University Business - April 2006 - (Page 24)

ON THE HILL Even Democratic lawmakers claim they preparation for high school students. WAITING FOR DETAILS had no time to react to the program. We The new grant program is an impor- Answers to these questions usually are didn't see the full text of it until the morn- tant and welcome development. The cen- provided in a formal rule-making process ing of the vote. There's a way you do these tral concern is that it is hard to imagine a that federal agencies conduct to imple- things and it's not by slipping something more complicated way to go about it, says ment new legislation. That will come later, into the bill at the last minute, says Tom Terry Hartle, ACE's senior vice president but Yvonne Smith, a spokesperson for the Kiley, a spokesman for Rep. George Miller for Government and Public Affairs. It's Department of Education, says the agency D-Calif. , the ranking minority member the most complicated challenge to imple- will not have time to do it before the pro- of the House Committee on Education ment a new program that I have seen in 25 gram begins on July 1. and the Workforce. years. This is going to be a wonderful case Meanwhile, the law creating the initia- tive provides few details to guide imple- Legislative leaders and Bush administration officials made mentation and there is almost no legisla- tive history to help the department write a decision in the dead of the night, with no discussion, no the regulations necessary to turn the statute hearings, not even a separate bill being introduced. into an operational program, Ward wrote to the other association presidents. Bruce Hunter, American Association of School Administrators Reacting quickly to concerns about As the Department of Education begins study in public administration. possible federal involvement in setting high trying to figure out how to make the new Ward pointed out that on the plus side, school curricula, House Education and program work, higher ed organizations the measure uses a small portion of the stu- Workforce Committee Chairman John in Washington are preparing to provide dent loan cuts, estimated at $790 million, Boehner R-Ohio and Sen. Mike Enzi input. We have indicated to department to create new grants for math, science, and R-Wyo. , chairman of the Senate Health, staff that we stand ready to work with foreign language majors; reduce loan origi- Education, Labor, and Pensions Commit- them to implement the program as quickly nation fees; increase borrowing limits; and tee, wrote to Spellings in February to make and efficiently as possible. However, for all improve the need-analysis system. How- clear that the measure preserves the role the reasons stated above, we think the task ever, he wrote, these provisions are far too of state and local authorities in making ahead is formidable, Ward asserted. small, and in the case of one of the grant decisions about curricula. They also said programs, far too complex and restrictive that students attending private, charter, or COMMITTEE SHIFTS to offset the damaging consequences of the home schools could be eligible for grants. Meanwhile, a week after Congress enacted cuts to student loans. the legislation containing the new pro- Many Washington education advocates, A NOBLE OBJECTIVE gram, Boehner gave up the chairmanship caught by surprise, are troubled by how No one has criticized the objectives of the of the House Education Committee when the program got into the 774-page deficit program. The interest in encouraging House Republicans elected him to succeed reduction bill in the first place. Legisla- more students especially low-income indicted Rep. Tom DeLay R-Texas as ma- tive leaders in the Republican-controlled students to take rigorous courses in high jority leader. House and Senate, working with Bush ad- school is clear and unambiguous. So is the They elected Rep. Howard P. Buck ministration officials, made a decision in desirability of encouraging more American- McKeon R-Calif. to take Boehner's the dead of the night, with no discussion, born students to major in math, science, place as Education Committee chairman. no hearings, not even a separate bill being and engineering, said Ward. President McKeon has served on the committee since introduced, says Bruce Hunter, associate George W. Bush, in his 2006 State of the 1993, chairing its Subcommittee on 21st executive director of the American Asso- Union Address, proposed increased fund- Century Competitiveness since 1995. ciation of School Administrators. ing for scientific research, math, and science You can't afford to miss the hottest education conference in America! See pages 46 for details... teaser.indd 1 1/9/06 3:22:31 PM 24 | April 2006 universitybusiness.com OTH.indd 24 3/23/06 11:45:44 AM http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - April 2006

Table of Contents
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Editor's Note
Stats Watch
People Watch
Sense of Place
On the Hill
Viewpoint
Future Shock
Financial Aid
Admissions
COVER STORY: Averting Housing Havoc
The Art of Reputation Building
Web Conferencing: Rich Media on the Desktop
All Rights Preserved
Admissions Messages vs. Admissions Realities
Internet Technology
What's New
Calendar of Events
Direct Connect
End Note

University Business - April 2006