While the president spoke out in favor of a larger Pell Grant when he ran in 2000, critics say there has been little movement on financial aid and other issues.
“It’s a little late in the Bush presidency to show an interest in higher education,” says Thomas Mortensen, an independent higher education analyst and publisher of Postsecondary Education Opportunity.
While Mortensen has not studied the new draft report, he says some reform-minded scholars have been skeptical of the panel because it may not have a broad enough membership to promote major changes in higher education.
Members of the commission met in Washington, D.C., to consider the report in late June. A final document is due to Education Secretary Margaret Spellings by mid-September.
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