IHEP Response to Department of Education’s Request for Information on its HEA Set-Aside Authority
Published Feb 17, 2023
WASHINGTON, DC (February 17, 2023) – The Institute for Higher Education Policy in partnership with 37 organizations responded to the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Request for Information regarding the Secretary of Education’s authority to set aside up to 0.5% of funds from certain Higher Education Act (HEA) programs to conduct data analysis, data collection, and rigorous evaluations. The response urges ED to:
- Evaluate HEA-funded interventions with the goal of identifying practices that most effectively support equitable outcomes for all students, especially Black, Latinx and/or Hispanic, Indigenous, and AANHPI students as well as students from low-income backgrounds; apply lessons learned to improve HEA programs and maximize the impact of taxpayer dollars.
- Fund a combination of evaluations, data collection, and data analysis with varying research methodologies to support the continuous improvement of HEA programs such that they better serve students, especially those from historically marginalized groups, immediately and into the future.
- Maximize the authority granted by Congress by setting aside the full 0.5% of funds and pooling these funds to be distributed across research studies according to opportunity and need.
Learn more about the recommendations and read the full letter here.
Fellow signatories are listed below:
- Alabama Possible
- America Forward
- American Association of State Colleges and Universities
- Arnold Ventures
- Association for Career and Technical Education
- Association of Public and Land-grant Universities
- Braven
- Campaign for College Opportunity
- Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
- Colorado Equitable Economic Mobility Initiative (CEEMI)
- Community College Research Center
- Complete College America
- Data Foundation
- Data Quality Campaign
- Education Reform Now
- Excelencia in Education
- Generation Hope
- HCM Strategists
- Higher Learning Advocates
- Institute for Higher Education Policy
- Latinos for Education
- LeadMN – College Students Connecting for Change
- NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education
- National College Attainment Network
- National Student Clearinghouse
- New America Higher Education Program
- Results for America
- RTI International
- Sova Solutions
- The Charles A. Dana Center
- The Education Trust
- The Institute for College Access & Success
- The Young Invincibles
- Third Way
- Today’s Student Coalition
- UnidosUS
- WCET (WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies)
- Westat Insight
