The USSA works hard representing college students on Capital Hill, the White House, and the Department of Education.  The success or failure of higher education legislation, however, depends on the participation of students like you.  This is why the USSA provides background materials on the bills we are currently working on as well as ways for you to take action and advocate from anywhere in the country.

Where's the Funding?! | Student Aid Reform | The DREAM Act | Financial Reform | Gainful Employment | Budget and Appropriations | LegWire

 

Where's the Funding?!

Each year, students have to fight tooth-and-nail on both the state and federal level to make government invested in fully funding and supporting higher education.  It's politically popular for elected officials to advocate for college students and higher education funding because everyone wants to look like the hero of underrepresented young people going to college.  However, most politicians are silent when it comes to education budgets getting slashed.  Therefore, it's up to us, the students, to ask our elected officials "where's the funding?!"  At a time when the road to socio-economic justice for our communities, personal fulfillment, and a thriving civic society is increasingly tied to higher education, where's the funding to ensure that this path is clear of all unnecessary barriers?

Not only are we asking these questions, we're proposing solutions.  USSA's "Where's the Funding" campaign will connect state and federal budget cuts to the larger student movement, so that we raise a strong national voice on behalf of higher education.  Our ultimate goal is to propose federal legislation that will make higher education a right. Will you join this historic effort?

Click here to read more about WTF?!

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Student Aid Reform

For decades, the federal government was subsidizing private banks at exorbitant rates to offer risky, high-priced loans to students.  As a result of this policy, bankers were getting rich off of the defaulted loans of indebted students.  USSA students decided at the 2009 National Student Congress to fight this illogical and unjust law.  In March of 2010, immediately after hundreds of young people descended on Capitol Hill for USSA's Legislative Conference, President Obama signed student aid reform into law, infusing tens of billions of dollars into the Pell grant, minority-serving institutions, and college access programs.  It was single greatest higher education investment in American history, surpassing even the G.I. Bill. 

Click here to read more about the passage of student aid reform into law.

Each year, approximately 65,000 undocumented students graduate from American high schools and are blocked financially from pursuing a higher education because of archaic immigration and education laws.  These youth spend most of their lives in the United States, going to school, making friends, building a life, yet when they reach 18, this country gives up on them.  The DREAM Act gives them a chance to earn their legal status through completing either two years of college or military service.  Qualifying students must have been brought to the U.S. before the age of 15, have no criminal record, and have gotten into college.  It is nothing short of remarkable hat these youth qualify for the DREAM Act, considering the societal barriers facing undocumented families.  They are exactly the best and brightest that this country must invest in.

Click here to read more about the DREAM Act.

In response to the financial meltdown of 2008, Congress took action to increase regulation over risky Wall Street businesses.  The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the most sweeping overhaul of the nation's financial framework since FDR's New Deal, creates the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).  The CFPB is tasked with protecting American consumers from predatory lending practices, including student lenders.  Student lenders have gotten away with predatory lending that has left students with mountains of debt and little employment options.  USSA worked hard at ensuring the CFPB includes important safeguards for student borrowers.

Click here to read about USSA's legislative victory on financial reform.

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For-profit career colleges, such as the University of Phoenix, serve a vital purpose in our country, serving tradtionally under-representated students.  However, they are funding primarily the federal government through financial aid programs like the Pell grant.  While the average career college is funding over 70% by the government, law allows them to go as high as 90%.  Essentially, these institutions are funded by, and hence collect revenue from, federal financial aid.  They also have incredibly high loan default and underemployment rates.  While only 10% of higher education students attend career colleges, they account for 40% of defaulters.  With so much federal aid going to these failing programs, the Department of Education decided to act. 

The Higher Education Act states that "career education programs that receive federal student aid must “prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation.”  The Department of Education is tying all federal aid (and thus a career college's revenue) to ensuring their graduates secure "gainful employment."  Doing so will increase the effectiveness and effeciency of the federal aid system and close down programs that are destroying the lives of so many students.

Click here to read about USSA's stance on the gainful employment regulations.

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Budget and Appropriations

Each fiscal year, Congress passes a budget for the federal government.  Higher education makes up less than 1% of the budget and is constantly under fire from appropriators.  Thus, each budget cycle, USSA fights for critical higher education programs that ensure access for millions of young people, such as the Pell grant.  The Pell grant once covered over 70% of the cost of college; today that number has dropped to about 30%.  Because higher education funding is not mandatory, students must be advocating for these programs each year.

Click here to read the basics on the budget and appropriations process