Scorecard: Drum Major Institute 2008 Senate Scorecard

Org. position: Aye

Description:

"Although a college education is increasingly a prerequisite for a middle-class standard of living, current and aspiring middle-class students and their families are struggling more than ever to afford college. Average tuition and fees at four-year public institutions have increased 51% over the last five years, while the maximum Pell Grant, designed to provide financially strapped students with an opportunity to attend college, has failed to keep pace. The Higher Education Opportunity Act’s increase of the maximum Pell grant will make college accessible to more aspiring middle-class Americans. Additionally, the expansion of the Pell Grant program to include year-round education supports the hardest-working students struggling to complete their educations quickly. The Act also addresses students’ increasing reliance on private lenders to finance their college education. It makes necessary improvements to a student loan system that has been characterized by favoritism and murky lending practices by putting an end to the most egregious conflicts of interest and expanding the information available to students and families deciding what colleges to attend and what loans to take out."

(Original scorecard available at: http://www.drummajorinstitute.org/library/report.php?ID=87)