Paper Authors

Abstract

NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract

Bill 4283 – Educational Change is Coming!

Kathleen M. Kaplan, D.Sc., Lt Col John J. Kaplan (Ph.D., J.D.) USAF

Howard University/USAF

Introduction

There is an educational battle raging on Capital Hill of which few are aware, yet will affect every engineering educator, school, and student. The bill, H.R. (House of Representatives) 4283, if enacted, will repeal, revise, and expand parts of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA). While some of these proposals are not contested, such as canceling student loan indebtedness for families of 9/11 victims, most of the other provisions are controversial. One provision, in particular, is disconcerting: the revision involving policies for institutions’ transfer of credits. If this was to pass, a student passing a specific course would be able to apply those course credits to any other United States institution offering that same course. In other words, a student could take Engineering 101 at a for-profit institution, such as Strayer University, and the credits must be accepted at any U.S. institution, including traditional non-profit universities, offering Engineering 101. This is just one aspect of this controversial bill, and there are many others.

There is much at stake in this bill for traditional and for-profit universities alike, all centered upon funding and resources. If passed, the for-profit universities will be given more access to both of these desired commodities, which means less access for the traditional universities.

This paper will introduce H.R. 4283, including background on the HEA, and discuss the proposed policies that adversely affect traditional universities. This information is not addressed by many in academia, including the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) [1]. ABET has not taken a stand on this issue, yet, every educator, university, and student should be knowledgeable about this bill; it affects all of us.

Background on the Higher Education Act of 1965

The Higher Education Act (HEA) became law on November 8, 1965, when it was signed by President Lyndon Johnson, Public Law 89-329. Its goal was to strengthen “the educational resources of our colleges and universities and to provide financial assistance to students in postsecondary and higher education” [2].

“Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright ©2005, American Society for Engineering Education”

• Citation

• Format
  • APA
  • APA - LaTeX bibitem
  • MLA
  • MLA - LaTeX bibitem
  • Bibtex
  • EndNote - RIS

Kaplan, J., & Kaplan, K. (2005, June), Bill 4283 – Educational Change Is Coming! Paper presented at 2005 Annual Conference, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--14947