[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 185 (Monday, September 26, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-23665]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: September 26, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Chapter VI

 

Reform of Federal Student Aid for Postsecondary Education and 
Training

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of regional meetings.

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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education will 
convene four public meetings to obtain public comment for use in the 
development of policies relating to reform of Federal student aid for 
postsecondary education and training.

DATES: Meetings will be held on October 5, 13, 28 and November 2, 1994. 
See Supplementary Information.

ADDRESSES: Meetings will be held in Seattle, WA; Kansas City, MO; 
Boston, MA; and Atlanta, GA. See Supplementary Information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information about these 
regional meetings, call Jennifer Peck at (202) 708-5547. Individuals 
who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the 
Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 
a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday.
    The Assistant Secretary would appreciate that persons who plan to 
attend a regional meeting notify the Department by calling (202) 260-
8462.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In order to increase the opportunity for 
public participation in the development of policies relating to the 
reform of Federal student aid for postsecondary education and training, 
the Assistant Secretary is convening a series of meetings in different 
parts of the country and invites individuals and representatives of 
groups involved in student financial assistance programs to attend 
these meetings. The Secretary particularly encourages students, legal 
assistance organizations that represent students, institutions of 
higher education, guaranty agencies and lenders to attend and 
participate in these meetings. These regional meetings are convened to 
discuss only reform of Federal student aid programs for postsecondary 
education and training.
    To facilitate discussion, the Assistant Secretary has identified 
three major areas for discussion: (a) Can Federal student aid be better 
targeted to ensure access to postsecondary education? (b) Can 
postsecondary vocational education and training better meet the needs 
and objectives of students and institutions? (c) Can regulatory and 
administrative simplicity help institutions better fulfill their 
educational missions and target their resources on educational rather 
than administrative tasks?
    More specifically, the Assistant Secretary seeks comments, ideas, 
and suggestions on the following issues:
    (a) Would providing a larger amount of aid to poor students improve 
access and encourage persistence in postsecondary education?
    (b) Would establishing a guaranteed amount of Federal aid that 
would be available to every individual promote better awareness of and 
access to postsecondary education?
    (c) Would a merit-based supplement to need-based aid encourage 
students to excel academically and better position them to reap the 
rewards of postsecondary education?
    (d) How can the Department of Education better interact with the 
States and other Federal agencies to improve access to and excellence 
in postsecondary education?
    (e) What strategies for skills training and workforce preparation 
are most effective?
    (f) How should the Federal government support basic education for 
disadvantaged adults?
    (g) Should there be separate student aid programs for vocational 
study compared with collegiate programs? How would a vocational program 
be defined?
    (h) What is the best way to coordinate among various local, State, 
and Federal programs that offer vocational education?
    (i) Would different rules and regulations for different groups of 
institutions assist in providing institutions the flexibility to 
accomplish their educational mission?
    (j) How could administrative workload be reduced while maintaining 
or improving accountability to taxpayers?
    (k) What information is essential to collect from institutions and 
students to ensure accountability and integrity of programs, while 
reducing the overall reporting burden?
    (l) What performance measures should the Department use as a 
measure of institutional ability to reduce the regulatory burden of 
administering the student aid programs?
    Participants are welcome to raise other issues relating to Federal 
student aid programs in addition to the above questions. The dates and 
location of the four regional meetings appear below.
    (a) October 5, 1994, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., University of 
Washington, Husky Union Building (HUB) Auditorium, Seattle, Washington.
    (b) October 13, 1994, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Kansas City 
Convention Center, Bartle Hall, 301 West 13th Street, Room 1204-North 
Side, Kansas City, Missouri.
    (c) October 28, 1994, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Northeastern 
University, the Student Center Ballroom, Boston, Massachusetts.
    (d) November 2, 1994, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Georgia State 
University, The Urban Life Conference Center, Atlanta, Georgia.
    If you wish to provide written comments, you may bring your 
comments to the meetings or send them to Lynn Mahaffie, 600 
Independence Avenue, SW., ROB-3, Room 4082, Washington, DC 20202, FAX 
number (202) 708-9107.

(Authority: 20 USC 1001, et seq.)

    Dated: September 20, 1994.
David A. Longanecker,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 94-23665 Filed 9-23-94; 8:45 am]
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