One early test for the Obama administration will be whether it can persuade Congress to pass the Student Assistance and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA). Major funding for Obama proposals would be made available through SAFRA, which has passed the House and was pending before the Senate earlier this month. SAFRA includes $3 billion for a college access and completion fund along with $2.5 billion for community college facilities and $630 million in other grants to community colleges.
Other measures include $2.5 billion for minority-serving institutions and a $1,350 increase in the maximum Pell Grant over the next decade. To finance these investments, SAFRA would do away with bank-generated student loans in favor of less expensive, government-backed Direct Loans. Officials have estimated the federal government can save $9 billion annually by eliminating loan subsidies for private banks.
SAFRA's passage will be critical, but the administration's long-term success in higher education policy will depend on how well it builds a consensus with states on making college completion a high priority, Wellman says.
"I think this is a national agenda not just a federal agenda. And using the federal government to define the terms of a national conversation is hugely important," Wellman says. "As far as I am concerned, I think that the United States has been complacent and not been paying attention to what our country needs by way of increased attainment."
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