight to guarantee proper use of funds is in place. Students with the greatest financial need are important because they are among the young adults who will need to be upskilled for 21st century work opportunity. Continuing that focus, the BBB funding includes "Dreamers" (DACA) continuing to receive help. Lobbying is still underway to offer help to the broad number of undocumented students in the U.S.A.

Student loan debt has long been known to restrict young adults acquisition of the markers of adulthood - cars, homes, and independence. Debate has continued about whether or not debt relief is warranted but as of May 2022, it appeared that the U.S.A. Department of Education was poised to forgive debt for at least the proportion of students with the heaviest debt. Biden was considering caps to both income and total amount of loan forgiveness for those qualifying for debt reduction. The caveat is that loan forgiveness driven by Democrats could result in major political disruption. Many among conservatives hold higher education in low regard and see loan forgiveness as a maneuver to garner favor among young voters.